CSA: Week #1 Pickup

Last night I picked up my first CSA half basket. This is a new adventure! When I arrived at the Paris-Bourbon County Farmers Market, I found my plastic bin filled with these goodies: beets, beet greens, spinach, large scallions, and baked goods from Trike Bake. The baked goods included a small coconut pound cake, two small snickerdoodle cookies, and two small bran biscuits (cookies).

My husband was excited about the baked goods, an unexpected delight, but he was not thrilled about the beets. He thinks they taste like dirt. I happen to love beets, so I immediately washed, peeled, and cut up three beets. I tossed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted them at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. I served them with a bit of cream cheese on top, and my husband declared that he enjoyed them prepared that way. It’s a miracle! We also ate some spinach with blue cheese dressing, and I chopped scallions on top of our chicken thighs before baking. Tonight, I’ll roast the rest of the beets and eat more spinach salad.

Today I’ll chop up and freeze the scallions. I call them scallions, and I’m guessing they fall under that classification, but they are quite large. They look like the large green onions that are roasted and served with tacos at some of our local Mexican restaurants. I will freeze the scallions in small Ziploc bags so that I can use them as I need them. I read online that they will stay fresh frozen for up to a year.

The beet greens are destined to be used in a pasta dish on Sunday night. My plan is to chop them up and saute them in olive oil with garlic and butter. I will mix in some spaghetti or angel hair pasta, Parmesan cheese, and walnuts or slivered almonds. I might add some bacon.

So far so good, my goal is to use or store everything by Tuesday.

The photo of the CSA goods for this week is not glamorous, but it’s a real-life depiction of a CSA share as you receive it.