Kearsarge Mountain CSA: Week 2

I picked up my second week's CSA yesterday. Very exciting! Here is what I got:

Once again, a nice experience driving up to the farm to grab my goodies. I was very eager to see what would be in store this week, since it will likely change every week. A couple exciting items are summer squash, which makes me think of roasting veggies on the grill, and peas, which bring my mind to a stir fry in the near future. Of course. 

As soon as I got home I committed to storing each item to ensure maximum freshness for as long as possible. Just like last time, I trimmed the greenery off of the radishes and put the radishes themselves in a bowl of water in the fridge. 

The garlic scapes, salad mix, peas and summer squash required no special treatment other than being tossed into the fridge. 

I treated the lettuce and parsley like cut flowers, putting them in jars of water on my counter. Not only do they look gorgeous, but they will keep fresh this way. If they start to wilt, trim the stems and change the water. Since this is a huge bundle of parsley, I will be sure to make some herb salad dressing and morning smoothies with parsley so that I use it all up. It's easy to add herbs to basically anything as they always amp up the flavor in a great way. Herbs are also extremely cleansing and very nutritious - see complete guide to herbs for more details!

Next I turn to my favorite -  the beets! Check out why beets are super good for you if you are at all skeptical of this miraculous vegetable. Both the root and the greens are great to eat. Cut of the greens, leaving some stem on the beetroot, and put them in water on your counter like the other greens. Now there is a green buffet to choose from at any time.

With the beetroots, you can certainly eat them raw. I like to grate them into salads. But I also like to cook them, peel their skins off and keep them in the fridge for whenever I want them. The less time you boil them, the more nutrients they retain so keep it as brief as possible. When they are done to the desired softness, the skins should peel right off and they can be sliced and jarred. 

Here are a couple things that I have made so far with my CSA ingredients.

Tacos

Tacos are a great way to add a bunch of stuff together for a delicious result while getting creative and staying healthy. I make them all the time, as my friend Julie will tell you (every time she comes over I am making tacos). This time I just made a black bean and veggie filling to go in toasted corn tortillas with cheese and fresh CSA lettuce.

For the filling, I gathered CSA ingredients to start. Parsley, garlic scapes and radish, all diced. 

Next I added the black beans (canned organic) and some other veggies I had on hand, namely red pepper, onion, jalapeno and avocado. I seasoned with lime juice, pepper and a little salt. I didn't cook any of it because all these things are much more nutritious raw, like many things. I think it is always a good idea to try to keep your meals at least 50% raw. More on that idea to come.

Then I made a tasty sauce, a necessary component of a good taco. This one couldn't be easier, just eyeballed amounts of sour cream, sriracha and lime juice.

Now for the CSA lettuce, which was the thing that inspired this meal. It is so crisp and fresh, and it isn't a bad idea to think about eating it within a few days so you don't risk losing those qualities. However, putting it in some water will help it stay longer. If it does pass it's prime and get a little wilted, toss it into a smoothie or throw it to your rabbit.

Then the corn tortillas (I need to learn how to make these, or at least flour tortillas. These ones are from the grocery store). They really come alive if you toast them over low-medium heat. Add some olive oil if desired. When I flipped them, I topped with a mixture of cheddar and gouda cheese so it could melt.

Finally I assembled the tacos, adding lots of lettuce, sauce, bean mixture and some parsley for garnish. Yum!

Simple Salad

With all the parsley I received in my CSA, I definitely had my mind set on making a salad dressing that I could jar and put in the fridge for the whole week. This is so easy, I just tossed into the blender the following (eyeballed measurements, of course): a big handful of parsley, lemon juice, garlic, pepper, a little salt, some balsamic vinegar, mayo, covered with olive oil. Blend until combined and done! Jar it, fridge it. 

For this really easy salad I put a handful of the CSA salad greens in a bowl (has to be one of my favorite CSA components) and topped with beets, goat cheese and my homemade dressing. 

