CSA: Week #1 Update

Our first CSA basket surpassed expectations. We managed to eat or freeze everything in our basket. We ate all the spinach, beet greens, and beets. We used some of the scallions on some baked chicken, and I chopped the rest and put them in the freezer for later use. Graham ate most of the small coconut pound cake, but I did eat the bran biscuits and one snickerdoodle cookie. Here is what we did with the beets, beet greens, and spinach:

Beets – Roasted Beets – I peeled and chopped the beets. Then 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. We had enough for two nights. They were amazing and turned my beet-hating husband into a beet lover.

Beet Greens – I made two dishes with beet greens.

• Dish #1 – Beet Greens Pasta – I made spaghetti. I mixed in chopped beet greens that I wilted with pasta water and olive oil and then sauteed with more olive oil, garlic, butter, black truffle sea salt, and black pepper. I topped it with sliced almonds and shaved Parmesan. I caught a picture of this wonderfulness and used it for this post. This is the recipe I used as a guide: https://www.anediblemosaic.com/beet-greens-pasta/.
• Dish #2 – Beet Greens Saute – I fried two slices of chopped bacon in a skillet with olive oil. When the bacon was about half-cooked, I added chopped onions for a few minutes followed by chopped garlic. Next I added about 3 tablespoons of Fire Cider along with 3/4 cup of water (the recipe called for apple cider vinegar. I kicked it up a notch.). I tossed in chopped beet greens with stems and covered the skillet. As the beet greens cooked down, I added a bit of sugar and red pepper flakes and a bit of butter. This is the recipe I more or less followed: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/beet_greens/.

Spinach – I made two dishes with spinach.

• Dish #1 – Salad – On multiple days, I made spinach salad with blue cheese dressing. On some days, I added hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and blue cheese crumbles.
• Dish #2 – Frittata – Today, I chopped the remainder of the spinach. I sauteed onions in olive oil, added chopped garlic, and then added spinach in a small skillet over medium heat. I whisked together six eggs, some half and half, Penzey’s Tuscan Sunset blend, salt, pepper, feta, and shredded provolone and mozzarella. After the spinach wilted, I poured in the egg blend. Once the frittata started to set up along the edges, I sprinkled shaved Parmesan on the top and popped the skillet in the oven under the broiler to finish it off.

Altogether our first CSA week has been a huge success! We look forward to our next basket on Tuesday.