Summer CSA - Week 3

Trying to catch up on these posts -- with food coming every week instead of every other, I can't keep up!

Our box this week contained swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, carrots, green onions, beets, radishes, cauliflower, kohlrabi, strawberries, bread and eggs.

The exquisitely odd-looking kohlrabi is new to us but was an instant favorite. A member of the cabbage family, it can be eaten raw or cooked. It's flavor is similar to a broccoli stalk but milder and sweeter. So far, we've just added it to the bin of chopped, raw veggies we snack on throughout the week. 

As for the greens, our share includes a LOT more than I normally buy. Fortunately, I love salad and I've been warming the kids up to it over the last few weeks with small side salads. So far so good on that front. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared to use so many greens the first week and some wilted before I got to them. After dreading throwing them out (and accompanying guilt), I had a flash of inspiration -- vegetable stock!

Among the things that had seen better days were...bits of bok choy, kale, swiss chard, celery and green onions. I washed and chopped them and added carrots, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. After simmering for a couple of hours, I removed the vegetables and seasonings and returned the broth to the stovetop to reduce further. In the end, I had two quarts of dark and delicious-smelling stock to stow away in the freezer. No waste, no guilt!