CSA Box: Week 3

So our Community Supported Agriculture membership with Redland Organics began just before Thanksgiving. For those new to the term, a CSA is a program where members sign on with a local farm or group of farms before the growing season, paying for a weekly box of produce throughout the upcoming season. The farmers use the investment to purchase seeds, fertilizer, etc. without having to pay interest to a bank. The members in turn get a box of of local, seasonal, and frequently organic produce each week. We pick ours up at a member's house conveniently located in Coconut Grove.

But it's Winter! Well, Florida is special because the growing season is reversed, we plant in the Fall and harvest through the Winter and Spring.

Anyhow, I think it might be interesting to list what we receive and what we end up doing with it.

Week 1

• Some stalks of lemongrass (went into stirfrys and curries)
• A bunch of Dill (went into previously posted dill pickles)
• Green Beans (went into Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving)
• Mizuna (salads)
• Baby Bok Choy (Stirfry)
• White Asian Salad Turnips w/tops (Hakurei turnips. These were really good, went into salads and stirfry)
• Lettuce (salad. Duh.)
• 'Kirby' Pickling Cucumbers (4 went into Dill Pickles, 4 into Sweet Pickles. Both really good.)
• a Monroe Avocado (guacamole)
• Extras: a Canistel (ate when ripe, mmmm eggfruit)

Week 2

• Pei Tsai (asian green = salads)
• A tomato (into sandwiches)
• Three baby butternut squashes (Two went into an awesome Squash and Apple Soup, one went into Callaloo)
• Mint (Mojitos!)
• Another Monroe Avocado (isn't ripe yet)
• Two Black Sapotes (almost ripe, cookies?)
• Callaloo (actually a sort of vegetable amaranth known as pig weed. Made a Trinidadian Callaloo. It was so-so.)
  

And now this week:

Week 3

• Four Yellow Squashes (will probably grill)
• A smallish Daikon radish (will pickle for Bahn Mi's! Vietnamese sandwiches that are some of the tastiest things on Earth.)
• Hon Tsai Tai (Salads? Stirfry?)
• A pint of Cherry Tomatoes (Actually kinda big, probably in salad)
• Green Bell Peppers (grill or salad)
• A nice Eggplant (Baba Ghanoush!)
• Salad Mix: arugula, mizuna, tatsoi, lettuce (um, salad.)
• Thyme (should have been in last week's. I'll thyme something or other...)
• Roselle (Jamaican Sorrel/Hibiscus. I have NO IDEA. But it looks really, really cool. Probably try making a tea, and take some to Seattle for Christmas centerpiece decoration)
• Didn't take extras this week, as we're leaving in a couple days
  

The cookbook didn't come in the box, but it will be the end of the eggplant. That's the Roselle up in the left corner.