Don't hate us because we're bountiful

[SharonDee]

Hmm. The one you say is Boston lettuce is the one you identified as spinach earlier. It is a head of something. I was going to call it cabbage but the green is too dark for that, right?

So the bag in the back is the spinach, then?

I have no chicken breasts but that can be rectified. (I opted for the ground beef patties for the weekly meat.) Sure wish I had a 'mater for the salad; guess I'll be buying that, too.

[livius drusus]

Oh, no, the spinach is in the bag in the back. You can tell 'cause it's got stems. Neither of lettuces do. Definitely not cabbage. It's Boston lettuce.

[Ensign Steve]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

And of course what you do with it is make mojitos. Duh.

Duh.

[SharonDee]

You know, I have never had a mojito. My first one should be homemade? Scary.

[livius drusus]

If you're scared, used Captain Morgan's. There's no way that'll turn out bad.

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

And make sure you have a cane sugar swizzle stick.

[Zehava]

I got my second delivery yesterday. The delivery gnomes are still very stealthy and had I not needed to go out I would not have known the delivery was there until this morning. A delivery every two weeks will be just about right for me, I had very little left from the first one.

I received some strawberries as well, and even though they were Californian they were very good. I didn't bother with anything special for them, I simply rinsed them off and ate them, even before putting away the rest of the produce.

The package was supposed to have some spinach and a cucumber, neither of which I recall seeing. The cucumber is no big deal as I hate those anyway, and though I'm not a fan of cooked spinach it makes a good salad green. I'll have to recheck when I get home tonight.

Can't say I'm terribly impressed with the method of packaging. Everything is thrown loose into the box, well except for the strawberries they were in their own bag which was loose in the box.

All in all though it's been a good experience and pretty inexpensive. I get the bin of produce, a half gallon of organic non-fat milk and a loaf of organic whole grain bread for $35 every two weeks.

[livius drusus]

That's a great deal, especially including delivery.

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. I got cilantro. I intend to give it to the cat. She's already gone apeshit over a yellow wax bean I dropped so she's going to think she's in kitteh paradise today.

Other than the demon weed, I received:

2 avocadoes
2 pints of amazingly delicious strawberries
1 canteloupe
4 Valencia oranges
3 heads of baby bok choy
a bunch of rainbow carrots (just orange and yellow this time)
buttloads of yellow wax beans
buttloads of english peas
1 red cabbage
6 Yukon gold potatoes
4 yellow squash
5 beautiful spring onions
2 heads of broccoli
1 head romaine

[biochemgirl]

In case any of you bountiful people have asparagus this Asian Asparagus Salad with Pecans is great when you're sick of standard roasted asparagus. I've been getting tons of asparagus from different people so I finally broke down and made it tonight. It's better the longer it marinates.

[Zehava]

So I need some suggestions on how to use a couple of items from this weeks haul, namely:

Swiss Chard (was supposed to be kale again according to the list but that's OK)
Fava Beans, ~1/2 pound


Oh and something to do with an avocado which completely disguises the avocado taste and texture would be good to, otherwise I'm going to give that away.

Hmm this might be interesting.

[livius drusus]

That recipe looks great. You'll be left with the leaves, though, which thankfully is the part most recipes actually call for.

Here's my favorite chard recipe:Barley and Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard. You may find it too warm to make now, but I love it because it makes like a week's worth of work lunches.

[Qingdai]

There's the spring pea, asparagus and avocado pasta I posted earlier. The avocado is disguised by grated cheese.

I'm unhappy with my produce order. I think I buy more produce than they deliver, every two weeks. We got the large value one too.

[livius drusus]

I'm unhappy with the amount of fruit. The veg works well every two weeks, but the fruit doesn't last at all. I'm thinking of getting a supplemental fruit-only box on the off weeks.

Yesterday I got leeks, green beans, purple snap beans, peas, beets with their greens (yay!), a head of Romaine, 4 zucchini, 6 peaches, strawberries, a canteloupe, red fingerling potatoes, an eggplant, mushrooms, Swiss chard.

[SharonDee]

I got more greens. Boring.

There were also green beans, radishes, strawberries, and broccoli this time.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by Zehava

Oh and something to do with an avocado which completely disguises the avocado taste and texture would be good to, otherwise I'm going to give that away.

