A review of our first two weeks in a CSA!

So, I finally broke Alex down and convinced him that we ARE hippy-dippy enough to be like the rest of our friends and join a CSA this year. Now, my wonderful Brooklyn friends Maria and Willie didn't have a lot of luck with theirs last year, I went ahead and crossed my fingers that we would have a better experience up here in Nouvelle-Angleterre. Plus, the one we joined came recommended by my friend and classmate, Amanda, so I figured it was worth a shot.

We're two weeks in, and here's what we got so far...

Week 1 - A head of broccoli, a head of lettuce, a bunch of swiss chard, and a bunch of white turnips
Week 2 - A head of lettuce, a bunch of kale, scallions, and a giant head of cabbage

The first week was pretty exciting. I used the broccoli in a salad one day, and then steamed it as a side with some frozen dumplings on a day when I needed something really quick. I used the turnips + some sweet potatoes I had already to make a delicious fatty-fat full of cheese turnip gratin, based off of this recipe. And then with the swiss chard, I made this yummy goat cheese soup and a gratin with the stalks. Our week was full of Swiss cheese (gruyère) and swiss chard, so you can't really go wrong. Plus, I got so jealous of people who bought the fruit share (which we didn't) that I made Alex buy strawberries and rhubarb from the regular grocery store, so I could make a pie :) YUM.

This second week was slightly less awesome. Kale is always a hit, because we are hooked on kale chips. I whipped up the whole bunch of it with some olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper and baked it on a cookie sheet, for a super yummy snack/side. Not sure if I'll get to the scallions, because I just never know what to do with those. Lettuce is always good for a salad and on sandwiches, but we probably won't get through it before we get another head of it on Tuesday (most likely). The cabbage...I was a little mystified. So I tried a new recipe that I thought would be awesome. I then forced people to eat them at my birthday party yesterday, and the reviews were good. They were a ton of work though, and I think I just don't like cabbage.

We shall see what comes this week!