Baked phyllo roll appetizer

I was trying to think of a new way to use beet greens, and I decided to treat them like spinach and make a beet green and feta baked phyllo roll (phyllo is pastry you can find frozen at the grocery store or, if you are very bold, make it yourself. Google it). I started with lightly steaming the chopped beet greens. Next I chopped parsley and garlic scapes, also from my CSA, and mix them all together in a bowl. I added feta cheese and some salt and pepper.

Then I had to learn how to use phyllo pastry. Once the pastry was thawed, I unrolled it and kept the stack of phyllo sheets under a damp towel (for they will dry out quickly). I layered 3 sheets, each one brushed with olive oil (next time I will try more sheets, like 5 or 6, for more flakiness). I then spooned the beet green mixture onto the pastry and folded the short sides in. 

Finally I rolled it the long way to create a log of goodness. I baked this log for 20ish minutes at 350 degrees. 

Because I wanted to continue this experiment, I decided to make a second roll with a different filling. This time I spooned some goat cheese onto the pastry, covered it in basil from the plants on my deck and some chopped sun-dried tomatoes I had canned in my fridge. I treated the pastry a bit differently this time. I added a thin layer of bread crumbs in between each sheet of phyllo. This created a much more flakey effect. 

Overall, a great success. Very tasty. And I feel like the possibilities for creative fillings are literally endless, so this will be a great go-to idea as the season rolls on and the vegetables change. Not to mention making dessert pastries with fruit filling when berries are abound. 

My goal for the near future is to look into local cheese and fruit. I would love to hear suggestions on where to find these essential kitchen treats in New Hampshire! But so far in terms of veggies, I am thoroughly satisfied! 

At the Warner Farmer's Market

On Saturday I visited the Warner farmer's market. Although my CSA share for the week was completely adequate, I figured I could always use more veggies, whether for myself or to give to friends or family. This is what I discovered.

At the Greenhill Collective Farm stand (see Greenhill Collective Farm) I found lots of treats, including homemade pizza flatbreads

And lettuces, salad mix and herbs. I purchase a flatbread, two heads of lettuce and a bundle of oregano for $9. Beautiful.

They also had tomato plants for sale. 

Next door I found homemade pet treats! Because our fury friends deserve good, wholesome treats too. 

Then I stumbled on the Kearsarge Gore Farm stand (see KGF). Lots of goodies here, as you can see listed on their board: 

And here, the veggies all lined up. Looking good. I also found some guy to hold my baby while I shopped (aka Bob Bower). Here I bought swiss chard, kale, two bundles of garlic scapes for $9. Sweet deal. 

Elsewhere around the market there were homemade organic soaps, honey, and herbs. There was also live music and a warming community atmosphere. I don't know about you, but this experience is much preferred to that you get at the supermarket. Just sayin'.

Now, for another meal inspired by local ingredients. This time I made a pasta dish because I had an idea for an herb pesto type deal as a pasta sauce, since I had just picked up parsley and oregano at the farmers market, and I have basil plants on my deck. I collected the ingredients to be used:

I basically just shoved eyeball amounts of parsley, oregano, basil, garlic and lemon into a blender and covered with olive oil. I let that all come together and added parmesan cheese. So the sauce was done. Super easy. Sauces or pestos like this are an excellent way to use lots of herbs, which is great because it is the season for herbs!

Next I sauteed some veggies I had gotten from the grocery store. Onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. It's too early to find onions and tomatoes at the farmer's market really. I will work on either choosing not to use what is not in season or finding as local as possible. The tomatoes, for instance, came from a greenhouse in Maine and were organic. I know Greenhill Collective Farm has mushrooms, so I definitely need to check that out. 

Anyway, to that mixture I added diced garlic scapes. Garlic scapes grow out of the top of the garlic plant and are tasty, crunchy and, obviously, garlicy. 

Next I tossed in some delicious swiss chard from the farmer's market. Super healthy and delicious.

I then added the whole wheat angel hair pasta that I had already cooked as well as some quinoa for protein. Finally I stirred in my sauce. It is always a good idea to stir warm pasta in with the sauce as soon as possible because the pasta will absorb the saucy goodness.

