CSA Week 2 – Chickpea & Kale Soup

I checked out the website and all it called for was only 4 head lettuce, small batch of arugula and 3 quarts of strawberries.  Boy was I in for a surprise and ever thankful to my hubby for getting me those wellies (OK, they are Gemplers) for my birthday. The mud in the PYO fields was near shin deep in some areas

Distribution:

• 4 heads lettuce ($7.96)
• 1 bunch Kale ($2.49)
• 1 bunch Collards ($1.60)
• 1/2 lb Arugula ($7.95)
• 1.5 lbs Spinach ($8.95)
• 1 quart Snap Peas ($4.50)
• 5 quarts Chandler Strawberries ($29.95)
• 1 bunch Anise Hyssop (PYO)
• 1 bunch Catnip (PYO)
• 1 bunch Oregano (PYO) ($1.99)
• 1 sm. bunch sage (got the flowers as I grow my own) (PYO)
• 10 Sweet William Flowers (share called for 40, I don’t have a vase big enough)

 

Previous Week’s Overall Total: $24.66

Total Estimate For This Week: $65.39

Grand Total Value: $90.05

Wondering what it all looks like?

 

Average Size of Lettuce Head:

That’s a quart container BTW.

Yeah, the Chandler Strawberries Are Organic!

 

What I did/am doing with this produce:

We barely finished the strawberries from the previous week and the heavy downpour from the night before and bumpy ride back home dinged a number of berries.  2 quarts were cleaned quartered and stored in the freezer (maybe I’ll make berry xmas pudding this year).  I will be making my strawberry/feta salad again on Friday for the kids’ last day of school picnic, and will probably toss in some spinach. The collards were steam blanched and frozen. Made Chickpea and Kale soup for supper (recipe below). The leftover stems, which are normally discarded I made into a small side dish in cajun style (sans bacon or ham). Enjoyed a handful of snap peas.  Spinach will be frozen tomorrow.

Chickpea & Kale Soup

The original recipe can be found here if you prefer using real chorizo (there is a turkey variety out there, but I have not found it yet) and a food processor.  My version is altered slightly.

Ingredients: 

 

• 1 cup chopped onion (medium)
• 3 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 large or 2 small bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 potatoes cut into medium cubes with skins on
• 1/2 – 3/4lb kale, cut into this ribbons *
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth of vegetarian equivalent
• 2 cups water
• 1 14oz can garbanzo/chick peas drained and rinsed
• 1/2 lb hot italian turkey sausage, casings removed

 

In a large soup pot (4 – 6qt.) over medium high heat, combine oil, pepper, bay leaf, onions and garlic and saute for about 6 minutes. Add broth, water, potatoes, and kale and bring to slow boil and cook until potatoes are cooked through, about 15 – 20 minutes partially covered.  While this is cooking, remove the turkey meat from the casings and make into small 1/2 – 1 inch meatballs.  When potatoes are done, reduce heat to low and gradually add the meatballs, then add the garbanzo beans. Simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and serve hot with optional hot sauce, salt and pepper for individual preferences.

Serves 6

* Curly kale (which I used here) can be a bit of a hassle to make ribbons.  I found that if I take each leaf removed from the stem and tightly roll into a ball.  Then I very thinly cut into ribbons.  Not always consistent as when one would roll kale in to a ‘cigar’, but has a nice rugged homemade texture about it.  Be careful when cutting into ribbons as your fingers are very close to the blade.  Make sure you know the proper technique when cutting ‘at close range’ before attempting this!  Otherwise use a food processor or chop coarsely.

Final Result:  

Also with my goal of letting nothing go to waste and finding it’s way to my compost, I steamed  the Kale and Collard stems for about 8 minutes.  I then diced, added about 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar, a little dab of butter and a dash of cajun seasoning, Slap Ya Mama!  Very politically incorrect name for a product, but the seasoning beats Old Bay any day!  

 

Scalloped Potatoes With Celeriac

The last two weeks of our CSA boxed delivery and we get for the first time celeriac or better known as celery root. I have always seen them in the grocery store but never knew what to do with it so I never bothered to try them until now. It was suggested to try to make scalloped potatoes with added celeriac, so I gave it a shot. I initially used this recipe, as a base since I never made scalloped potatoes from scratch, but made some adjustments which is marked with an asterisk (*). Still needs work as you will see in my notes below, but it is a great start and will try again.

Ingredients:

3 tbs butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp dried minced garlic*
1/8 tsp dried thyme*
2 cups chicken broth or vegetarian equivalent
1 1/2 cups grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 lb boiling potatoes*
1 lb celeriac root peeled*
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs*
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour to make a roux for about 2 – 3 minutes. Whisk in broth and bring to a boil. Whisk in garlic and thyme and simmer for about 2 more minutes, then whisk again until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese and any salt and pepper you wish to add, until cheese is fully melted.

Peel potatoes (optional) and celeriac (a must) and slice to about 1/8 inch thick. In a 2-quart shallow baking dish, butter or spray cooking oil and make a layer of potatoes and sauce, celeriac and sauce, and repeat until you have between 4 – 5 layers. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and bake uncovered in the oven for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender.

Overall Impressions

Not sure if it was my oven, but 1 hour does not cut it, more like an hour and thirty minutes. The celeriac took longer to soften. Will try raising the temp to 375 and see if that helps. Also even with the extra sharp cheddar and added spices I found it somewhat bland. Will go for fresh minced garlic next time and add more thyme and a stronger cheese like parmesean or a vecchio asiago d’Allevo.

One thing I found with peeling celeriac is that like apples, it browns quickly. So I would recommend preparing at the last possible moment. But the flavor should not diminish.