It’s CSA week 15, which means there are only 5 more weeks of these glorious boxes. Last week’s fierce heat (highs mid-90s F) has given way to a definite cooling trend. It was chilly – in the low 60s F – on the morning of pickup day; I needed my fleece vest! The first Need A Sweater day of the season is just as important as First Snow or First Leaf; it marks, for me, the official turn of the season.
And you can tell by our box that fall is imminent! Oh, sure, we have tomatoes, both slicing and paste types. We also have:
- 1 large head romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch kale
- 3 bell peppers (red and yellow)
- 3 red pimento peppers
- 1 head cabbage
- 3 small butternut squash
- 2 sweet dumpling squash
- 2 large heads broccoli
- a small watermelon
You can tell just by looking at the photo that we’re close to the end of summer. Clearly it’s time to snag my big bags of paste tomatoes and put up jars of glorious red! (look for more posts this week)
But first, let’s think about what I might do with this week’s produce. There are lots of salad possibilities with that huge head of romaine – and for the tough outer leaves, I recall making a Jacques Pepin recipe for cheese soufflé with lettuce. I’ve posted about it in the first days of this blog – alas, without a photo. Guess I’ll need to fix that and re-post! Other ideas for this box:
- autumn lasagna with sausage, chard, and butternut squash
- stuffed sweet dumpling squash (shallots, maple, and bacon!)
- red cabbage coleslaw
- roasted broccoli with Parmesan shavings
- broccoli cheese soup