October 20th is CSA week 21 – we have a 22-week season this year, not a 20-week one! Now there’s only one more week for our CSA boxes, and soon, I’ll be very sad – however, this week I’m very happy. Look at the wonderful stuff from this week’s box! It’s so clearly an autumn box (goodbye, tomatoes) and is chock-full of wonderful stuff to use in soups, stews, and hearty fare of all kinds.
There were tomatoes at the farmers market: the very last tomatoes, because we had a hard frost this week. I picked up some green tomatoes because they’re just so good in things, and I promise that I’ll re-publish some favorite recipes so they’ll be easy to find.
Today’s CSA box contains:
- a big head of cauliflower
- 2 large onions
- eggplant
- 1 head romanesco broccoli
- garlic, 1 large head
- 2 huge leeks
- 3 potatoes
- a bit bunch of carrots
- lots of peppers
It’s cool weather all the time now – no more 80-degree days, summer is over. My autumn kitchen features soups and stews, oven-roasted goodness, and homemade bread. I’ve got some ideas for using up this box:
- roasted cauliflower with Parmesan
- roasted cauliflower with bacon and garlic from Steamy Kitchen
- potato-leek soup (here’s a version from Skinnytaste)
- romanesco and chick-pea salad from Love & Lemons
- baked eggplant sticks from Skinnytaste
- eggplant Parmesan (a personal favorite)
- or, new to me: eggplant, gruyere, and Proscuitto lasagna from Serious Eats
- stuffed pepper soup from Skinnytaste
- maple-glazed carrots
Of course, the onions, potatoes and carrots could be part of a hearty beef stew. Leeks and carrots might join up in a chicken pot pie. Those peppers would be great on their own dipped in hummus. There are so many ways to use these vegetables – what would you do in your kitchen?