I have the perfect solution for that. It's easy as hell to make and the flavor is sweet 'n' spicy rather than avocado-y.

Creamy Avocado Ranch Dressing

1 avocado , ripe, pitted, flesh scooped from skin
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce , such as Tabasco
1 tablespoon lime juice , from 1 lime
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I've subbed sour cream)
1 tablespoon minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives (I've also used flat-leaf parsley)
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a food processor, puree avocado, hot sauce, and lime juice until avocado is broken down, about 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and process until dressing is completely smooth.

[biochemgirl]

I am so jealous of the strawberries. I've been craving strawberries and orange juice non stop for about a month now. There is nothing like fresh strawberries and the crappy ones in the supermarkets around here are just not the same. I'm hoping my mom's strawberry patch will produce enough in the next month to keep up with my demand.

[livius drusus]

These are particularly good, too. During the winter I got Florida strawberries a couple of times and they were pallid, grainy simulacra of the real thing. The ones I've gotten the past month, though, are juicy, dark red all the way inside, sweet and fragrant.

[SharonDee]

I never should have signed up for this. Greens, greens, and more greens. And the delicious strawberries go bad before I can eat them up, not to mention that I'm about to burn out on them. The meat cooks up gray, reminding me of the gray steaks we were served in my youth that put me off steak forever. (Until Las Vegas last year, anyway.)

But what's this? We have turnips this week? And OMG, new potatoes! Now this is more like it. Today I chopped everything up, including cauliflower and onions, and threw it into my microwave steamer. Threw some salad dressing over that bad boy and had me some steamed, crunchy goodness. I still have some choppage left over to do the same later this week or maybe stew them up or something.

But say, what the eff is this? The smell tells me nothing; I can't even detect one. (At first I thought it had a plastic or rubber scent; then I noticed the rubber band. )

Little help?




And just for you, liv:

YouTube - Baby Chicks!

&feature=player_embedded


(Gonna take me off your shit list now?)

[livius drusus]

Those look like bizarrely tied up chives. Cut a piece off the end of one and see if it's hollow and tastes like a mild onion.

(You're on the interim list for now. )

[SharonDee]

Ooh, it is chives! (Are chives?) Time to cook up them 'taters and throw in the sour cream and buttah!

[livius drusus]

Excellent choice. I love chives.

[Qingdai]

They might be garlic tops also known as garlic spears.

Farmer's Market Forays: Garlic spears

[Zehava]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

I have the perfect solution for that. It's easy as hell to make and the flavor is sweet 'n' spicy rather than avocado-y.

Creamy Avocado Ranch Dressing

1 avocado , ripe, pitted, flesh scooped from skin
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce , such as Tabasco
1 tablespoon lime juice , from 1 lime
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I've subbed sour cream)
1 tablespoon minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives (I've also used flat-leaf parsley)
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a food processor, puree avocado, hot sauce, and lime juice until avocado is broken down, about 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and process until dressing is completely smooth.

I'll give that a shot if/when another avocado makes it my way. This one, accidentally I SWEAR, got dropped as I was carrying produce to the fridge and was stepped on. Felt like stepping into a cold pile of dog shit. Luckily I had socks on and only had to burn that sock, had I been barefoot I'm certain I would have had to have an amputation.

[Zehava]

This week's bin:

2 Pinova-or Fuji Apples - *LOCAL*
2 Nectarine - 'Cali'
1 pkge. Strawberries - 'Cali'
2-3 Peaches - 'Cali'
1 bunch Cilantro - *LOCAL* Arrg the vile weed
1 bunch Kale - *LOCAL, farm direct*
1 lg. Avocado - 'Cali'
1 bunch Radish - *LOCAL*
1 bunch Celery - 'Cali'
1 Rhubarb - *LOCAL*
2-3 Tomatoes - 'Cali Direct'
1.5lb. Potatoes - *LOCAL*
1 Leaf Lettuce - *LOCAL, farm direct*

So I guess I get to try your dressing recipe after all.

MMM... Necartines (my favorite fruit) and peaches (2nd favorite)

[livius drusus]

I love nectarines too. They're not quite ready yet here, hence you getting yours from California.