Week 4 Community-Shared Agriculture (CSA) Box (plus delicious pickled radishes and how to blanch vegetables)

This week’s beautiful array of organic, local veggies.

This week’s haul includes…

•  1 bunch of green onions
• New potatoes (probably about 1 lb.)
• 2 giant bok choy (washed and frozen as in previous weeks)

As you can see, the bok choy is still making a dramatic appearance. Dramatic because I already have 3 or 4 packed LARGE bags in the freezer. Oh well, as my beautiful and wise friend Vikki put it, we should all be so blessed to have an overabundance of organic veggies. She speaks the truth! And I’ll find some new ways to enjoy them I hope.

• 1 bunch of radishes

I made quick, spicy pickled radishes and they are so. damn. good. Great on salads, sandwiches, tacos, etc. A vinegary, spicy delicious bite.

I followed a recipe by Cookie and Kate for Spicy Quick Pickled Radishes. I used apple cider vinegar, whole mustard and fennel seeds, maple syrup, and 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes.

A word for the inexperienced: boiling vinegar stinks! Open those windows wide because this recipe is well worth a little temporary olfactory discomfort.

I am eager to try this with all kinds of other pickled vegetables. Perhaps pickled carrot ribbons with cumin seeds will be next on my list?

• 2 kohlrabi (blanched and frozen; recipe ideas are available in previous weekly CSA box reveals – see below for links)
• 1 bag of snow peas (earmarked for salads, maybe even the potato salad I’m working on)
• 1 broccoli crown (blanched and frozen)
• 1 huge head of romaine lettuce
• 1 green pepper (sliced and frozen – I love adding these to stir-fries and they cook great from frozen)
• About half/lb. of fresh spinach

– I need to re-test my dairy-free spinach dip. Hopefully the spinach finds its way into that recipe this week!

Last week I used my remaining spinach in a bright green pesto as part of my zucchini and chicken lasagna. It was spinach, green onions, almonds, basil and lemon juice.

I love using zucchini in lieu of pasta.

Based on this week’s bounty, here are a few tips and tricks for your kitchen (and CSA) toolbox:

• How to blanch and freeze vegetables: Some vegetables, like kohlrabi and broccoli, shouldn’t be frozen from raw. Instead, they need to be blanched in boiling water, cooled in an ice bath and then frozen. This way they’ll retain their vibrant colour and flavour.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. While your water heats up, wash and chop your vegetables into a bite size. I cut the broccoli into small florets and the kohlrabi into medium cubes. The size doesn’t matter but make sure the vegetables are roughly the same size. I blanched each vegetable separately.

3. When your water boils, carefully add your chopped vegetables. Cook for 3-8 minutes (depending on size). You can do a Google search for specific times for your specific vegetables. You just want to slightly cook the veg, not cook it fully and definitely not overcook.

4.While the vegetables cook, prepare your ice bath. Just fill a large bowl with ice-cold water and fill at least partway with ice cubes.

5. When the cook time is up, add your blanched vegetables to the ice bath. When fully cool, drain and freeze as normal.

Want more kitchen and cooking tips like this? Check out my free e-zine and get a free copy of my “10+ Breakfasts in 10 Minutes or Less” e-cookbook.

Did you sign up for a CSA share this season? What’s in your local basket?

Life is a plate… Eat up!

Ashleigh

P.S. Did you miss the earlier editions of my CSA series?

• Check out Week 1 Community-Supported Agriculture Box
• Check out Week 2 Community-Supported Agriculture Box
• Check out Week 3 Community-Supported Agriculture Box

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