Planning week of meals around CSA boxes - Page 4

[CrunchyParent]

I wrote about what I got this week and what I did with it here, and can I please extend a formal invitation (or whatever the PC term is for begging these days) to have you all stop by my blog when you get a chance to share your ideas for what you do with your CSA goodies (i.e., great recipes to gobble the goodies now, and ideas to extend the season/make good use of the surplus)? My first year I did a lot of freezing. My second year I added some canning. This year (year #3) I'm looking for some more inspiration.

[CrunchyParent]

Originally Posted by mudmama

Well, we got our first box this week. Any ideas on Lovage or Tarragon?? I know I can dry them and save them, but I did this last year and never used them.
thanx!!

I looooove tarragon (my favorite herb). You could infuse it in vinegar, use it (and mint as well) to make a great herbed chicken salad, make outstanding bernaise sauce and put over any other yummy veggie (like zucchini, broccoli, etc)., add it to tea for a little somehing different, etc.

[abandbunk]

Hey! we canceled our box for a period of time, but today we started getting it again, i am so happy !
so today we got
spinach
romaine
carrots
spring onions
nectarines
black plums
russetts
tons of celery
red delicious apples
garnet yams
TONS of snap peas (so SO yummy, we ate about half tonight )
bartlett red pears

and i think that is it (we originally had green kale and red beets too but i swapped them for the russets and the extra celery).

anyway, most of this stuff i know things to do w/but the spinach, well, we have a ton of it, any ideas?

[dis]

Can we freeze spinach? We only got one bunch in our CSA box last week, but I just don't think I can work it into any of our meals before it goes bad. I'd like to just toss it in the freezer and use it for spinach dip or spanikopita or something in a few weeks. Maybe I'll just wash it and chuck it in there, see what happens - better than just letting it go bad.

Here's a trick I've discovered recently: greens will stay fresher much longer if you put them in a ziploc bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, then use a straw to suck out the remaining air. The lettuce looks like it's been vacuum packed, and I've found I get another 2-3 days before it starts to wilt. And if it's just started to wilt a bit, putting a damp paper towel in the bag before you seal it up seems to help the lettuce perk up again. We get a lot of lettuce from our CSA, and even if we eat salad with dinner every day some of it can start to turn before we get through it.

[BetsyS]

You can freeze spinach if you cook it first. Just steam it or saute it or however you like, then freeze it in ziploc bags. Works great.

You could probably also premake the spanikopita and put the whole thing in the freezer to make supper easier in a few weeks.

[dis]

Usually I would premake spanikopita, but I just don't have time this week! Steaming the spinach I can manage.

[CrunchyParent]

You might also just want to make it into a super-quick side dish. We generally just toss it in a pan and sautee with some EVOO, garlic, and a splash of lemon. Because it cooks down so much we can generally eat bunches and bunches in one meal this way. Spinach is ALWAYS the first thing we go through each week.

[sophiekat]

or there's a fantastic, super easy pasta you can make with spinach and goat cheese, i boil a box of penne and while its cooking mix 1 small log goat cheese with a couple cloves roasted garlic (i always have some in the fridge), salt, pepper, and as many handfuls of spinach will fit in your food processor and blend until smooth. you can thin it a bit with some of the pasta water, then drain your pasta and mix together. the hot pasta makes the goat cheese all melty and SOOOOOOO good!