CSA Cuisine--Spinach Salad

I am so enjoying my membership with Community Homestead's CSA this year. The produce is even better than I remembered.

This spinach salad was so delicious. I don't know if it was just the freshness of the spinach, the variety, or the flavor combination. I think it was a combination of all three.

Spinach is one of the healthiest greens you can eat. And fresh spinach keeps all of it's delightful nutrients, so it's a great option if you're really looking to pack a nutritional punch. D isn't a good produce eater so I have to be creative about how to get several servings into him each day.

The dressing recipe makes a large amount, great for future salads. Once you make this one, you're going to want to make more!

Sweet Spinach Salad

Spinach, a big bowl full--washed and tough stems removed. Spin dry if you're able

Goat cheese, 1/2 of a small log

1-2 Fuji apples, cored and chopped

1/2 small onion, diced

1/4 cup chopped almonds

Poppy Seed dressing:

In a blender, whirl until smooth:

1 large slice onion

1/4 cup plus 1 tsp white sugar

1/4 tsp dried mustard powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 TB cider vinegar

1/4 cup plus 2 TB canola oil

Add:

1 3/4 tsp poppy seeds.

Toss salad with a very small amount of dressing. Add just enough that the leaves are coated. Serve and enjoy!

CSA Box Three

This week's CSA box yielded a wonderful harvest. More spinach, beet greens with baby beets still attached, a huge, bright green cucumber, a head of Red Summer Crisp lettuce, sugar snap peas, Swiss chard, cilantro (I put this in the trade box for someone else to take home, we're just not cilantro fans), turnips, and more garlic scapes.

My grandma, the one I call Norman, makes the best fresh cucumber pickles. She works some sort of magic and makes them taste so wonderful. This recipe is close, but not as good as hers. I hope someday I leave behind such a legacy!

Stay tuned for more CSA inspired recipes. I've got some good ones this week!

Fresh Cucumber Pickles

Cucumbers are a free food. Enjoy a big serving. These are great alongside grilled meats, burgers, and dogs.

Sliced cucumbers

Sliced onion, one medium

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup white sugar

1 TB dill (optional, I left it out because Grandma never added it! Delicious!)

Place cucumbers and onion in a bowl. Bring vinegar, water, and white sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and add dill, if desired. Pour hot brine over vegetables and cover. Refrigerate until chilled.

CSA Box Two

I am a dork this way, but seriously, these boxes are better than Christmas to me.

This week, the goodie box contained: baby kale, more salad greens, green onions, cucumber, and spinach. All delicious.

I washed and sauteed the spinach to serve with grilled salmon. Not really a recipe because it's so easy. Wash and remove large stems from spinach. In a very large, I mean huge pan, add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Add a heaping teaspoon of fresh, minced garlic. Saute quickly and until leaves are tender and dark green. Young One loves to watch the huge bag of spinach become next to nothing. Drain slightly and sprinkle with Parmesan or Romano Cheese. Serve with a slotted spoon.

CSA Box One

I'm a big supporter of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Basically, CSAs give you a chance to support your local economy by backing a small farmer with "seed money" and then watching it grow and enjoying a share in their bounty all season long. My CSA is Community Homestead. A delightful community where disabled and able adults live and work together.

This was my first box. I'm a little behind updating and am actually on week three, so I'm going to try to catch you up here with a few posts.

Included in our box this week: spinach, Asian cabbage, green onions, rhubarb, broccoli, spicy salad greens, lettuce and beet greens.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on those greens, so I washed them all and used my handy dandy salad spinner to spin them dry. I've always found that if I wash greens right away when I bring them home, I'm more likely to use them.

I had a small salad for lunch. It had been since last Spring that I'd had such a fresh salad (when I pulled greens from my own little garden plot). I'd forgotten how delicious they are when fresh and not bagged for weeks and sitting on store refrigerator shelves. The cucumber was amazing.

I think we Americans have forgotten what fresh really means!

Included in my first box was a recipe for Asian Cabbage Slaw. I made it for dinner that night, not having any other ideas as to how to use the Asian Cabbage. It was so wonderful, but made a ton of dressing, which I saved to use on other salads. My head of Asian cabbage was small. Those found in the produce section of your grocery store are usually much larger, so perhaps the dressing amount is geared towards that. Delicious. I would take this to summer BBQs and prepare to be asked for the recipe, which you will find below.

Asian Cabbage Slaw

Crisp and sweet, this salad is a full meal itself. Or serve alongside a Asian inspired marinated grilled meat. If you're trying to watch what you eat, cut down on the sesame seeds and almonds tremendously (I did and it was still delicious). Also, drizzle a small amount of dressing on and toss until leaves appear coated and shiny. You don't need much.

1 head Asian cabbage, washed and thinly sliced

1 small bunch green onions, cleaned and sliced

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar (I bet rice wine vinegar would be great too)

1 TB soy sauce

Toast sesame seeds and almonds in a skillet coated with nonstick spray. Watch carefully, and remove from pan immediately when seeds begin to lightly brown. Place white sugar, oil, vinegar, and soy sauce in a jar. Shake to combine. Toss cabbage and onions, drizzle with dressing and toss until leaves are coated. Sprinkle with seeds and nuts and toss again. Serve immediately. Only dress what you think you will eat, we've found that this salad doesn't keep once it's dressed.