Our CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, started up on Memorial Day and three weeks in (we did a bi-weekly pick-up), I couldn’t be happier with our choice of farm. (Which for the record, is Red Wagon Organic Farm.) Actually, I would be happier with a shorter drive to the farm but a little field trip out to Longmont every other Monday isn’t so bad. Especially when the view looks like this.
Our first bundle of farm fresh veggies included:
Rhubarb
Salad greens
Bok choy
Broccoli rabe
Pea shoots
Turnips
Everything we got was beautiful and even after letting them sit in the fridge for a week (oops!) the veggies were still bright and crisp-looking.
What We Cooked:
For the broccoli rabe and turnips, I used these two recipes, alongside a simple piece of grilled chicken. I’ve only had rabe once and it was bitter. Blanching it, as our recipe called for, totally took the bitter taste away and we were left with a delicious sautée of greens. As for the turnips, I was really surprised by their taste. Almost potato-y and radish-y at the same time? We simply trimmed the tips off (Joey commented that they looked like little mini versions of Wilson from Cast Away, ha ha!) and roasted them, then served them with a mustard dipping sauce. All together, it was a simple meal but we were both blown away by the fresh flavors.
I used the rhubarb in 2 batches of Rhubarb Berry Baked Oatmeal. Side note: my mom is literally repulsed by oatmeal and made the most horrible face when I told her how I’d used my rhubarb. I, however, loved this recipe. Obviously, since I made it twice. Waking up in the morning, throwing a piece of this oatmeal in a bowl then popping it into the microwave for a minute is the epitome of easy. And topped with a splash of milk, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a spoonful of peanut butter, this breakfast is out of this world. Pie-like even!
The bok choy was served alongside some salmon in this recipe. In fact, we made this for a late dinner on Monday after picking up our second batch of CSA goodies. It took all of 15 minutes and was so dang tasty. Our salmon was on the thicker side so we ran into some trouble with the cooking time difference between the sauce/bok choy and the salmon but overall, I loved this dish. My mom is probably also repulsed by this picture of “stinky fish.”
As I mentioned earlier this week, we used the pea shoots in a pesto potato salad. Paired with some portobello mushroom burger sliders + a picnic blanket = perfect summer meal.
The salad greens were used for a few simple salads I threw together for lunch sides. They were fresh and delicious. Like I said, we had our second pick-up yesterday and I was annoyingly excited about everything we got to take home. But seriously, garlic scapes, spicy mustard greens and the most deliciously sweet snap peas and strawberries I’ve ever tasted? Yes! Can’t wait to use everything up!
P.S. HAPPY FRIDAY!
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Have you ever cooked with any of this produce?
Do you like “stinky fish,” aka normal-smelling fish?
When was the last time you went on a picnic?
Life as Lauren 
Hooray for CSA! I loved mine so much in Virginia, I need to find a new farm where we live so I can get that going again. Rhubarb is so delicious…my mom makes a strawberry-rhubarb cobbler that I get SO excited for every year. You’re lucky–rhubarb season is already over down here!
Cobbler is without a doubt one of my favorite summer desserts! Isn’t it strange how produce seasons can differ so much in different parts of the country? I think our farm is still giving out rhubarb so fingers crossed that we get some more on Monday!
I have cooked with all of that produce and love it. Love stinky fish and salad in a jar. I even have my photo taken at the same place at red rocks.
Wow, lots in common! I was at Red Rocks on Tuesday night and was still in awe of how beautiful that place is. It never gets old 🙂
I love the idea of a CSA and “getting” to experiment with new fruits and veggies, but I never sign up for one because I’m always nervous that I’ll freak out and not know what to do with something…and then it will go bad…even though I pick up random things I’ve never seen/cooked at the farmer’s market on a somewhat regular basis! I guess the difference is that I get to pick it instead of it being selected for me? I don’t know, I’m weird…haha!
I love turnips! If you and Joey really liked them, you’d love rutabagas…another root veggie that’s sort of potato-like and sweet when you roast it! I’ve made a couple of things with rhubarb before…some oatmeal bars and a fruit spread/compote thingy, but for some reason I haven’t bought any in like two years! But now I’m curious about pea shoots!
I’ve never seen pea shoots anywhere before, so I don’t know if they’re rare or I just never noticed them at Farmers’ Markets. I am dinner meal planner so it is torture to wait until Sunday morning to see what we’ll be getting in our share, but out of everything we get, there’s usually only 1-2 things I’ve never encountered before. I’ve actually roasted rutabaga before (although I can’t remember what for) and I really liked it! Maybe we’ll get one at one of our pick-ups.