The Suburban Herbivore

And in share #6 of 20, the summer produce begins! Today we received yellow squash, zucchini, parsley, and… basil. I’ve been excitedly awaiting the arrival of basil. I love to use it in Thai dishes, as well as, of course, pesto. Once the tomatoes start, the easiest thing ever to make is a caprese salad. (More on that later.)

We also received beets, strawberries, broccoli, and a giant head of cauliflower. I think I’m going to need to bust out a roasted vegetables dish to go through the remaining beets and turnips. Or maybe we can grill them. Hmmm.

After four hours of cooking, here’s what I have left:

1/2 lb beets
7 small turnips
1 lb bok choy
7 radishes

And here’s what I made:

Thai Curried Vegetables

Sugar snap peas, broccoli, carrots, and onions were used to make this simple curry. I also added some tofu. Based off a recipe in Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, I wasn’t happy enough with this to share how I made it. I cooked the broccoli and snap peas briefly before adding them to the curry, and I think this made them too soft and mushy.

I’ve made this a few times before. It features beets and dried cranberries, and yes, it really is that color. Risotto in general is just delicious, and this dish is no exception. Cinnamon and cloves add depth to the sweetness of the beets. This is from Lorna Sass’s Recipes From an Ecological Kitchen.

I’m not sure what makes the spices particularly Moroccan, as it was just cumin, turmeric, and cayenne, but this was a very tasty way to use up all those greens. It called for preserved lemon, which I didn’t have, so I added a few splashes of lemon juice instead. Check out Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone for the recipe.

This was another banner week. Nearly all of the produce so far has just been exceptional. And, thankfully, we have a week off from lettuce, as I still have an entire bunch left from last time. We received several new items: yellow, orange, and purple carrots, as well as sugar snap peas. And, of course, broccoli, kale, cabbage, onions, turnips, boc choi, and the best batch of strawberries yet.

I already have plans for the broccoli, in the form of a tofu stir-fry. But I think I’m going to need to cook up another mess of greens this weekend. And probably some beet risotto. And maybe I can make some soup somewhere in there, too.

The produce is beautiful this week! We received swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, beets, broccoli, cabbage, and some lovely strawberries. This year, we are getting a full share and splitting it with friends, so fortunately, they took the cabbage and I am not on the hook for figuring out what to do with it. Generally, a half share is suggested to be a good amount for one to two people, and I’d say that’s right on. I think I’d have to quit my job if I was going to cook everything in a full share myself.

But I feel like things have not been going well here. I still have a entire head of lettuce and all the spinach (one pound) from last week. Plus the beets, radishes, and turnips, but I’m not as concerned about those. Perhaps if I eat salad for lunch and supper today, that will make a sufficient dent in the lettuce, and I might try steaming and freezing the spinach. At least last week’s spinach…