Confessions

I am here to admit that I am a foodaholic. Yes, I confess to thinking about food way more than I should during the day, especially now that summer is here (almost), and the fruits and vegetables are coming in at local farms and in our garden. On Thursday we had our second CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) pickup from Rabbit's Dance Farm in Cumberland, RI. I am splitting a summer share with a friend; a whole share would be too much for me to eat because we have a large home garden. Even though we grow a lot of different fruits and vegetables at home, I still like to receive part of a CSA share to compensate for crop failures we might experience, and also to support local, organic agriculture. The weather is so variable from year to year that we can't depend on all our own plants producing an edible yield. It is nice to have back up.

Excited about cooking with my CSA produce, I recently joined the "Cooking Away My CSA" Challenge started by Heather on her Flour Girl blog. Beginning June 22, we are to blog about our culinary creations based on CSA fruits and vegetables as a way to inspire each other to break out of our eating ruts. For any of you localvore CSA-lovers who would like to commune with other like-minded folks, she created a group at Google so we can exchange recipes and photos. If you have ever wondered, "What the heck do I make with kohlrabi?" this group may be for you.

I'm starting a little before the challenge begins because I so enjoyed my breakfast that I wanted to share it with all of you - ok, not literally, because I ate it, so there is none left! Here's what we received in our CSA share this week:

beets
kale
mixed baby lettuce
garlic scapes
peas
thyme
and the infamous kohlrabi

How they will be used:

beets - steamed and sliced
kale - blanched and possibly added to soup
mixed baby lettuce - salad
garlic scapes - chopped and sauteed with shredded kohlrabi and Parmesan cheese (see below)
peas - eaten raw and slightly boiled
thyme - given to share partner
kohlrabi - shredded and sauteed with chopped garlic scapes and Parmesan cheese (see below)

The peas were you-pick, in the rain, but still fun none-the-less. I re-discovered that there is nothing like the crisp sweetness of a freshly picked pea right out of the field. We ate a few raw and blanched the rest, which were so much better cooked than their canned or frozen cousins.

This morning, for breakfast, I made a one-egg omelet which included the kohlrabi and some garlic scapes. Fresh and mouth-watering strawberries from nearby Cook's Valley Farm added a touch of sweetness to my meal.

How it was prepared (a quick, unofficial recipe):

wash and remove stems & leaves from one small kohlrabi
(save leaves for another meal)
peel kohlrabi and shred
rinse and chop garlic scapes (I used four)

sautee kohlrabi using approximately a tablespoon of olive oil and
a teaspoon of butter until it is softened and starting to brown

add chopped scapes and a drizzle of oil
cook for a couple of minutes

in a small bowl, fork-blend one egg, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of water
add to scapes and kohlrabi, still in the pan on the stove
stir to mix

sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese - about 1/4 cup on top of the egg/veggie mix
let cook until the egg starts to set
carefully loosen sides of omelet and slip a spatula under it
flip over and brown the other side

remove from pan and eat before anyone else comes into the kitchen!

As I post this, I realize that I do a lot of vegetable and egg scrambles with my CSA items because they are quick to make and a great way to use up odds and ends. You can add any vegetables, meats, or cheeses that you have leftover too. But I need to break out of this one-lane road and try something more exciting. I am looking forward to the Challenge posts for further inspiration!