Tuesday, November 2, 2010

CSA Week 5

Holy Bountiful Harvest! This week's CSA delivery arrived today and the bag was quite heavy. Here  is what I have:

Green Beans (at least twice as many as I got last week)
Bunching onions
A dozen or so cherry tomatoes
8 carrots
3 bunches of Joi Choi
6 large radishes
1 small bunch of lettuce
2 green bell peppers
3 patty pan squash
1 small summer squash
3 red tomatoes
1 green tomato or tomatillo (?)
6 red chilis- 2 jalepenos
1 bunch mystery herbs

Earlier this week I told you that I would be making pot roast in the crock pot today. That did not happen, but it is for the best, because tomorrow is a very long day for me (leaving the house at 7, not coming home till 9:15). Plus, no sooner did I decide to make pot roast in the crock pot then the CSA gods sent me carrots and onions...so two ingredients down! (The mystery herb may end up in the crock pot as well if I can identify it quickly enough or am feeling lucky).

I will again be making the squash cakes as they were delicious and I have been craving more of them since I made them a few weeks ago.

I will make Fillet with Joi Choi and Tomato Salad again as that meal was delicious and balanced.

I will probably blanch and freeze the green beans as we are a little grean beaned out and there are a ton of them. That is likely a Thursday night project.


I will use the lettuce, green bell peppers, tomatoes and radishes in salads for lunches.

Google Stats says a good number of people are following along this adventure with me, so I thought today there could be an interactive section, please comment if you have any ideas.

Here is what I need help with:

1) Help me identify the mystery herb:


Yes, it has a distinctive smell. Yes, it is a familiar smell. No, I just can not quite put my finger on exactly what it is. I am leaning towards thyme, but that is nothing more than an educated guess. It is soft and fine.

2) Is this a Green Tomato or a Tomatillo?

I am afraid if I wait for it to turn red but it is never supposed to turn red it will just go bad. If it is a tomatillo, what in the world should I do with it?

3) I know what these are, but I need ideas of what to do. I am not a fan of spicy stuff. I do not like heat for heat's sake. That said, I do not mind a little red pepper flakes used as seasoning. That said, I have these beautiful red chilis and jalepenos. I just hate giving them away each week. So, anybody have an idea of a way to use them for someone that has a low tolerance for heat?


On another note, Adventurous Supper reader and established blogger j. has inspired me to participate in NaNoWriMo. It is ambitious, it is furious, but it is so much fun. Thanks for the inspiration.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, wow. Yay for inspiring NaNo-ers!

    With the small photo I can't tell, but is it possible the herb is dill? Usually has feathery "leaves" and woody stems.

    The green guy looks like a zebra stripe tomato. Tomatillos don't look *quite* that tomato like when the husk comes off. If it *is* a zebra tom, it's as green as it's getting. Try a slice? worst case it's un-ripe, and you toss it in flour and fry it up.

    As for the peppers... You could try drying or pickling. There are really basic pickling instructions on the internet, and it'd keep them from going to waste. The long red guys should dry pretty well, though- just bundle them and hang them from anything you can. They'll get redder, then start drying. Just keep them in the least-humid, warmest part of your house/ kitchen. Alternately, is there a swap box at your pickup spot? Maybe leave the peppers in exchange for extra of something someone else doesn't like/ want?

    I'm sure you already know to de-seed, remove the rib, and rinse the peppers to lower the heat, right?

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  2. UPDATE: The mystery herb is dill. The tomato is indeed a zebra stripe tomato. The "lettuce" is in fact rainbow swiss chard. The "radishes" are actually purple top turnips. Thanks for the help!

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