First Share, New Blog

This is our third year participating in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with a local farm.  I've been getting a lot of questions from friends starting their first CSA about what to do with what they get.  We're children of the 90's who grew up with Captain Planet's environmental message, and are trying to live it out using our disposable income, but don't have a clue what a "kohlrabi" is.

I decided to write this blog to help share my experiences with CSA produce with anybody who loves fresh, organic, local produce, but just doesn't know what to do with any of it.  My blog posts will have two parts:  The first will list what produce I get each week, the second half will be a recipe.  Common items between the list and recipe will be bolded, so people get an idea of how much (or how little) of a share gets be used in a single dish.

CSA Share 6/19/2012

• 1 bunch of Cilantro
• 1 bunch of Rosemary
• 2 bunches of Garlic Scapes
• 1 lb. Sugar-snap Peas
• 2 lbs. Kohlrabi
• 2 lbs. Young Turnips
• 1 bunch Scallions
• 1 head of Redleaf Lettuce
• 1 head of Bibb Lettuce
• 1 head of Curly Kale
• 1 Head of Red Russian Kale
• 2 pints of Strawberries.

Vegetarian Pad Thai - This is by no means an authentic recipe.  While it looks complicated, this is a great way to use up a whole bunch of different produce at once.  Don't limit yourself to the produce listed below (heck, you don't even have to keep it vegetarian if you don't want to), use whatever is fresh and in season.  You just want to keep a balance between soft and crunch, leaves and roots/bulbs/etc in your dish.  Some substitutions are included for the weirder ingredients.

The Sauce

• Three limes, juiced.
• Three heaping tablespoons of peanutbutter (creamy or chunky)
• Two tablespoons Fish Sauce (sub in soy sauce)
• One teaspoon sesame oil
• Two tablespoons of coconut oil (sub in olive or canola oil)
• One good squeeze of Sriracha (sub other hot sauces, or leave out)
• One good squeeze of honey
• One bunch of Cilantro, chopped fine
• Half a bunch of scallions, sliced on a bias into little rings

The Noodles

• 1/2 box of wide Thai rice noodles
• One large onion, chopped.
• One bunch of garlic scapes, cut in half (approx. noodle length)
• Two heads of kohlrabi, leaves chopped and bulbs cut into matchsticks
• Leaves from the young turnips, chopped.  Leave the actual roots for something else.
• 1/2 lb of sugar snap peas, leafy tips and veins removed
• Handfull of peanuts, chopped.

Start soaking the noodles according to package directions.   Add the onions in a large skillet over medium heat.  While onions are browning, assemble your sauce, stirring together all of the liquid ingredients until smooth, then adding the herbs.  Set the sauce aside.  When the onions are a light golden color, add the garlic scapes, stirring occasionally.  Next add the kohlrabi and stir more.  Once the kohlrabi sticks are just a little bit soft, add in your leaves, and keep stirring (this is essentially a stir fry, something that CSA subscribers come to love).  Cover the pan and let all the veggies steam for about 10 minutes, or until their the desired softness.  Add your snap-peas and peanuts last, you want them to stay crunchy. 

Once snap peas are warmed through, add in your noodles and 1/2 of your sauce.  Stir all the ingredients together.  The noodles will absorb quite a bit of sauce and become a big, sticky mess.  When this happens, add the rest of your sauce and they'll loosen up.  Serve hot, with a slice of lime and some leftover cilantro sprigs for garnish (if you're trying to impress someone).