The Farmshare Project: Week 7

I know you were all waiting desperately for me to tell you how I ate all the vegetables from this past week's farmshare the exact same way I always do, so here I am to give you the full, mostly predictable, report.

But, there was some fun revisiting of spring dishes that made me glad that I started saving (and organizing by season, like a huge dork) all those recipes I've used to get through our farmshare every year.

You could maybe look at this project the way I look at my recipe binder - as a savior in times of great vegetable overload. Like when you're staring down an untiring crisper full of greens and you can't even remember when the last time was you ate anything other than greens with greens on the side and you have to tame the crisper even if it means eating greens one more night in a row so that you can slam shut the fridge.

Is it too much to call this project a savior? It might be, but I'm moving on with it anyway because I like the idea of a blog post being heroic enough to unearth someone buried beneath a life-threateningly large pile of bok choi.

Take that, bok! We win!

Not really. The bok actually always wins. It's written into its contract, I'm told.

Anyway.

Get a load of those friggen huge radishes. They're the size of lemons. I'm not sure that's right.

Last week's box had:
Arugula
Broccoli
Carrots
Chard
Escarole
Fava beans
Red Russian kale
Leeks
Meyer lemons
"Little Gem" romaine lettuce
Bok choi
Young onions
Red radishes
Spinach
Tatsoi
Strawberries

And their fate was:
We ate them
Arugula - Giant Salad with Your Leftovers Night
Escarole - Giant Salad with Your Leftovers Night
Red Russian kale - In my latest version of White Bean Pasta with Kale that is SUPER GOOD. (see below)
Leeks - In my latest version of White Bean Pasta with Kale that is SUPER GOOD. (see below)
Meyer lemons - In aioli for artichokes and mixed with olive oil, salt and pepper for salad dressing
"Little Gem" romaine lettuce - Giant Salad with Your Leftovers Night
Bok choi - Best Chicken Salad Ever
Young onions - (green stems) Best Chicken Salad Ever
Red radishes - Giant Salad with Your Leftovers Night, on fish tacos
Spinach- Best Chicken Salad Ever
Tatsoi - Giant Salad with Your Leftovers Night
Strawberries - #1 Strawberry Pie of the year and for breakfast with yogurt, flax seed, walnuts and honey

We stored them

Broccoli
Carrots
Fava beans
Meyer lemons (2)
Young onions (bulbs only)
Red radishes (1 Giant Monster Radish left)

We gave it all to our neighbors
Chard

We harvested it from the garden and got a glimpse into the chaos that the garden will bring when it's in full swing
Lollo rosso lettuce
Bibb lettuce
Basil

To look at the recounting of how we dispatched all those vegetables, it would appear that we had very few meals, but, in fact, we had a full week's worth, and the farmshare played the important role of The Thing That's Not Leftovers So Therefore Edible on the menu.

Which is the story behind the Giant Salad With Your Leftovers Night. See, I feel like serving leftovers for dinner is some sort of poor reflection on my cooking skills. Or Bubba's eating leftover for lunch skills. Or our refrigerator's ability to digest human food skills. Any way you look at it, I don't really relish the concept of eating leftovers for dinner. Because that's like, so yesterday's news, that pasta I remember having at this same time last night.

So, to make leftovers for dinner seem more glamorous or at least less repulsive and because I usually only have one serving's worth of leftovers left over (because it's supposed to be Bubba's lunch), I split it in half and serve it with a monster salad full of good things that can distract your taste buds from the pasta they totally remember from last night.

It's like Texts From Last Night, except with food. And it's way less entertaining and salacious.

Thankfully I had peppery radishes, hot green garlic, tart lemon dressing and a wild mix of salad greens to keep our minds off of boring pasta that woke up with the imprint of a toilet seat on its chest.

wait...what? I'm confusing things.

And it didn't hurt that the White Bean Pasta with Kale that I made, and then served again as leftovers, was the best version of it that I've made ever, so eating it again wasn't even half bad. Though we complained just the same.

To make this excellent dish (which is meatless and still somehow one of Bubba's favorites) in this new and improved way, saute two sliced leeks in the oil before you add the garlic and red pepper and then sub out half the vegetable (or chicken) broth with white wine.

And not that it's related necessarily, but if you really want to save Leftovers Night, just serve Strawberry Pie for dessert and all will be forgiven. Believe me, I knows it to be true.

Now I am going to go run off into the backwoods of Arkansas with Bubba and some good old friends for a weekend of fishing and drinking straight from the bottle, so there won't be a Farmshare Project: Week 8 report since the vegetables, as well as the bloodthirsty cat's care, will be in the hands of our fair neighbors.

Next week we can just talk about hangover recipes. With hushed voices. In a dark room.