Southside CSA

Marcel Forrest - We have a half share of veggies and eggs that feeds me (Jason) and my boyfriend (Marcel). I was so excited as this is my first year as a member of the CSA and my first share of veggies! I came to distribution not sure what to expect and was delighted by the variety.

This week’s haul
● 1/2 lb lettuce
● 1/2 lb baby bok choy
● 1/2 lb english peas
● 1/2 pound garlic scrapes (yea!)
● 1 bunch swiss chard
● 1 bunch cilantro
● 1 bunch garlic (4 pieces)

One bag is enough to carry everything home.

The Rinse
After arriving home and posing my veggies for their close up, everything got a good rinse. I like my lettuce crisp and dry, so I give it a good spin to take off the excess water before leaving it out to dry further

The cilantro and swiss chard get a vase, which will keep them fresh most of the week, outside the fridge. Peas, scapes, and garlic are fine on the countertop. The lettuce and bok choy goes in the crisper.

Monday
Today the veggies are as fresh as they’re ever going to be, so we decided to get into as much of them as we could. We started with a salad, using the lettuce, bok choy, and swiss chard. It was dressed simply with a mixture of olive oil, good sherry vinegar, and tahini.

I rarely see garlic scapes, so I had to google around for ideas. Mostly, people suggested making pesto with it, so that’s what I did, using a recipe from someone called “The Crisper Whisperer” : What to do with Garlic Scapes :

I modified it slightly since I didn’t have any pine nuts on hand.

● ¾ chopped scapes (about ¼ lb or half the share amount)
● juice from ½ lemon
● zest from ½ lemon and ½ blood orange (I like it zesty)
● ½ cup olive oil
● salt and pepper

We cooked the pasta al dente and finished it off with the pesto. At the very end, we added parmesan cheese and english peas that had been removed from the pod. The peas have great texture and need little to no time on the heat.

Tuesday
Monday’s salad was so good, we decided to repeat it, but dressed even more simply in a vinaigrette.

I wanted to use the stems of the garlic, which are a little tough, so we sauteed them in a frying pan until they caramelized. Then I added swiss chard, and the bulbs of the garlic. At the very end, we added garlic scapes and that became the stuffing for stuffed pork chops.

For a side, we made seasoned rice with english peas. Again, add them at the end so they retain their firm texture.

And the finished pork chops. The garlic was really the star of this dish

Wednesday
We are also a member of a CSF (community supported fishery) and they distribute on Wednesday. We got scallops this week, which are easy and delish. We sauteed them lightly and served them over lettuce and swiss chard, sprinkled with our last garlic scape and served with the leftover scape pesto.

A garlicky week
Garlic was the star this week! We managed to use everything the share provided quite easily. As frequent cooks, we’re familiar with the quality of what’s available in NYC markets and we both thought our share was really good. I’m hopeful we’ll see the scapes again, but either way I’m looking forward to the next distribution.

Filed under: MimoMex Farm Shares, Recipes, Share Care | Tagged: cilantro, eat local, garlic, garlic scapes, pasta, peas, pork chops, rice, Savory Ideas, scallops, swiss chard, weekly share info |