Week 2: Strawberry Freezer Pops

As in years past, our CSA season has started off with a whole mess of green leafy things and a couple of quarts of luscious strawberries. Some people might consider it a sacrilege to alter said strawberries in any fashion, but we are not such people. We are definitely not such people during a legitimate heat wave. Besides, these freezer pops are only the teensiest step away from fresh fruit.

Of course, strawberries are one of the easiest items in the CSA share to use up, and I'm guessing you might want to know what's happened to that whole mess of green leafy things. So before we get to this week's recipe, here's a quick rundown of some of the other foods we've been eating:

• Kale, held over from last week, never made it to the freezer. Instead, I boiled and drained it; seasoned it with sauteed garlic, a little olive oil, salt, and lemon; and mixed it into leftover spaghetti.
• Arugula and red leaf lettuce became a salad with scallions, strawberries, and my balsamic vinaigrette.
• Another head of leaf lettuce went into a braise with onions, garlic, and salmon, based on this recipe from Everyday Food. As far as cooked lettuce goes, I'm going to stick with grilled or stir-fried romaine. But the fish was very good, and the dinner reduced the volume of lettuce in our refrigerator considerably.
• Collard greens received the "stuffed cabbage" treatment with a tabbouleh-influenced filling of bulgur wheat, mint, parsley, carrots, and bell pepper. Not bad, but still a work in progress.
• Radishes are not in the "green leafy" category, but we've had a lot of them, too. Last week, some became pickles (David Lebovitz's recipe); some went into a "summer roll" (aka fresh spring roll) along with more mint. I had high hopes for the summer rolls, and I did like the vegetable combination, but I was completely turned off by the gelatinous cellophane noodles and the equally gelatinous rice paper wrappers. Still, if you want to take a stab at this, you could start with this recipe here. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Strawberry Freezer Pops
(adapted from Everyday Food)

2 cups halved, hulled strawberries
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice (about 1/2 lime)

Combine ingredients in a blender. Puree, scraping down sides as needed.

Divide puree among four 3-ounce freezer-pop molds. Freeze until solid, 4 to 6 hours. Run molds under hot tap water to release pops just before serving.

Week 5: A Quick CSA Primer

THIS WEEK’S HITS: Vegetarian “Cajun” Collards and Chard, Chickpeas and Feta

Broadly speaking, Community Supported Agriculture is a system of shared risk. You pay in advance for a share of the harvest and you assume some of the farmer’s risks in growing it.

There are different models for this. Some CSA programs are run by a single farm; others are cooperatives. Some operate in an Iron Chef mode: Your bag of “secret ingredients” is revealed each week. Others offer credits or “free choice” so you can bag your own mix of produce from the available harvest. Still others require members to work on the farm as part of their share.

What’s available from a CSA, in terms of quantity and variety, can vary considerably, depending on weather, critters, Acts of God, and the farm’s commitments to retail outlets. It’s not necessarily a money-saver -- though I certainly squirreled away a lot of food last fall. It’s more about eating well and supporting local agriculture.

I love our CSA program, and it’s a good fit for us. It helps that The Programmer and I like vegetables, like to cook, and are willing to experiment with unfamiliar food. I know where my vegetables are being grown and I know the guy who’s growing them.

That’s a benefit also offered by farmers’ markets and farm stands. If a CSA share is not a practical option for you (and you know who you are), I encourage you to patronize your local growers for fresh, seasonal produce. Local food is good eating!

The past week was a light one for our CSA, which is still recovering from a gloomy June. We received Swiss chard, beets, Boston and red leaf lettuce, collard greens, sage plants for our own garden, and a voucher for pick-your-own fruit later this season. Still, it was a good week of dinners. Chard, Chickpeas and Feta was a side dish to baked cod. Several recipes are available on the Web; I started with the one here, substituting red onion for green. I pickled the beets in a mustard vinaigrette and I roasted chicken with parsley, thyme, and our newly acquired sage.

Collard greens were a new one for us. (Yes, The Programmer grew up in Florida, but his Miami upbringing was closer in spirit to New York than anywhere in the Deep South.)

Unlike many traditional recipes for collards, this one – slightly modified from one found on About.com -- includes no pork and has a fairly short cooking time. I served the greens with the roasted chicken. They were even better reheated the next day.

Vegetarian “Cajun” Collards

Ingredients

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil, for sauteeing
1 bunch collard greens, rinsed, stemmed, and chopped
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained with liquid reserved
Reserved tomato liquid plus water to make 3/4 cup
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat a little olive oil in a Dutch oven and sauté the onions and garlic until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the collard greens and the reserved tomato liquid and water. Cook, covered, for about 8 minutes, or until the greens have softened slightly. Add the tomato pieces and spices and simmer, covered, for another 8 minutes or until the greens are done to your liking. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Week 2: Salad Days

THIS WEEK'S HIT: Beans and Greens Soup

When the CSA gives you lettuce, you make salad. And stir-fry. And maybe cooked lettuce and peas, but only once.

This week's basket was similar to last week's, with lettuce, strawberries, radishes, and rhubarb, plus baby beet greens and Tuscan kale. The baby beet greens I sauteed with onions and shitake mushrooms and served over pasta (yumm); the rhubarb and some of the strawberries went into a crisp (Moosewood Cookbook; highly recommended); and the kale went into a hearty soup that makes a nice meal with a side salad. After all, we had a lot of salad available.

I received the soup recipe a year or two ago in the mail with a supermarket promotion that credits it to "the Taste for Life test kitchen." The paraphased version:

Beans and Greens Soup

Ingredients

olive oil, for sauteeing
1 large onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced [I used more]
4 cups broth or water [I used about 6 cups of water to accommodate the large head of greens that I had]
salt and pepper to taste [you can add other spices or herbs, of course]
2 cans (15 ounce) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch greens (kale, collards, spinach, etc.), cleaned and sliced or chopped
Parmesan cheese, for garnish, optional

Directions

In a large soup pot, saute onion, tomato, celery, carrot, and garlic until the vegetables begin to soften and the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes more. Stir in beans and greens. Cook until the greens are just tender, 5 to 15 minutes depending on variety. Serve in bowls and top with cheese if desired.