The final product:

Another great thing to do with herbs is make homemade baked herb french fries. So easy! Just slice a potato, mix it with olive oil and your herbs. Here I used parsley and oregano, as well as some black pepper, cayenne pepper and garlic powder.

Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until they are crisped to your liking!

This afternoon I get my second CSA share. Looking forward to it!

"Clean your plate, there are children starving in Africa"

Everyone knows this old saying. And although it holds deep truth, it's easier to poke fun at than to take seriously. I mean, what can we do, mail our leftovers to Africa? I think we need to tweak this saying just a little. How about, "Buy less food, there are people starving all over the world"? Because today there are over 1 billion hungry and malnourished people on earth, which is utterly shocking and unacceptable given our food growing technology. And some of those people are likely just down the street from you, in this country. Lots of them are children.

You might be wondering, how does the way I eat effect whether or not someone else gets to eat? Well, it is more like the way we buy food and end up throwing half of it away causes other people to be unable to procure the food they need. This is because we now have a global food system, and everyone's food choices have an impact on the bigger picture. Let me explain.

The modern food system is an enormous and highly lucrative industry. Functioning under traditional capitalistic principles, the business of selling food is focused on yielding as much profit as possible. That is the primary goal. Since the market is on the global scale, and food industries will try to sell their products to the highest paying costumer, developed countries have a distinct advantage in procuring foodstuffs. The market prices of various food items are driven by what the more affluent countries/societies can pay, driving up the cost of food beyond what the more impoverished places of the world are able to pay. Not only that, but resource rich places, specifically under-developed resource rich societies, are heavily exploited by the global food market. Various global food industries go into these vulnerable places and extract their desirable resources to then sell at high prices elsewhere in the world (which is certainly not a practice limited to provender). The people of these places are usually subjugated when the food companies make deals with the groups in charge - who are often violent and oppressive - or are offered empty promises or coerced in some shady way, only to be left ultimately high and dry with little to no access to their own resources. They certainly cannot pay the prices that the big food companies can get from other more wealthy nations. (Although this is never mentioned in the mainstream media as an underlying driver of social unrest, I guarantee that this type of situation is more often than not a primary factor in conflict around the world. When people are denied access to their own food and water, they reach a tipping point and become willing to engage in almost any kind of rebellion for their own survival. I bet there is much evidence to support this, but I am going to move on from the topic at the moment, since it is not the point of this particular post. I will surely revisit this idea in the future.)

Now, we have established that the demand for different kinds of food from all over the world is governed by the wealthiest nations. Broadly, this means the North America and Europe controls the price of food and where food ends up. Here is where wastefulness comes into play, because a significant portion of the food generated for this dominant market does not even get eaten. It gets thrown in the trash. We are talking one third to one half of all the food allocated to the Western World. Wasted.

*Here is an infographic that really drives this hard fact home: http://www.foodisforeating.org/ 

*And here is Tristram Stuart, author of Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, simplifying his research of food waste in his ted talk:

I strongly encourage watching this video, but just in case you didn't I will summarize the key points. We devastate our planet - cut down forests, dangerously diminish our water supplies, pollute our air, and contribute significantly to climate change - and exploit people in impoverished communities to generate food that doesn't even get eaten. His numbers show that America throws away half of it's food supply.

Rich countries, like America, invest in increasing their food supply to 3 to 4 times the amount that is actually needed. This is due in part to the fact that we feed livestock corn, soy, and wheat that could be fed to people. We feed our livestock perfectly good food, and they turn 2/3 of it into waste. This waste includes excrement and the parts of the animal that our culture deems disgusting and inedible - like the heart, liver, intestines, and testicles. Only 1/3 is converted to meat that we actually eat. Animals, specifically pigs, used to be efficient ways to get rid of wasted food scraps, turning waste into food. Now we turn perfectly good human food into livestock feed, rendering the whole system completely inefficient and unacceptably wasteful.

