CSA Box Week 14...and freezing veggies

I've been on vacation and now back! It's been a while since I posted so here's this week's veggie box. From my last box I received (Week 12), I blanched and froze some of my veggies such as corn, kale, and swiss chard to eat them for later in the winter. I certainly wish I could eat them fresh, but this is the next best option since I couldn't finish them, plus I wanted to enjoy some summer veggies during the winter months. As I was preparing for freezing, I felt like a bear, getting ready for hibernation and storing extra food away. :) Here's a link on freezing vegetables - it has an easy to read table listing the length of time to blanch each type of vegetable. When trying to remove all of that air from the plastic bag, one trick is to seal up the bag except a small area. Insert a small straw there and inhale the air out of the bag.

Here's this week's box of food (1 and a half times my normal food box size):





Here are some of the dishes I made:

sauteed iceberg lettuce	Corn Chowder
eggplant with spicy peanut sauce	Chocolate zucchini bread
Zucchini Frittata	Garlic Bread

Thai Lettuce Wrap

Mmmm..lettuce wraps are a great way to use up a mix of veggies and that lettuce you have in your fridge. Iceberg lettuce is best for this recipe, but you could probably replace it with red leaf or romaine.

Thai Lettuce Wrap

Lettuce & Potato Soup

After a week of sitting in the fridge, I finally decided to make use of that head of lettuce. I wanted to try something different with lettuce, instead of using it in a salad. This is a great way to use up some extra lettuce you have on hand! Just like any soup, the base of the soup holds everything together, so be sure to use your favorite broth. I used Rapunzel Pure Organic Vegetable Soup Broth. Enjoy!

Makes about 4 servings

1 large head of lettuce, torn into pieces - I used red leaf
1 cup of onions, sliced
2 tablespoons of butter
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
2 tablespoons tarragon
2 medium potatoes, diced
3 cups of great tasting vegetable broth
1/4 cup of heavy cream or milk ( or soymilk)
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and onions and cook for just a few minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are tender and lightly browned.
2. Add the lettuce, chives, tarragon, and broth. Increase heat to high until broth comes to a slight boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes. simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
4. With a hand blender, or food processor, puree the soup in batches.
5. Stir in the heavy cream/milk. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve!

Salads Galore!

I didn't intend to make a dinner full of salads but it just happened to come out that way! It was a great way to clear a lot of veggies I had in the frig. Can you say salad buffet? I guess you can call it summer cleaning. It's great for a hot summer evening to cool you off after a warm day out.

Here was my dinner - Roasted Beets Salad, Broccoli Mix Salad with dressing, and Lettuce Salad.

The broccoli salad was delicious! The combination of broccoli sprinkled with some gala apples, crisy shallots, and red onions topped with the almond butter-based salad dressing was actually quite filling and flavorful. I didn't have any walnuts on hand (the recipe had called for it) but it was still great. Next time I will definitely need to add it to the mix! Here's the close up of the salad. Yummm! :)

Easy Lettuce Salad

This is a very healthy and refreshing lettuce salad that you can easily make in minutes!

Ingredients:
1 medium head of lettuce (I used red leaf, but you can use a variety of lettuce types)
2-3 avocados, sliced into 1/2 inch cubes
2 medium carrots, julienned
2 tomatoes
1-2 T balsamic vinegar
2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
hard boiled eggs (optional)

Serves about 4.

Wash the lettuce leaves and spin in a salad spinner to remove excess water. Tear the leaves into bite size pieces. Combine the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and serve!