Things I have cooked so far with food from the farm

—Garlic scape white bean spread
—Garlic scape pesto
—Fresh peas with butter and mint
—Radishes with butter and sea salt
—Salads galore
—Pasta with beet tops and spinach with spicy sesame honey tomato sauce
—Chicken sausage and rapini (think baby broccoli rabe) over polenta
—Greek gigante beans with mounds of fresh parsley
—Roasted beets with goat cheese
—Strawberries with balsamic vinegar

I think there's more, but that's all I remember at the moment. I'm finding that I feel a certain amount of cooking pressure, having a share in a CSA farm (see previous post here). You must quickly use it up so that it doesn't go to waste, and to do that requires pretty much a new meal per night. Maybe 5 meals. And we haven't finished up the roasted beets yet. And sometimes when something comes in, like a bunch of italian parsley as big as your head, I take the so-fresh-it's-covered-in-dew bunch and just stare it. I think at it, What am I going to do with you, you giant bunch of parsley you. I know one recipe that calls for 3 tablespoons worth (the gigante beans) and that's about it. There's an amazing tempura you can make with curly parsley, but not flat italian parsley.

Sometimes I am almost scared to pick up the produce on Saturdays. And we are taking only half of a single share. But when you go there, and see all the boxes of produce stacked among the kids' toys at the local pre-school (and say hello to the salamander who jauntily proclaims on its sign "My name is Juan"), your eyes go wide and you instantly begin thinking of the recipes for the week.