Get your engines running...

Our CSA share has started up again. Unlike the past two years where we split a four person box with another couple (each got the box every other week) we are on our own again! Splitting was super convenient and a wonderful way of helping someone else explore what it is to both support a farmer directly and have a ton of fresh vegetables. However we were too successful and are back on our own again :)

But we're not despairing; this is a challenge to eat a metric tonne of vegetables and the key is planning and aggressive cooking. No more "I'm tired from a long day of work" excuses; no more "we'll just wait until the weekend and use up four heads of lettuce" delusions. This is further compounded by having our own "victory" garden in the back yard. Last year our swiss chard grew wonderfully but it was mostly ignored.

And we're off to a good start; last week was asparagus, two pounds of rhubarb, spinach, lettuce, baby greens salad mix, radishes, spring garlic (which look like big scallions) and chives. The only thing left standing are some chives.
- The Asparagus was mixed with oil, salt and pepper, roasted and served with pork chops.
- 1 lbs of rhubarb found its way into a tart with strawberries (which were uncooked), the other pound found its way into a coffee cake which we've been having for breakfast.
- The spinach was combined with this weeks mushrooms (and some spring garlic) oregano and white wine and some chopped bacon into a lovely pasta
- the lettuce and radishes were lunch all this week
- the baby mix was combined with a home-made chicken salad with roasted pecans (I had no celery for the salad but radishes worked in a pinch and added wonderful color)
- the remaining spring garlic was used in cheddar scones.

Yesterday our haul contained more lettuce (already chopped and prepped for todays lunch), mushrooms (which you've already heard about), spinach, spring garlic, and more rhubarb (which will probably get reduced into a simple syrup and used for rhubarb-tinis). I'd like to see the spring garlic mixed with a farmhouse cheddar on a grilled pizza...

All we've got to do is keep up the pace!