The other aspect of this waste is found in the supermarket model of food distribution. Supermarkets - and restaurants following the same model - have strict cosmetic standards that their food must pass. Lots and lots of food doesn't even make it off the farm because it won't meet those ridiculous standards. As much as 1/2 of food doesn't even make it off the farm for this reason. All carrots must be within a certain range of size and be just the right color and straighness. Potatoes must all look identical, being a specific shape and size. Greens cannot have any visible chew marks from bugs or other imperfections. Everything must look the same at all times, and whatever doesn't fit the code is tossed into a dumpster. This is perfectly good food that many people would be happy to consume. Along the same lines, the expiration or use by dates stamped on food products are typically way off. This is for two main reasons. One is the liabilities involved in selling food to people, since if someone consumes a product that has gone off it is always possible that the place where it was purchased is held accountable. The other is that they want to sell as many products as possible, and if people are told their food is going off before it actually is then they will be more likely to throw it out, or use it faster, and go buy more. Therefore supermarkets tend to build a ridiculous buffer zone into their best if used by dating of food items.
Furthermore, the supermarket model puts intense emphasis on projecting the image of surplus. So it is very much preferred to have heaps and heaps of food thrown away each day than to have empty shelves. This desire to always have more than enough is certainly rooted in some sort of survival instinct, but the buffer zone we have created in our modern western world is beyond acceptable (consider Thanksgiving). Read Stuart's book to get the full picture. It is truly astounding.

Consumers and households are also perpetrators of food waste. We all tend to over purchase food, rather than under purchase, because on some level we feel more secure to have a fridge busting at the seems or cabinets stocked to the brim. We also tend to dislike food shopping, so we want to do it all at once and stock up. Sadly this results in either overeating - see the current obesity epidemic - or throwing food away. We also are inclined to put more food on our plates than we need, a trend that extends deep into the restaurant industry as well.

Let's go back to the new saying I offer, "Buy less food, there are people starving all over the world". We need to buy less food because the demand we place on the market effects the entire food supply chain all over the world. If we demand twice as much food than we actually use, which is literally the case in America, then we remove that food from the market and from starving mouths that need it for no good reason. The food we waste could easily feed the billion starving people on earth. Once the food is on our plates, it is really too late to make a difference. At that point, the surplus is either turned into waist or waste, neither of which is a good scenario.

Now, I am not offering this information to depress you or instill feelings of hopelessness. Quite the opposite actually. Given that food waste is rampant all up the supply chain - from farm, to factory, to supermarket - and in the home, there are multiple areas for improvement from our perspective as consumers. Here are some potential solutions:

