Learning the Chard Way

Today was our first CSA (community supported agriculture) pick-up from Koch Ranches.  The spread:

Chard threatens to take over the counter.

One bunch of cilantro (so fragrant), one head of lettuce, one head each of cauliflower and broccoli, six stems of Swiss chard, two bunches of radishes (red and white) and cherry tomatoes.  Plus one pound of pork sausage and six eggs; just the perfect amount for two people.

Two of the eggs are a very light aquamarine; I've never seen that. 

In preparation for CSA cooking I browsed veggie cookbooks and checked out Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka.

Great cover, no?

I tackled the chard first as it is huge and seemingly the most time-sensitive.  I made the Chard and Lentil soup and Elegant Chard Gratin from Vegetable Love to use both the leaves and stems, respectively, for a chard-ariffic supper.  The soup also called for cilantro - two birds with one stone!

     I thought I might be pushing my luck as Luke hates lentils and (less so) cilantro.  I didn't grow up eating lentils and probably have had them no more than a handful of times in my life.  Luke, on the other hand, harbors a deep-seated hatred stemming from his childhood.  He was a good sport and ate the soup, though he referred to lentils as

                                               Tiny little grosslings

                                    

                                                             and

                                             

                                               Dreaded torture-beans

The gratin was quite delicious; a crustless quiche.  Yum.

We topped the soup with Gruyere in the hopes of masking the lentilness.

(Although I've had them for a while, I finally used these great reusable produce bags from Crate and Barrel to put away the produce.  Just wash and re-use to avoid all the plastic bags at the grocery store).

A very good start to CSA cooking- a departure for me as I am used to picking out recipes, shopping accordingly, cooking, starting over.  I've never been presented with a bunch of ingredients I had to figure out how to use as a starting point.  My hope is twofold; that we will rely on locally-sourced produce and meat (and eat less meat overall) and I will gain culinary improvisation skills.


NON SEQUITUR: check out this lovely duet- performed in a stairwell!

Have a great week, everyone!