CSA Week #2

OMG!  OMG!  OMG!  OMG! 

ASPARAGUS HAS ARRIVED!!!

Ever since reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, I have been patiently (and, at times, not so patiently) awaiting the arrival of spring in order to eat asparagus.  Week after week, I have snubbed the neatly packed stalks from Peru at Trader Joes (yes, the ones I used to buy, week after week, without fail, before reading the book). 

I have missed asparagus.  I have longed for it.  I have eyed it on restaurant menus and dejectedly asked for a side of something "in season" instead.

But now it is here!

I opened my CSA bag last night and actually gasped.  Thin, beautiful, asparagus stalks.  Plenty of them.  Fresh.  Local.  Sustainably-grown.  In season. 

There were other things, too: lettuce, kale, carrots, spring onions, thyme, and sage.  [Admittedly, CSA Virgin had to consult a "Visual Guide to Fresh Herbs" to figure out that the thyme was thyme.]

I couldn't wait to dive in to all of it, especially my long-awaited asparagus.  But it was 9:30 at night -- no time to cook.  So I made another simple salad of the lettuce, carrots, and -- yes -- the asparagus.

It was as glorious as I thought it would be.  I spent the night dreaming of what I would make with the rest.  

Simple Salad

The simple salad I made with my first CSA delivery turned out to be so fresh and delicious that I had to make it again.  This time I didn't even bother with the carrots.  It was just crisp lettuce, white vinegar, chipotle-infused olive oil, and black pepper.

I served it with a few crustless spinach mini quiches and a clementine.  Heaven. On. Earth.

The best thing about "spring" food is how easy it is to prepare!  No more hours in the kitchen hacking away at butternut squash and then oiling it, roasting it, cooling it, scooping it, etc.  Lettuce just gets washed and put on a plate!  I never appreciated that before, but now I do!

CSA Week #1

My first delivery of vegetables from Practically Organic Community-Sponsored Agriculture has arrived!!!

The first delivery contained lettuce, kale, cabbage, bok choy, carrots and herbs, all grown sustainably only four miles from my house.  Everything is so bright and fresh and green!  I am so thrilled!

My first experience with CSA vegetables was a spectacular failure, so I decided to keep it simple this time.

I made a salad of lettuce and carrots, then topped it with white vinegar, chipotle-infused olive oil, and a dash of black pepper.  So crunchy and wonderful!  There is nothing like fresh veggies!