Local Food 6/6/2009

Today we picked up our second CSA box and topped it off with veggie selections from the other farmers at the market as well.  Sadly, we got there a bit too late to get fresh eggs, but I had to restrain myself not to buy more vegetables than I’d be able to use during the course of the week otherwise.  

Our CSA box, which is a half-share geared for two people, contained the following:
A good sized bunch of fresh dill.  Perhaps I’ll make stroganoff this week?

Another bag of gorgeous salad greens.  I was tempted to buy a second bag, but Art is traveling this week so 2 bags would probably be more than Lance and I could eat.  

A pretty head of green leaf lettuce.  

These are turnip greens.  I have no idea what they are, what they taste like, or what to do with them.  Eep!

This is Jersey Wakefield Cabbage which our farmer, Tina, prefers to normal cabbage.  She says it has a better flavor and I’m looking forward to trying it out this week.  

I pretty much never have enough green onions.  If I get these in my veggie box all season, I’ll be a happy camper.  Fresh green onions seem to have a stronger flavor than the grocery bought ones I get in the winter.  

Radishes on the left and turnips on the right!  The radishes will probably go into more salads, since Lance loves them.  The turnips are going to supplement last week’s turnips and go into a gratin that I had planned to cook tonight for dinner.  

Beautiful green zucchini.  I’m glad that people who plant zucchini get overrun with them; because that means that I get to reap the benefits of their excess.  I love zucchini.  Zucchini bread, stir fry, fajitas… you name it, I love it.  I had a hard time resisting the urge to buy more!

Elsewhere at the market we filled up our bag with these other gems:

This is oak leaf lettuce.  I probably should have gotten a better picture to show you that the leaves really do look like oak leaves.  I didn’t need more lettuce for the week, but I’ve never even heard of this variety and curiosity got the better of me.  

Did I mention I love green onions?  This is “five” of them, from our favorite Pesto Lady, Claudia.  

While I did fight off the siren call of zucchini, I was not quite so successful with the yellow squash.  I suppose this means we’ll be eating veggie heavy fajitas this week.  It’s my favorite way to use yellow squash and zucchini together.  

These are three different types of pattypan squash.  I think.  Each variety has a different lovely name and they look like brightly coloured jewels.  I was waffling about whether or not to buy any, since I was already feeling pretty loaded up on vegetables for the week, but the farmer gave these to me as a teaser and I couldn’t refuse.  

And finally, tomatoes.  It’s not technically tomato season yet, but we have a farmer at our market that grows them in soil in a hot house during the cooler months.  They were expensive at $3.50 a pound, but they called to me.  They begged me to take them home with me and, yet again, I couldn’t refuse.  It wasn’t until last year, when the market here started, that I finally “got” tomatoes.  Nothing you can buy at the grocery store compares to a fresh, local, never seen the inside of a refrigerator tomato.  These are beautiful, perfect, and will be meaty and delicious when I cut into them.  

On a side note, we have a farmer at the market who sells fresh herbs in pots.  I’ve always been leery of growing my own herbs.  I can’t grow them inside thanks to overly curious cats and I’ve never had much luck with growing them outside.  The idea of being able to pick fresh basil from my back yard is extremely appealing, though, so I’m thinking that I might get a big pot from some garden supply store this week and try my hand at growing some fresh herbs outside my back door this year.  Maybe.  If I build up enough courage!  

Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming menus and recipes where I will elaborate how I plan to use this Southern Maryland bounty!