So, as promised, here's the haul!    It's very, VERY green... which I LOVE.  I love the challenge put forth too and getting the kids to try everything in this bin (including radishes and garlic scapes).


Over on the right you'll see that there's 2 quarts of strawberries and a pint of sugarsnap peas.  Um.  Those disappeared within the first 24 hours that I brought them home.  I just left them out on the table and they were eaten as is.  The peas were, by far, their favorite and I only actually got to try maybe 2 or 3 of them before realizing that they were completely gone!



Next we have 2 bunches of Kale, 1 bunch of rainbow chard, 1 head of Green Leaf lettuce, and one head of Buttercrunch lettuce.    The first thing I did was make a huge tossed 100% green salad with some kale, Green Leaf and Buttercrunch lettuce to put in the fridge for dinner accompaniment/snack.  I will continue to replenish the bowl as it empties out during the week. 



To finish off the Butter Crunch lettuce, Sunday dinner this week is going to consist of some Seared Steak and Veggie Lettuce Cups.  These cups will also feature the garlic scapes as a background flavor.     I will update the blog later in the week with my recipe/any modification ideas that I come up with to make it super-kid-tempting.

So, that leaves us with 1 small bunch each of rainbow chard and kale.  These will be going into one of my favorite recipes:  Smoked Pork with Greens and White beans.   I'll share this recipe later this week along with the Lettuce Cups.

And then, we are left with a bunch of radishes.  Um.  So... nobody in our house actually likes radishes raw.   At all.   But, I figured out a trick a little while back when I had a leftover veggie tray (FULL OF RADISHES):  They make really tastey, crunchy, not-at-all-spicey pickles. I'll be lacto-fermenting this bunch whole in 2% brine along with the remaining garlic scapes for a little added flavor.  They'll be ready in about a week, and I'll share the process with everyone once they're complete.


Summer time with the kids actually came early this year when preschool ended the first week in June.  Things around here have been nothing short of hectic, trying to keep 2 preschoolers entertained, but I'm so glad we decided to do this CSA project. It gives us all a great thing to focus on and my eldest really enjoys going with me to pick up our box every week.

We even made some stone "markers" with veggies on them one day while we were waiting for pickup to start.  I wanted to get the kids as involved as possible with the process and what better way that with arts and crafts that require a picnic trip to the park/lakeshore?




That's acrylic paint on Lake Ontario stones from the nearby lake shore.  I let the kids do the initial painting, and then I went over it to define a few parameters/make things a little more recognizable.  

Hope you're enjoying Summer and the abundance of green that's suddenly available!