Tag Archives: vegan

Adventures in CSA (week 7): Bok choi!

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I love that name: bok choi! It sounds like it should be the name of a Vulcan..or something a Klingon would say. It’s clearly a very Star Trek-friendly vegetable. I also happen to like how bok choi tastes, although I’m not used to getting 2lbs of it at a time. Really, this may be a bit more than we can handle.

We actually went through the fridge last night and found that there was definitely some spoilage in things we never got to (eggplant & scallions, mostly). It’s really hard keeping up with a 1/2 bushel box of vegetables *every* week when you don’t have veggies as your primary food. Still, we’re determined to keep on keepin’ on. Next week is actually the last week of this particular CSA subscription; the next one starts up in the first week of November and will be delivered every other Tuesday. I suspect that may make it a little tougher for us to plan things out, but we’ll manage as best as we can.

My prediction on this box is that it will definitely be worth more than $20 in grocery store value; it was PACKED with a ridiculous amount of fruit and veggies this week.

Week 7 CSA

More than a week's worth, for sure!

Our haul:

  • Bok choi
  • Collard greens
  • Radishes
  • Parsnips
  • Yellow onions
  • Carrots
  • Asian pears
  • Macoun apples
  • Acorn Squash
  • Italian eggplant
  • Sweet potatoes
  • New potatoes
  • Red potatoes

The only items that I dreaded as I opened the box were the eggplant and the radishes; eggplant hasn’t captured my love yet and radishes are just so fricking bitter that I’m not sure WHAT to do with them. Still, we shall perservere. As it is, I decided to pop the eggplant into a new dish today, and I finally found a way to eat eggplant where I’d definitely be asking for more! I’ll post that recipe Monday…

Roasted Root Veggies

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Our week 6 CSA box had root veggies that just cried out to be roasted. Seriously – I opened the box and the parsnips sang, “Please roast us! And can you add some rosemary, too, please? KTHXBAI!”

OK, well, maybe they didn’t say that…or if they did, perhaps I should have my hearing or mental acuity checked…but the sentiment is still there. Some side dishes are just easy to put together and just make a ton of sense. These also happened to taste really yummy. Roasting brings out the sugar in these veggies, and while you can go with probably any combination of root vegetables, I went with parsnips and carrots for some nice color and a good pairing of flavors. Were the kids more in the mood for making veggies the center of the dinner, or if we had more people at the table, the beets would have gone in the oven with them.

 

Roasted Root Veggies

Roasting + Rosemary = OMNOMNOM

 

Prep Time: 5 min

Cooking Time: 30-35 min

Serves: 4-6

 

Ingredients

3/4 lb parsnips

3/4 lb carrots

1 Tb olive oil

2 tsp dried rosemary

 

Make it Happen

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Peel the parsnips and carrots, and cut them into roughly equal size pieces, maybe a couple of inches long and 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. Place the parsnips and carrots in a glass baking dish (like a Pyrex pan) or onto a non-stick cookie sheet. [Note: I used a Pyrex dish to reduce the risk of staining my cookie sheet. A Silpat or other similar silicone sheet may do the trick, or you can use aluminum foil to protect your pan.]

2. Drizzle olive oil over the veggies. Using tongs, toss the veggies so that they can get evenly coated with the oil. Make sure that you leave them in a single layer – no veggies should be on top of other veggies.

3. Sprinkle rosemary evenly over the veggies.

4. When the oven is at temperature, place the pan/sheet in the oven and cook for 30-35 mins.

(Yes, it’s just that easy.)

Adventures in CSA (week 6): What’s $0.47?

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According to my spreadsheet, this is the first week that we haven’t come out ahead. However, I refuse to believe it for the simple reason that the item that I had the hardest time pricing (eggplant – which was on sale at the store this week) was also the one item where no good equivalent could be found. Our grocery store carries only the big, hulking purple eggplants. The one that we got in this week’s CSA was a more delicate globe eggplant, referred to as a Rosa Bianca on the painting on the back of a Cooks Illustrated. It also didn’t help that the grocery store’s sale price tag was so huge and so wedged in that I couldn’t even peel it back to see the regular price (without drawing unnecessary attention). So, I know that the price for the actual eggplant I have *should* be higher, but I have no way to prove this definitively. So, the deficit stands…all $0.47 of it.

Prices have gone up again for a few items – beets have reverted back to the higher $2.99 that we saw in a prior week, and both apples and potatoes have started to go up a little. I find it interesting that items which are most definitely IN SEASON in this area have gone up in price. One would really expect the opposite, no?

Furthermore, there was some serious irony in the fact that our grocery store was touting how the devastation from Hurricane Irene makes it all the more important to buy local produce. Why yes. Yes it does. But, since most of the items they put out (unless they go out of their way to note it) could come from Outer Mongolia and I wouldn’t know it, it makes it really hard for me to be sure what’s local and what’s not unless they note the origin. A little information could go a long way, guys.

Without further ado, here is this week’s price comparison…

Week 6 CSA
Weight
(lb)		 Grocery Store Unit Price
(per lb)		 Grocery Store Total Item Cost
Leeks 1.00 $2.99 $2.99
Beets 1.00 $2.99 $2.99
Butternut Squash 1.84 $0.99 $1.82
Garlic 0.05 $2.99 $0.14
Carrots 0.91 $0.99 $0.90
Parsnips 0.84 $2.49 $2.10
Macintosh Apples 1.98 $1.59 $3.14
Red Potatoes 2.02 $1.49 $3.00
Corn** 3.00 $0.60 $1.80
Globe Eggplant* 0.55 $1.19 $0.65
Grocery Store Total Cost $19.53
Week 6 Savings (Deficit) ($0.47)
Program-to-Date Savings (Deficit) $15.30
Notes:
* Items were not available; closest equivalent was used.
** Closest equivalent is husked corn cobs sold in 5pks; unit price was derived from this comparable item

Of course, there was enough savings already built up that we’re still ahead. I’m now wondering whether we could end up basically getting 9 weeks’ cost of veggies out of the 8 box program, since we are still within spitting distance of $20 savings. Then again, with only two weeks left to go in this program, it may not be possible. I’m still coming out ahead, so far, and that’s a wonderful thing. I’ve also discovered that I really like roasted beets – and that’s a VERY good thing. Plus, I’ve branched out in some of my cooking and rediscovered how much I like puttering in the kitchen. Were the kids younger, this would be a lot tougher, and were they older, this would be a lot easier. Still, I think we’re managing okay. Of the people that I know who are really major kitchen putterers, the overwhelming majority have no children or have children old enough that you can leave them on their own for a while.

And really, I do love that all I have to say to my daughter on a Friday afternoon is…”Guess what I have in my car…?” and she enthusiastically responds: “VEGGIE BOX!!!” That’s pretty fantastic, regardless of whether I’m coming out $0.47 ahead or behind on any given week.