• Buy local as much as possible. This way, you are not supporting the wasteful habits of the global food system or the supermarket, nor are you increasing the demand for food unnecessarily, nor are you then sucking up resources - food, land water - that other communities need. 
• I keep a close eye on what I have in my kitchen and routinely bleed my stocks dry. As a rule, I always like to be able to see the back of my fridge. I know way too many households whose fridge is so full that there are inevitably items stuffed in the back or the bottom of the drawer that will be forgotten about and go bad. This is truly irresponsible. The best way to combat this accidental waste of food is to use up what you have before buying more. Simple! This is where culinary bricolage gets really fun, especially when you have few food items to use or an obscure collection of ingredients to choose from, which almost always happens when you are down to the nitty gritty in your kitchen. I'd always rather have to go grab something at the store then throw food away. 
• Going along with the previous point, I think it is an acceptable request of all of us to commit to taking smaller shopping trips more often (rather than doing the one big shopping trip every once in a while). While there are some things you can buy in bulk that will last in your kitchen for great lengths of time, the things that we should be eating most of - fruits and vegetables - don't typically have super long shelf lives. Visit a farmer's market a couple times a week. 
• Michael Pollan's Food Rules holds many wonderful tips on how to eat, one of my favorites being Eat only foods that will eventually rot. This means, in terms of cutting back on food waste, that we must be agile in keeping tabs on the freshness of the food in our kitchen. Therefore we must develop the knowledge of how to store certain kinds of foods and commit ourselves to using our senses to determine when food goes bad. I don't even look at supermarket best if used by dates, because it is just as easy to look at the food, smell it or even taste it, to decide if it's still edible or desirable. And often times those dates are so inaccurate and encourage you to throw away food unnecessarily before it has gone by. Go by your first-hand experience rather than what someone else is telling you!
• There is no shame in licking your plate! (Even though my mom almost dies every time I do it) It is a silly cultural misconception that licking your plate is rude. Most of the rest of the world thinks just the opposite! Wasting food is rude! 
• I think coffee has a longer shelf life than you might think. I always drink yesterdays coffee if there is some left in the pot. Or, better yet, put it into a jar for ice coffee!
• Smoothies, pizza, tacos and omelets! These dishes are easy repositories of left overs and random collections of food. Get crazy with it! 
• If you can, get some animals that eat food scraps. Pigs, chickens, rabbits, goats - all are great little buddies that can help you cut down on food waste while giving you something in return, whether it be meat, milk, eggs, or just companionship! 
• Eat as little meat as possible because, as previously discussed, the meat industry is a colossal waste of resources. Look for local meat if you'd like to indulge. Or, as previously suggested, get your own animals that eat your food waste that you can then turn into meat.  
• Be vocal about your disgust at the amount of food wasted all along the supply chain! If we bring attention to this tragedy, and promise to take our business elsewhere if it isn't addressed, practices will likely begin to change! Look in dumpsters, talk to your supermarket, talk to you favorite restaurants, etc. 

Let's get started, because the planet and our human family are currently suffering just so we can throw half of the food we demand away. There is so much room for improvement in the realm of food waste, it is truly exciting. It's time for a change! 

A Delicious Stir Fry

Tonight I have decided to make a stir fry - a pretty routine meal for my house. It's just too easy to turn a bunch of veggies into a unified, tasty dish by going the stir fry route. I could eat it every day.

I am going simple with this one. I begin by getting my tofu ready. I have a whole block of extra firm tofu that needs to be drained and dried as much as possible. After that, I cut it into bite size pieces and put it all into a bowl to marinate in soy sauce. Then I get some jasmine rice started, the traditional base for a stir fry, which will just chill on the back burner. I like to use organic vegetable stock or homemade veggie stock to boil the rice in for added flavor. It's also always a good idea to add a bay leaf or two as well.
I have lots of CSA veggies that are ready to go, so that makes my decision making process for what to add to the stir fry so easy. I will use a turnip, a head of poc choi and spinach from my CSA package, along with scallion for garnish. But of course, you could use any veggies at all! Use what you have, use leftovers, use what is in season, whatever.

I treat the turnip like a carrot and thinly slice it to be tossed into a hot pan with olive oil, lots of garlic, and diced ginger root.

Next I chop a whole poc choi head and toss it in with the turnips.

I flavor with these items to taste (no need make exact measurements, just eyeball what looks good to you!)

• Sriracha
• A whole lemon
• Soy sauce (which adds all the saltiness that the meal needs!)
• Basil from my own plants
• Ground Coriander
• Cayenne pepper (I like spice!! Turn up the heat!)
• Ground black pepper

I then add some random veggies I have on hand. Some pea pods, a little broccoli,  and thinly sliced cabbage. I prefer the veggies al dente rather than cooked to submission. I think they retain more nutrients the less they are cooked, too.

When they are pretty much good to go, I add the spinach and some water chestnuts. And the stir fry is done!

Cooking the tofu to perfection takes a little time. Dump the soy-sauce marinated tofu chunks into a hot pan with some oil. Fry each and every side if you have the patience - this makes the tofu crisp on every edge and become delicious!

OK...that's it! I simply pile a spoonful of rice onto a plate, add a scoop of veggies and some tofu, garnish with chopped scallion. Mmmmm!

