CSA- Week 1

As I mentioned, I joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) which is (according to my farm) "a collection of consumers that agree to purchase products from a local farm (or group of farms) throughout a season.  Members purchase a “share” of the farm and each week go to the farm to pick-up or, have the product delivered to their town.  It is a creative way to eat locally and reduce your carbon footing! For the duration of the growing season, you know the farmer that is providing your fruits and vegetables, and how they are being produced!"

My farm is Silverbrook Farm and they partner with 6 other farms. Silverbrook is in Dartmouth, MA.  Heres the list of the other 6.
•Allen's Neck Farm - Certified Organic  • Eva's Garden - Certified Organic  • Sylvan Nursery - Sustainably grown fruits and vegetables. (See home page for definition.)  • The King Farm - Sustainably grown vegetables  • Matte's Orchards - Conventional Fruits and Vegetables   • Hillside Farm - Conventional Corn Grower (Organically grown corn will have a worm on every cob.  Does not use GMO seed.)
So last Wednesday I walked over to City Hall and picked up my first share.  I got:

Shelling Peas
Sugar Snap Peas 

Saute' Greens
Salad Greens
Strawberries
Shy Brothers Cheese - Cloumage 
Sun Flowers in a pot

And so what was the first thing I did?  I looked up the Cloumage cheese website and got inspired. Shy Brothers Farm made this cheese and it was delicious.  Kind of like a mix between goat and cream cheese.  So when I got home Friday night- I followed their first recipe- Salad in a Glass.

Salsa, Cloumage, more salsa and Arugula.  Yum!
On Sunday, I spent a very long time cleaning (removing the strings) and then shelling the peas. Then I got to work on Pea and Cloumage Dumplings based loosely on Heidi's Plump Pea Dumplings she made on 101 Cookbooks.

First thing I did was shell the peas.  Then I boiled them for a few minutes in boiling water with salt. Like so.

Then I rinsed them and let them cool and dry.  Next, I threw them in a food processor with the cloumage cheese, a little sour cream and salt and pepper.  Whirl away.....

Then I took my wanton wrappers and put probably 2 tablespoons or so on each. And then wrapped them up according to package instructions (I'm not the best at this).

Then I (gasp) fried them.  Yep, I didn't feel like steaming them or baking them like Heidi recommends.  So I put about a half inch of veggie oil in a hot skillet and friend them for a few minutes on each side. 

Oh boy, were these delicious! So fresh!

Okay moving on...

Monday night I made Shrimp Rolls from Everyday Food (Martha Stewart).  Unfortunately, I can't find the original recipe online so I can't credit her! These were awesome and WICKED easy to make.  Sorry, I'm from Boston.

Shrimp Rolls

Ingredients:

1 pound of shrimp bought devened, peeled and tails removed (I get these at Trader Joe's)

1 teaspoon of EVOO

1 teaspoon of garlic
Arugula

Hot dog rolls, lightly toasted

1/4 cup ketchup

1/8 cup horseradish (or more to taste)

1 stalk chopped celery

Instructions
Mix together ketchup, horseradish and celery. Toast rolls and add some arugula. Cook shrimp in saute pan with EVOO, garlic and salt and pepper. Let cool slightly. Mix shrimp with cocktail sauce.  Add shrimp over top of the arugula.

This is seriously such a quick dish to make. Go make it! 

Alright, last night I made Strawberry Salad with Lemony Poppy Seed Dressing.  I saw this in some magazine but couldn't remember which one and in true Liz fashion, I couldn't find the recipe.  So I asked Google.  And I didn't find a dressing without mayonnaise until page 4.  But I found it!  So this recipe is basically the same as Gratinee (great blog by the way- go check it out!) only I used Greens from my CSA rather than spinach.

Strawberry Salad with Lemon Poppy seed Dressing

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pecan pieces

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

salt and pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 cups greens of your choice

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup red onions, sliced thinly

Instructions:

Set pecans, sugar, and water in a saucepan on medium heat. Simmer for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and pecans are golden. Let cool completely. Whisk the lemon, Dijon, salt, and honey together in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil. Toss the greens, strawberries, red onion and sugared pecans with the dressing and serve.

Light refreshing dinner using CSA Strawberries and Greens!  PS- I broke out my Salad Spinner and I washed these greens (no joke) 7X and I still think I could have cleaned them better!  Greens directly from the farm are DIIIRTTY.

Anyway, I am off to pick up Week 2 of my CSA.  Expect another post next week- or sooner if I ever get around to cooking!