Although I only had a few days to cook before we left on our family trip to Alabama to see relatives, I felt like I had to make the most of this week’s box. Nothing makes me more sad than having to toss beautiful produce, so I tried to use up as much as I could – by either eating, freezing, or preserving.
The good news is that I got through most of it.
And there was a lot to get through – here is what we received in this week’s box:
- Kirby cucumbers
- Radishes*
- Tomatoes*
- Buttercrunch lettuce
- Green beans
- Fresh garlic
- Parsley
- Garlic scapes
- Yellow onions
- Basil
- Broccoli
- Kale
- Zucchini
- Carrots
I just had to take this shot of Action Jackson working his way around the vegetables – our boy is never too far out of reach from our food. Even this guy will eat his greens…
I did have some help this week – at the beginning of the week I received an incredible set of cheeses from my friends at the Vermont Creamery. My fridge was packed with crème fraiche, mascarpone, aged goat cheese in all kinds of shapes, sizes and maturities. When you start with great ingredients, it’s almost hard not to cook delicious meals.
One of the first things that I made with my new cheese stash was a whipped rosemary goat cheese spread, which is perfect as a light meal on toasted bread and fresh tomatoes.
To make the whipped goat cheese spread:
Soften a 4-oz package of goat cheese, and then whip with a handheld mixer until crumbly. Add a few tablespoons of heavy cream, and continue to whip until light and fluffy. Add a tablespoon or two of chopped rosemary, and serve alongside toast, grilled bread, or even on top of grilled fruit. Fabulous especially on peaches with a drizzle of honey.
And with a few logs of crumbly goat cheese, I knew that I’d be making tartines for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
This one has some of the leftover pesto from Week 3’s box (click here for the recipe), and is topped with some goat cheese crumbles and pickled chard stems that are still kicking it in my fridge, courtesy of Week 1’s box (click here for the recipe).
A few weeks ago I’d picked up some smoked trout at the grocery store. Fresh fish is hard to come by in our area, but smoked salmon and smoked trout are readily available and delicious, so I’ve been trying to use them where I can. The crème fraiche from Vermont Creamery had smoked trout spread written all over it. Don’t judge before you try it – it’s wonderful. My husband quickly changed his opinion from “I’ll probably pass on that” to “damn this is delicious” once he’d taken his first bite. It’s not at all fishy- just creamy, smoky and a little salty. Perfect as a dip for my fresh, super crunchy CSA vegetables.
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