So, here's what was included in my box from last Wednesday: carrots, corn, red kale, red leaf lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, Yukon Gold potatoes, spinach, peaches, Gala apples, Valencia oranges, bananas, nectarines, Packham pears, and grapefruit.
Yikes! It was certainly more produce than I'd ever purchase on my own at once but I'm resolved to not let any of it go to waste.
At least there was a nice assortment of hand fruit, so the peaches, nectarines, apples, and pears have been slowly dissapearing as healthy mid-meal snacks. I made one very basic dinner (with the corn and potatoes and--ahem--a store-bought roast chicken) the evening of the delivery and used the bulk of it this past weekend.
The corn was easy street; just a quick boil and they were perfect with a little salt. I steamed the potatoes, quartered them, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and Herbes de Provence, and put them under the broiler to get crispy brown and bubbly on the outside.
I was able to use several of the other items in a meal that I prepared over the weekend for our good friends and bloggers, newlyweds Lindsey and Evan of The Country Weekenders. They were very surprised to see that I actually cooked instead of putting out the usual bagels and cream cheese (our weekend mainstay since the birth of our twins, who were the lucky recipients of mashed bananas and pureed apples and pears!).
I wanted to use the spinach in a strata (a simple breakfast casserole) but decided to use a different store-bought veggie combo for it instead. I then used the spinach to make a Spinach Pesto that I would freeze for use later on. However, I decided to get a little creative and fold the pesto into cream cheese for a yummy dip that I served with cut up carrots (which honestly taste a lot better than those baby carrots that I always have around).
Back to the strata for those that are curious: I ended up buying asparagus, mushrooms, and red bell peppers for use in a Asparagus Strata recipe which I tweaked a bit by adding the mushrooms, using turkey sausage as the protein, and whole wheat bread instead of French bread. I think the bread needed to be stale so that it would absorb the milk and cheese mixture better, but it was otherwise flavorful. This was my second time making it, but I still have to try it again.
The one item in the box that I've never worked with was the red kale. Kale has such a tough consistency and since I'd never used it, I set out to find the simplest of recipes and ended up following a super easy one for Kale Salad. The kale took on a more mellow crunch once boiled and tasted great with the sesame oil and soy sauce dressing. I also served a refreshing Cucumber Salad but made it my own by using rice vinegar.
Not only did I prep a meal, but I scored extra points by creating a beverage: I used cucumbers and apples to make a refreshing infused water that looked beautiful on the table.
For dessert, I served a somewhat rustic platter of orange, pear, and apple wedges along with a selection of sweet scones (and thanks to Lindsey and Evan for bringing those delicious cherry's, strawberries, and grapes!).I had wanted to use the broccoli to try a Broccomole recipe (how cool is that?! broccoli instead of avocado...) to serve at brunch but was too tired since the boys are teething and not sleeping well. I had a little more energy to take it on last night -- not that it's even that complicated -- but discovered that my husband had been munching on the broccoli with some hummus throughout the weekend. Perhaps I'll get more broccoli in the box that will arrive this Wednesday so that I'll get another chance at that fun dip.
I used the red leaf lettuce and some remaining cucumber along with a tomato in a salad that I enjoyed for lunch yesterdat along with a turkey sandwich that included some of my spinach pesto cream cheese. With the grapefruit as breakfast this morning, every item was used and I look forward to my next box!
So, who wants to come over for brunch this weekend??
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