Kearsarge Mountain CSA - Week 1

On Tuesday I picked up my first Kearsarge Mountain CSA package. Before I dive into that experience, I'd like to outline what the CSA is all about. It is an 18 week program where you receive a box of veggies, some from the Kearsarge Gore Farm and some from the Vegetable Ranch, each week. I chose the single family share, which is $535 total. You pay half when you sign up and the other half at the end of June. The weekly costs boils down to about $30. There is also the option of a family share, which easily feeds a family of four, for $730. There are multiple pick up times and locations for your convenience. You can go to the Vegetable Ranch in Warner on Tuesdays or Fridays between 4pm and 6:30 pm, or you can choose to get your package at the Concord Farmer's Market on Saturday between 8:30am and noon. If you go on vacation, there is the option of bumping a total of two weeks of shares to the end of the season. Overall, the program is incredibly accommodating to virtually any schedule. Check out the website on the sidebar for more info!

Now, onto my first CSA experience. I drove up to the Vegetable Ranch on Tuesday around 4:30 and was greeted by members of the farm, as well as this cheerful sign:

All of the veggies on this list were sitting out in baskets waiting to be bagged. I was the last one to come claim my share, so I scooped up the remaining produce and was on my way. Too easy. You will also notice that the sign offers pork and eggs as well, which you know come from legitimate local sources - much preferred to the mystery eggs and meats you find in the grocery store. 

When I got home, this is what I had:

The first thing I did was wash and store each item. The bags of spinach and salad mix were already good to go right into the fridge. 

The bundle of dill, so fragrant and delicious, needed little care. I just chopped off a bit of the ends and plunked it into a jar of water. Just like flowers, most herbs like this will live longest and happiest if they sit in some water on your counter. Just be sure to check the water periodically and maybe give the ends a snip every once in a while to ensure maximum water uptake. This dill will be excellent in salads, dressings, as garnish, or a as a flavor infuser for virtually any dish. 

On to the radishes. My bundle was gorgeous, as you can see. Unfortunately I don't know of any use for the greens growing from the tops of the radishes in the kitchen, so they have to be snipped and discarded. Definitely throw them into a compost if you have one, or feed them to pigs, goats, chickens, or any other animal that seems interested (maybe a curious and unsuspecting little brother?). 

I personally chose to feed these greens to my rabbit - he loves them! Rabbits are wonderfully simple animals to have in your home. They will eat so many of your kitchen scraps, from browning bananas to parsley stems to mushy grapes and grape stems! They even use a litter box full of wood pellets! There are lots of rabbits that need homes, so look for one (or two or three) at your local shelter. 

Now, once you have cut the leafy tops off, trim the bottoms of the radishes, the little root sticking out, and give them a good wash (just wash them to get the dirt off, obviously in this instance there is no worry about lingering pesticide residue because it's 100% chemical free). Cover them with water in a container and they will keep in the fridge for a long time! Just make sure they stay nice and hydrated. I haven't heard of cooking radishes, but they are so scrumptious as raw crunchy treats in salads or atop tacos or just by themselves with some cracked black pepper. They satisfy the desire to eat something crunchy and they are great for you. 

Next onto the bundle of kale. You could easily just plop it into your crisper drawer in the fridge, but I usually prefer to chop it up into useable bit size pieces for convenience later on. Just give the chopped kale a good rinse and put it in a bag, to be eaten later in a salad or lightly steamed or baked into kale chips. Yum!

These beauties, scallions, are to be treated just like the dill. I gave them a good rinse and put them as is into a jar with some water.

Again, be sure to keep an eye on the water and change it when it gets yellow. Scallions add a delicious oniony bite to virtually any meal. Easy. 

Next, the turnips. I am not very familiar with turnips, but here is my chance to learn! They are a root vegetable - like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, and many others - which means exactly what it sounds like it means. They are the part of the plant that grow in the ground, aka the root that stores the carbs, sugars, and starches. There are lots of subgroups, like true roots and tube roots, but we don't need to get into that. All I know is that these guys can be stored in a cool dark place for best results. Back in the day, we used to have root cellars for storing all the root vegetables that would feed us all throughout the winter. We don't really have such accommodations anymore, it's a shame. But these guys can hang out in your fridge or in a cool drawer or cabinet. I look forward to learning more about how to use turnips, but I know you can roast them, grill them, and boil them, so that's a start. 

