Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Boston Organics

I had thought about joining a CSA last Spring, but because I was traveling so much, it just didn't really make sense. Well, now that I'm not traveling until April, I figured it would be a good time to start. I picked Boston Organics, which isn't really a CSA, on the recommendation of a lot of my small group members. Basically, you get to choose the size of box you want, how often you want it delivered, and what you want in the box. I chose the $29 box, bi-weekly, with 1/2 fruit and 1/2 vegetable. I got my first delivery today, and here's what I got:

My Boston Organics delivery today

If you click on the picture you can go to the flickr page where I've noted what everything is and how much I got of it. Now comes the fun part: deciding how to use it all up. The onions and potatoes are going to go in a clam chowder I'm making for Sunday, and this looks like a really yummy recipe for the collard greens. Broccoli is a no brainer, but I have a feeling the Swiss chard will be a challenge. Unfortunately, the avocado is already ripe but I have no idea what to do with it. The fruit I'm not as concerned about because I've seen a lot of beautiful looking recipes for pear, apple, blood orange, and lemon tarts recently, and if the bananas start getting over-ripe, I love making Erica's mom's banana bread.

So does anyone have a good recipe for guacamole or know what else I can do with the avocado and/or Swiss chard?

6 comments:

  1. Swiss chard is great in soups. (My favorite is a white bean and pasta soup that can be found here
    http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/white-bean-pasta-and-swiss-chard-soup)

    It is also good cooked with some garlic and a little broth for flavoring. (Stir fry some garlic, add chopped Swiss chard and then add a little broth to add flavor and keep it from burning.)

    One avocado is not quite enough for guacamole, but it is great cut up in salads or sandwiches. (I like it with tuna salad or BLTs.) It also makes a great sushi role ingredient.

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  2. I forgot to mention that Swiss chard is like spinach in that it can contribute to that funny teeth feeling when you cook it in a reactive pot. I usually cook it in my enamel lined Dutch oven.

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  3. Thanks, Adelaide! Maybe if Swiss chard is so great in soups I can use it in my weekly hot pot next week. And now that you mention is, I do remember using some once for a ribollita soup. Mmmmm...Tuscan bread soup....

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  4. With one avocado, you could try the avocado-lime dressing here: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/quinoa-and-grilled-zucchini-recipe.html

    I made that quinoa salad yesterday. Yum. (I used chives instead of cilantro -- not a cilantro fan.)

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  5. By the way, this is Beata :-).

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  6. yum! roger and i have been thinking about signing up for a csa...

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