Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Mama Needs Some CSA Help

Okay, so I went to the organic farmer's market today and my CSA farmer was there. They generously offered to give me my share today so I could save a trip tomorrow. When I got home I was surprised to see so many items that I had ever used before. Of course, the tomatoes and brussels sprouts were no problem. We set to work on those immediately! You can see my daughter slicing tomatoes and cooking the sprouts below. Sorry the pictures uploaded in the exact opposite order I told them to upload, so the cooked sprouts are shown before the ones that just went into the pan. Hahaha. Oh well. The red onions are easy, too, and I know arugula can be mixed with other greens for salad. Are there any other uses for arugula? I also have no idea how to use the broccoli raab or how to cook the beets. Of course, I've eaten beets, but only from a can. The biggest question is what the heck are those white roots? I have no idea! Please look at the bottom picture and see if you can help me? I need all the help I can get because I don't want any of this to go to waste!







Now if you're finished laughing at me for not having a clue...
I have to say that the market was fabulous! I tasted butter fresh from the farm, beef from local pastured cattle, and homemade bread! Next week they will have raw milk available and one of the vendors has a little store inside a local bookstore that I haven't frequented in a while. There they sale farm fresh bread, butter, milk, and cookies! Yummy! The eggs were beautiful, too. I definitely plan to start buying my meat there. The prices were competitive and I much prefer knowing who and where my food comes from. I know where most of my groceries will be coming from this summer! Now I just need a deep freezer so I can stock up for winter!
Please don't forget to comment and tell me how in the world to use this stuff! :)

11 comments:

  1. beets- oven roast them. I do this just like oven roasted potatoes. peel and quarter. Toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and some herbs. I usually do rosemary and thyme. bake in the oven on 350 for 45-50 min or until tender.

    I think the others are parsnips. super yummy like a carrots with a better flavor. I slice and saute with carrots in butter and coconut oil. sometimes I add a little brown sugar!

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    1. Parsnips! Thanks! And thanks for the how-to!

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  2. Are those beets? I was confused about what to do with those, too, but it turns out it's super simple! You can cut off the green part and use them in smoothies - I put them with berries, a banana, flaxseed, yogurt, some honey and some lemon juice for my kiddos. The red part, you just cut off the root and the stem, cut each one into about 4 pieces, toss with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper, and put it into an oven-safe dish with a lid. I put mine in the oven at 350 for, I don't know, 40-45 min? You can check them periodically. They should get nice and soft. When then are done, I kind of cut the skins off and cut them up at the same time. YUM!!

    If those are parsnips, I had them once before too and I think I looked up an ingredients search on Allrecipes.com for those...Good luck!

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    1. Thanks! I would never have known they were parsnips! And I love the smoothie idea! Any clue on broccoli raab?

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  3. I actually think those are turnips, not parsnips. Usually parsnips are long and skinny like carrots, and turnips are more stubby like beets. You can saute turnips with carrots and the flavors and textures go really well together.

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    1. Unfortunately, they are not turnips. The greens are very different from turnip greens, very fuzzy and prickly. Does that add to the mystery? Haha. I am going to cook them with carrots, though, and we will see what happens!

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  4. yummy! cant wait for my farmer's market to start having yummy things like this. Good for you!

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    1. Thanks Melanie! Our market did not carry things like this, but a new market opened a few weeks ago and the requirements to get a space a pretty strict. That makes me feel really good about everything I get there.

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  5. I love broccoli raab sauteed in garlic and olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper!
    http://chels580-garden-me.blogspot.com

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  6. You'll have to share with me what you do with the beets. My sweet children bought me beet seeds for the garden this year, which I planted, but I have NO idea how to use beets. :)

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  7. I saw an episode of Chopped on Food Network a few days ago, where a contestant used Beets in a dessert and it looked and sounded fabulous - however, for the life of me, I cannot remember what the dessert was. It was the celebrity episode where the judges competed for $50K for their favorite charity so you could look it up.

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