Tuesday 21 July 2015

Week #4 - 2015 FFF CSA - What's in the Box - Pesto Please!

This past week, the weather has been a fickle master. You know what they say... 'if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change'... well that pretty sums up this past week. Lots of sunshine, lots of rain, lots of wind, lots of time looking up at the sky trying to predict what will happen next!                           

Most of the plants are enjoying this changeable weather with a few exceptions. The beans, spinach and cilantro are not happy... the basil, squash, & tomatoes are loving it!                     
Sorting peas for the CSA boxes!
Given the happy basil, I thought I would share with you my favorite pesto recipe... with a few ideas to try from your CSA box:

Basic Pesto recipe: (this is enough for one meal, increase recipe as you see fit)

1 cup fresh basil (could substitute all or a portion of the basil with fresh garden peas, carrot tops or fresh spinach as available)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts (could substitute pine nuts (which can be expensive) with almonds or walnuts)
2 garlic cloves
salt and pepper to taste

The easiest way to make pesto is to put all ingredients into the food processor and process until a paste. If you don't have a food processor you can certainly chop all by hand and mix in a bowl. Pesto is good tossed in pasta, divine on pizza and wonderful in risotto! 

Pesto will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks or you can freeze it in ice cube trays and then put the cubes in a bag to be used one by one. Enjoy! 

So in summary... What's in the Box this week?

  • Lettuce (mixed greens in bag)
  • Zucchini
  • Carrots
  • Peas
  • Kale
  • Spanish Onion
  • Swiss Chard
  • New potatoes
  • Green chili peppers (relatively mild spicy pepper)
  • Beets 
  • Herbs in the red cup: 
    • Oregano
    • Chives
    • Parsley
    • Cilantro
    • Rosemary
  • Basil - in small ziploc bag


Notes to our CSA Share holders: 
We pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be important to wash all vegetables before you eat them. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (pails, cups, bags etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 

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