Week 3, the reckoning.
I look forward anxiously to the summer CSA all year and its magical berries and veg, and then at some point it hits. This was that week. It's on.
The farm described this week's haul as "cornucopic" which is a word I'm going to have to bring into rotation.
This is the week where we weren't all that close to done with last week's veg and then it all came in. The week I was afraid to look at the fridge.
These berries look fantastic, but they taste three times better than they look.
Carrots. I still have some of last week's carrots. Me and carrots need to make some plans.
I look forward to scape time every year, and yet I still haven't used last week's scapes which means I'm overwhelmed with garlic scapes right now. Sure, I could make it all into a pesto and throw it in the freezer, and that's better than gambling on them staying fresh, but I want to do more with them, something exciting. I haven't been home in the evenings to cook much, so this weekend I'd better take care of all of it.
Responsible home cook that I am, I looked at the bounty of strawberries, peered into the fridge at the few shriveled and dark berries from last week and whipped up some Strawberrry Balsamic Dressing. Five good berries and the remainder of last week's, taken care of. This is the last week for strawberries.
This cabbage is the stuff of nightmares, and I like cabbage, but the size of it, it's like twice the size of my head. It barely fits in the fridge. I worry that I'll be chilling on the couch and I'll hear the fridge door creak open and some sort of horrifying infant with "Xavier Roberts" scrawled on it's ass will be coming to get me, all Tiyanak-style.
If I cut into it, the cabbage clock starts ticking and I'll have to use it faster, but if I don't cut into it, it's just going to take up my whole fridge.
Scallions, which are great except I still have some in the fridge.
Chard is easy, chard goes in everything, but I still think I'm going to blanch and freeze it just to make room.
Shell peas.
Radishes. Good lookin' radishes. Did I use last weeks, not get any last week, or lose them in my fridge already? Either way, these guys are welcome.
Oregano. I'm not great at fresh herbs. I'm pretty good at it when I have a plant around, but I don't know how to plan to use a giant mass of oregano this week, so it went straight to the freezer, and since I'm actually 11 years old, I labelled it, "Oregano," with the quotes. I do this every time. I always laugh.
Sous Chef Brian purchased this cucumber and these tomatoes at the CSA's farmstand. He bought lettuce too, but I couldn't bear to photograph it. So much veg. I think we need to discuss the differences in our interpretations of the word "cornucopic."
Also, we got dairy. Unfamiliar "mild, Italian-style cheese," and tofu. Tofu's easy, straight to the freezer.
I thought I was clever and that I'd make room for all of this by moving some of last week's zucchini along. I Googled up some zucchini bread recipes and got to it. Turns out, my three zucchini were barely dented by the 2 cups of shredded veg needed for a bread. Also, hey, why is zucchini bread considered bread and carrot cake is cake?
So I've done what I can do in a night, but the reality is that I have far too much veg. And big dining out plans for the weekend.