Asparagus
Strawberries
Snow Pea Pods
Butter Lettuce
Spring Onions
Cilantro

I have some ideas about what to do with everything but will plan more once I see the quantities of each item. We’re a little disappointed that there is no kale this week, my husband says it is the best kale he has ever had and I have to agree, but maybe it will be back next week.

My strawberry picking post should be up later today. The berries are wonderful.

The first thing I did with the kale was cut the leafy part of off the spine and rip those into pieces about 2 inches long. This left me with my biggest glass bowl overflowing with green goodness.

Next I washed and dried the leaves in four batches. The kale was already pretty clean, but with greens its better to be safe than sorry because dirt and sand have a way of slipping in. I’ve also learned that small batches, especially in my salad spinner, are better to thoroughly dry the greens. Wet greens = limp greens which are not tasty.

I sauteed onion, carrot, garlic, thyme, green chili powder, and canned great northern beans together to create a sweet flavor base for the kale:

And the started adding the kale. I flip everything around with tongs, adding a handful at a time until everything is incorporated and kale has turned a bright green, but still retains some texture.

The result was great. I had noticed when tasting the raw kale that this was sweeter than the kale I usually buy at the market or grocery store, and cooking it reinforced this opinion. While my recipe was good, it was the quality of the kale that made dinner wonderful and I hope to have more in the box next week.

We’re heading out to Great Country Farms this morning for more strawberries and to check out the farm, all in a heat index of 100 degrees plus, so it should be interesting. I’ll post pictures from the farm next.

Kale and White Bean Saute (I know this isn’t technically a saute, but I’m not sure what else to call it)

1 1/3 T Olive Oil
1 Onion diced
2 t Green Chili Powder, red would be fine if you don’t have green.
1 Carrot cut into pieces about twice the width and half the length of a matchstick
3 Cloves of Garlic
2 t fresh Thyme
1/4 t Salt
1/4 t Pepper
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
5 or 6 cups of Kale, pulled off the stem and cut into 2 inch pieces.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add onions and chili powder and saute until soft, approximately 3 minutes. Add carrots and cook for another 2 minutes. Add garlic, salt, pepper and thyme cook for approximately 30 seconds or until you can smell the garlic.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the beans. Cook for about 5 minutes, stiring occasionally, or until the flavors have completely come together.

Turn the heat back up to medium and pull the bean mixture to one side of the pan, add a couple of handfuls of kale to the empty side of the pan and begin to toss with the bean mixture using tongs. Add a handful of the additional kale at a time, tossing all the while. Continue to do this until all the kale is in the pan and the kale has wilted slightly and turned a bright green.

1 oz Dried Mushrooms, I usually use a mix

1 1/3 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Medium Onion, diced

1 Portobello Mushroom, diced

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Cup Arborio Rice

1/4 Cup White Wine

1/4 Cup GOOD Port*

Warm Vegetable Broth

1 teaspoon Thyme

2 oz Chevre, broken up into pea size pieces

1 handful of Parsley

Cut the dried mushrooms into small pieces and soak in 4 cups of boiling water while you cut your other vegetables.

Heat oil in large deep saute pan or braisier over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and cook until you can smell it, usually 30-45 second. Add dried mushrooms, reserving the hot mushroom water.

Add rice and stir until coated in oil, shiny and taking on a translucent quality, about 2 minutes. Add wine and port, cook until the rice starts to dry. Add the mushroom water, 1 cup to 1.5 cups at at time, allowing the rice to absorb all the water before the next addition.

Once the mushroom water is gone continue using broth until the rice looks and feels done. Turn off heat. Add the cheese a few pieces of a time and stir to melt. Toss in the parsley right before service.

Makes 4 dinner size portions.

*You can use 1/2 cup of wine if you don’t have any port.

We begin to unpack and all I can think is KALE. There’s a mountain of it.

I already had dinner planned, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Risotto, so I was looking for something to compliment our dinner for the next two nights. We decided to have the asparagus and use the kale for dinner later this week.

The asparagus are huge so we are going to have them tonight and tomorrow.

I tossed them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and threw them in the oven at 450 for the last 10 minutes of the risotto’s cook time. The result; cooked on the outside, crispy on the inside, and some of the freshest tasting asparagus my husband and I ever had.

Dinner

I think I’m going to use the kale and green onions in a “Kale and Bean Saute” later this weekend but would also love suggestions.

We’re hoping to go out to the farm this weekend to utilize the u-pick option of 6 pints of strawberries to go with the strawberries we got in the box.

Produce List

Kale

Asparagus

Spring Onions

Strawberries

Basil 

What I decide to do with everything really depends on the amount of each item, but I have a few ideas beyond just cooking them up and eating (not that there is anything wrong with that).  The u-pick options include more Strawberries and a lot of herbs.  My husband and I just got back from a trip so we probably won’t make it out this weekend, but I’m hoping it’s still an option next weekend.  Pictures of the first box to come tomorrow.