Finally, the poc choi. These guys are simple. I just washed them and put them in a drawer in the fridge. As far as using them in my cooking, I love to make stir fried vegetables like every other day. Poc choi is an excellent addition to any type of stir fry, or great on its own with some garlic and lemon. Get creative!

That is how I chose to store my package of gorgeous veggies from my first weeks CSA. Of course, these items are chemical free and there is absolutely no question that they were grown in the best possible conditions. I know the farmers so I know there is no shady business that went into this process -  no social or environmental injustices contributed to the growth of these plants. The best part is, they travelled a maximum of 20 miles from the farm to my house! Perfection. And now I don't have to worry so much about what to get at the grocery store because I have more than sufficient seasonal produce to make incredible meals all week long. Yes, I will need supplemental ingredients, but with the CSA package you are given a set of items around which to create unique, delicious dishes.  

Here is a taste of what I made the first night I got my CSA.

First, I made a jar of homemade dill dressing (as inspired by Kyle Spann-Weitz). It couldn't be easier, just eyeball proportions of the following ingredients:

• Mayo
• Olive oil
• A little vinegar (I chose apple cider)
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Black Pepper
• Chopped scallions
• and, of course, lots of chopped dill! 

I can put this jar in the fridge and have dressing all week long. And there is still plenty more dill left over!

Then I decided to make a polenta-veggie napoleon (or a stack of layered polenta and veggies) with a side salad. Here is what I mean.

First, I was eager to see what these turnips were all about, so I treated them like potatoes and boiled them to see if I could create a mash. Turns out, they take a while to boil and soak up lots of water. Good to know! And they didn't want to mash for me, so I diced them up into small bits. They will become a layer in the polenta-veggie napoleon.

Next I sauteed a whole head of poc choi with some onions and mushrooms I had. Just add some garlic and lemon and it's that easy. This will become another layer in the dish.

Then I made the salad...which really only meant pulling out a handful of salad mix, a handful of spinach, and coating it all with my homemade dill dressing (again, thanks Kyle! So yummy, I could eat this every day! And just might!)

Next, I had some beets on hand that I wanted to use up. Beets aren't in season here, but I got some at the G store because I just love them. I got them whole, used the greens in smoothies and salads, and boiled the bulbs for about 30-45 mins - just long enough to get the skins to peel right off. Then I chopped them up into useable slices. Incredibly delicious and nutritious.

I also jarred the beet juice, the byproduct of boiling the beets, to use as veggie stock or in smoothies. So many nutrients are boiled out into the water, it is an utter waste to throw it away. There is always a use for veggie-infused liquid so keep it hanging around! This time, I chose to pour some over my chopped turnips, which easily soaked up the brightness and goodness of the beet juice for added color, flavor, and health in my meal.

Ok, the polenta. I sometimes like to get the tubes of polenta at the grocery store because it is just so damn good. It is basically just a form of corn meal, so not super great for you, but with a meal of mainly veggies there is always room for a little guilty pleasure. I sliced the polenta and gave 'er a good fry, finally topping each slice with fontina cheese. Mm hmm.

Now that each component was done, and it was really easy, I put together the napoleon. One slice polenta, a couple slices of beet, a spoonful of the beet juice-infused turnips, a spoonful of the mushroom/poc choi mix, another slice polenta, another scoop of the turnips and poc choi, and a final slice of polenta. Covered in chopped scallions.

And the final product, accompanied by my salad and garnished with beet, dill, and sriracha. Not too shabby.

This meal was inspired by the ingredients I received in my CSA package. I can feel good about this. I made a breakfast sandwich the next morning and used the leftover turnip and poc choi mixture, which was amazing. I look forward to more meals and more veggies from the Kearsarge Mountain CSA! Definitely stay tuned - as the summer rolls on the veggies will change to reflect the season! What a great way to become connected with the land and the people that work it!