Something a bit unexpected has come up in the challenge to eat more local food. I had realized I'd have less of some things I normally eat, such as pears, red peppers, or bok choy, and I was okay with that.
What I hadn't quite counted on was just how much of some other things I'd be eating. Our CSA box is meant to provide a family of 2 - 4 with veggies (with some occasional fruit) for a week. We're only two, and I will say we have a hard time eating all this produce every week.
Salad greens and spinach there have been plenty of, but that's an easy one. I just make salads. Other things like chard and strawberries I've only received once and it was easy to use them up.
Three items in particular though, I've received lots of: radishes, leeks, and asparagus.
I've made a big batch of potato leek soup. I've pickled some asparagus - it's supposed to be great in bloody marys. The radishes are good chopped and put on bread with butter.
The problem is, I still have lots of all these veggies left...and I need to use them up. So I'm asking for your input...anybody willing to share a great recipe using leeks, asparagus, or radishes as the main ingredient?
Post it in the comment and I'll give it a try in the next few days. Thanks in advance for sharing!
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1 year ago
5 comments:
I was searching online for you and found a bunch of recipes but nothing that I can personally recommend. Somewhere I have a recipe for asparagus and garlic -(broiled, I think?)it was delicious and when I get home from sunny Florida I will find it for you. Sorry I can't be more helpful.
Asparagus freezes pretty well. I put a bunch up while I can because before you know it, it's gone! Several people have told me you HAVE to blanch it before you freeze it, but I don't. I just slap it in a freezer bag and call it a day. When it's time to make dinner, I pull out a handful and sautee it in olive oil and butter, with sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Yummy!
Pickled aspargus is wonderful and can be done in a waterbath and kept and served at winter feasts as a pickled side.
Radishes will stay fresh a long time without their tops and immersed in water in the 'fridge.
The potato Leek soup is awesome and will freeze well in canning jars, again to be used in the winter.
But Leeks are good in stir fry, quiche, and vegie casserole. I'd use them in place of onions in many recipes.
whew this is a lot of work!
asparagus has been grilled & eaten, pickled, AND frozen (I was making tea so just dumped the extra water over before freezing).
Also froze some broccoli.
I used some leeks to make a pie/casserole type thing. That went in the freezer...hope it's good.
Question about freezing soup in canning jars; how full can you fill them without them breaking? Do you freeze milk based soups or do you add the milk after defrosting?
We eat what I would call multi-veggie salads all the time. I usually throw in any vegetable available, including cooked asparagus, definitely radishes (which we buy for that purpose), though I don't know how good the leeks would be. Lettuce doesn't usually keep in our fridge, so I leave that out, and put lots more of the other veggies. I will also add frozen corn, beans, cheese, cooked chicken or tofu, and a dressing or sour cream, and call it a meal. I am pretty much a throw in what I have kind of cook. I don't even own a cook book, and only use the internet for baking occasionally. As long as you stick with like foods, only one main protein and grain in general, and one sauce, it seems to turn out pretty good. And I rarely end up tossing anything. Plus it makes cooking fun, and fairly quick and easy.
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