CSA Standard Share Week 15: Easy Tips for Planning

Hello CSAers! I thought this week I would try to share some tips for using up your CSA and for meal planning. I feel like I have turned into a broken record with ways that Manatee and I have been preparing our foods (diced carrots mixed with ground beef dishes, steamed green beans, grilled corn) so instead I will just share some tips that we have tried to use to make sure we eat everything before it goes bad.

Here is what we got this week:

Tomatoes and hot peppers
Red peppers
Watermelon
Collard greens
Onions
Kohlrabi
Garlic
Carrots
Cherry tomatoes
Green beans

• We have gotten a lot of garlic this year. I love garlic because you can keep it for so long without having to worry about it. If you don’t like the strong taste of garlic in your food and would rather have a hint of garlic, then use this trick: Heat up some oil in a pan and add a garlic clove. Let it cook for a 1-2 minutes and then remove the garlic clove before adding your meat or vegetable to the pan. The oil will be infused with the garlic taste without it overpowering the dish.
• We also have a lot of carrots. If you are having trouble getting through all of them, try shredding some carrots and keeping them handy to throw on top of salads, tacos or sandwiches. The carrots add a nice sweetness.
• We are starting to get a lot of red peppers. Red peppers are great raw but they get old. Try roasting them. You can add roasted peppers to salads, sandwiches or serve them with grilled meat. You could also puree them with some olive oil for a salad dressing. Yum!
• Having trouble getting your kids to eat lettuce?

  

  Try serving your meals on top of a piece or two of lettuce. This works really well for grilled chicken or fish. It’s less intimidating when it’s incorporated into the meal and makes your entree look like a fancy restaurant meal.

• Meal planning: We were on vacation last week so we still have last week’s share in the fridge.  When I picked up this week’s share, I was a little overwhelmed and so naturally, I started making lists (Badger Girl is a little OCD if you haven’t noticed). I made a list of all the produce we have to eat. Then I went through our freezer and pantry to see what has been sitting there for awhile. I jotted down what we had and then compared it with the produce. Having those lists are making it easier to plan meals and to use when looking through recipes.
• Confession: I am completely perplexed on what to do with collard greens. What’s your favorite dish?

Enjoy all of the produce. I would love to hear from you on what you plan to do this week. 🙂