In Your Share (Sept 4th edition)

Colorful chard in the share this week! These spectacular greens come in almost every color of the rainbow and are probably even more nutritious than they are beautiful.

Amazing recipes for Rainbow Swiss Chard and everything else in your share are available to members at Cook With What You Have. If you joined our Summer CSA you will find your password in the member email. Enjoy 24/7 access to recipe inspiration!

This week your share may include…

  • Fresh Beans: Purple “green” beans actually do turn green when you cook them : ) And we may also have a few yellow romano beans which  have a flat pod, but a very similar sweet crunchy beany taste.  
  • Chard: This rainbow chard grows in luminescent shades of red, orange, pink, yellow and everything in between. Enjoy the color, then cook it and enjoy the greens! I like to use it as a healthy and hearty replacement for cooked spinach. Chard works well in omelets, polenta, over pasta, in lasagne, etc. Or try this Lebanese recipe for Stuffed Chard, called Mehchi Selek, from shareholder Laurence Qamar
  • Sweet Corn: Must be summertime…
  • Eggplant: Beautiful Japanese eggplant with a few pink and Italian mixed in.
  • Walla Sweet Onions: These are the best!
  • Italian Parsley: I like to think of parsley more like greens then herbs. It is more flavorful than some greens, but the flavor isn’t overwhelming so I like to use it in bulk. Often herbs are used sparingly, but  I prefer recipes that feature significant amounts of parsley. Traditional Lebanese tabbouleh often includes a much higher ration of parsley to grain than we’re used to.  Yom Ottolenghi has some great parsley recipes in his cookbooks including this charred corn salad with parsley, onion and jalapeño. I’m also a huge fan of Herb Salsa Verde.
  • Jalapeno Peppers: Tasty in any dish where you’d like to add a little heat!
  • Padrón Peppers: This style of pepper originated in the Spanish municipality of Padrón, in Galicia. For traditional spanish tapas these are fried in a cast iron pan with olive oil and salt. Most peppers are not hot but 10-20% will surprise you with some heat : ) That is part of the appeal of this pepper! You can find more info about the history of patron’s and how to cook them here.
  • Summer Squash: Assorted shapes, sizes and colors and they’re all tasty. Grill slabs of zucchini or patty pan on the BBQ or slice them into a gratin or use a big one for Zucchini Bread.
  • Tomatoes: Heirloom and slicing tomatoes are perfect this time of year!

Coming soon… More Tomatoes!!