What to do with parsley?

Among our many greens, we received a pile of parsley from the CSA farm this week.  It is probably more than I can use fresh.  What do you think?  Should I freeze it, dry it, or make it into pesto?

Exciting Wednesdays

Wednesday we go get our CSA veggies from the farmer.  Yesterday Wednesday we also got six pounds of amaranth from the UPS delivery man.  Fun stuff!


I have just one recipe for amaranth, but since I have six pounds now, I'll find some more.  Amaranth is one of those "super" grains, actually a tiny seed, full of protein, fiber, and iron.  I thought if I bought some, then I'd find a use for it.

Amaranth is cooked just like rice and other grains.  It can be made into breakfast cereal like oatmeal.  Additionally, it can be popped like popcorn.  How fun is that?!

Orach

.

It's like "salty spinach."  

It's used just like spinach.  

It's red and green, like Christmas.

Lovage

Meet lovage. Lovage is an herb that we got from the CSA farm this week. I had never even heard of lovage, but the farmer told me to use it sparingly in soups and stews and that it tastes like celery. Wouldn't you know, he was exactly right! My friend Kat, a culinary expert, added that it can be used in any dish where celery is used. My leftover lovage is in the freezer, and I'll probably have a freezer full by winter time, because it does indeed need to be used sparingly.

Kale

We got some beautiful kale in our CSA bag this week. It is so beautiful! We've had kale in the past and haven't found a really great recipe for it yet. It does go well with potatoes. Anyway, I threw this kale into a smoothie. It took a little more fruit than I usually put in spinach smoothies and it still had a faint kale flavor, but I rather liked it.

Sunflower Sprouts

Should we eat it or plant it? One of the best things about getting produce from the CSA farm is that we get to try food that we didn't even know existed!

These are sprouts from sunflower seeds. Last week, I didn't know anything about sunflowers sprouts. Now I know that since these are probably a few days old, they should properly be called sunflower greens. In any case, sprouts and greens are high in protein and a myriad of other nutrients.

I expected them to be delicate. No, they are hardy, crunchy greens that might keep for a week or maybe even more when refrigerated after cutting.

I expected them to be bitter. No, they are quite mild tasting with a hint of sunflower seed flavor.

They are good for salads and sandwiches, and you know, I enjoyed just snacking on a few plain this morning!

For the curious, here's an article about sunflower greens.

Salad

We got plenty of fresh, delicate spring lettuce from the farm this week. I'm sure we'll be eating plenty of salad this summer! I get a little bored eating salad every though, maybe I need some more topping ideas. What do you like on your salad?

CSA Farm Week One

It's hard to believe that we are already getting fresh veggies from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, East Idaho Organics! This is our first year with this particular farm and it is only the second year that EIO has been a CSA. Since it is early in the season and the farm is only in its second year, I wasn't expecting a big haul this week. I am quite impressed. We have pounds of greens to eat this week. I mean like 3/4 of a paper grocery bag full of greens. I think we could eat green smoothies for breakfast and salad for lunch and dinner every day this week!

Fruits vs. Vegetables

Fruits and Vegetables are classified at least two different ways: botanically and nutritionally.

Botanically, a fruit is that which bears a seed. Apples, oranges, bananas, and berries are all botanically fruits. Additionally, green beans, peas, pumpkin, tomatoes, and cucumbers are also botanically fruits.

Botanically, a vegetable is a part of a plant that is not a fruit. Spinach (leaves), celery (stems), cauliflower (flowers), and carrots (roots) are botanically vegetables.

Nutritionally, fruits and vegetables are divided by their nutritional content and general use. Fruits have more natural sugar, fewer trace minerals, and little to no protein. Vegetables have less sugar, more minerals, and small amounts of protein.

Apples, oranges, bananas, and berries are nutritionally fruits. Green beans, peas, pumpkin, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, celery, cauliflower, and carrots are nutritionally vegetables.

Got it?