CSA Box #5

Box #5 just arrived a day early on account of it being a holiday week and I legit cannot fit this much food into my refrigerator.  I need to do a whole lot of prepping or eating or giving away or something.  Box #5 includes:  broccoli, spigariello (Italian leafy broccoli, which looks more like dandelion greens than broccoli), summer squash, varietal head lettuce, red spring onions (which smell amazing), baby carrots (which looks like last week's "young carrots" to me -- I'd forgotten the baby carrots at the store aren't actually what infant carrots look like), arugula, red and green basil, fava beans, red beets, zucchini blossoms, fennel, dill, joi choi, and pickling cucumbers.  I'm going to need to try a lot of new recipes since there are quite a few things here that are new to me. 

First, the arugula and greens from the beets will end up washed and in the freezer for use in breakfast smoothies.  There are plenty of more creative ways I could use them and it felt wasteful doing it to last week's beautiful kale and (less beautiful) chard, but I always consume them 100% this way and without any serious effort on my part.

The pickling cucumbers I will pickle just like I did before.  I'm going to use the same pickling brine as last batch since the recipe said you can do it and I'll just add a little of the fresh dill to it.  There is a spicy cucumber sambal recipe in Vedge that I might try with a couple of the pickling cucumbers.  I have no idea if they are the right texture for this, but I'm willing to risk it.

I'm going to try to make at least the spigarello and zucchini blossoms and the fava beans for dinner since Sameer isn't fasting today and we actually stand a chance of eating a fair amount.  I'm thinking of just doing as many Italian-style sides as I can in one day.  It's always nice to have leftovers for lunch the next day anyway. 

Beetroot pots de creme (Vedge, pg. 179)
This will supposedly use up about half a beet, as well as the last of the coconut milk in the fridge.  I think I have enough chocolate chips in the pantry to make it.  We'll see how this goes.

Beet Salad
This seems like an easy way to use up the rest of the beets without oven roasting them in the middle of an already hot summer.


Spigarello Sauteed Italian Style
To use up the spigarello.

Traditional Italian Fried Zucchini Blossoms
I chose this recipe because it doesn't require me to stuff them with cheese OR deep fry them in an entire vat of oil.  I've never had zucchini blossoms before, so this will be interesting.

10 Minute Garlic Bok Choy
My plan is to use the joi choi on this.


Sauteed Fennel with Garlic  

My favorite way to eat summer squash is zucchini crab cakes and I have a lot, so this will probably happen.  Side note: I've been subbing out the egg with flaxseed for awhile now.  You can make it vegan by omitting the butter.  I've tried it with vegan butter but it tastes weird when heated.

I might also try making some of the summer squash into a healthy zucchini bread a la my healthy carrot cake recipe.  I imagine the only change I'd make is to swap out the carrots for squash.  I'm going to remember the vanilla this time and increase the cinnamon too though.

[Edited after dinner:  We ended up having (clockwise from top) some hummus Sameer made and baby carrots, pan fried zucchini blossoms (delicious and easier to make than expected), spigarello sauteed Italian style (also delicious; I used apple cider vinegar; same recipe would work with any dark leafy green, e.g., arugula or kale), blanched fresh fava beans.