how to use up a CSA share

What we got this week (on Sunday) and what we have made so far:
amaranth greens--added to a vegetable stirfry on Monday along with carrots, broccoli, and green onions (all three from Wegmans produce section, which I try to avoid during CSA but can't always). The stirfry was seasoned with ginger, red wine vinegar, peanut butter, and sesame oil. My husband made this stirfry which I thought was good but he wasn't impressed with it. Either way, it really helped to use up several vegetables all at once.
garlic scapes--added to same stirfry
spinach--half used in vegetable bean soup on Tuesday (ingredients: carrots, green pepper, onion, orzo, cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, oregano, thyme). Other half used in pasta dish on Wednesday (fettucine with chicken, sundried tomatoes, onions, garlic, fresh basil and oregano, topped with parmesan cheese).
mizuna--half used in green salad on Wednesday along with some spinach and red lettuce (topped with strawberries, almonds and goat cheese)
lettuce--used in salad (I'm still using the lettuce from last week)
baby beets--not used yet! I'm not a huge beet fan, so I'm trying to get myself excited about these. Anyone have any ideas for me? I'd like to use the greens, too.
cilantro--half used in Monday's stirfry. Remaining half to be used in fresh homemade salsa or maybe a curry...I haven't decided yet.
shelling peas--all used on Monday in Fresh Pea Soup (from Simply in Season). I made this as a side dish while my husband made the stir-fry. Easy, delicious recipe--peel and chop two potatoes, put in large saucepan with 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cook until potato is tender. Add shelled peas (I only had one cup but recipe called for three cups--adjust recipe as needed). Boil until peas are bright green and tender (a few minutes). Puree soup in food processor or blender. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with chopped fresh dill (which I had leftover from last week).
All in all, it's been a delicious week. The race continues...can we use up this week's ingredients before this coming Sunday when we get more produce? Tune in next posting and see....

More strawberries

Today my husband and I went to pick strawberries at Hurd Orchards, a place about half an hour from here. The picking was good but the field was pretty messy--no defined paths to pick in, no idea of what has been picked or hasn't. It made me long for the good old days when my parents took us to Shultz's Strawberry Farm (formerly in Hornell). Still, in about half an hour we picked 10 quarts. We paid $21 total which I think is a really good deal. They charge by the pound, not the quart. The price is $1.75 per pound unless you pick more than 10 pounds, in which case you get a discount to $1.50 per pound (we picked 13 pounds). I don't think we'll have any problem using up the berries. We used up one quart already tonight for strawberry shortcake (my Grandma Grastorf's recipe--buttery and yummy). Also, on the way home from picking we stopped at a farmstand and bought a pound of fresh, local edible pod peas. And today was our CSA pickup day, so we have a fridge full of greens to use (this week: kale, spinach, dill, cilantro, red lettuce, green onions, and mizspoona--I know, I had never heard of it either--it's a cross between tat soi and mizuna). Hooray for early summer produce!

the perfect Sunday brunch

What I ate this morning (after reading the Sunday New York Times, still in my pajamas):

a 2-egg omelet with mushrooms, spinach, onions, rosemary and goat cheese
a glass of Wegman's premium orange juice
a piece of whole wheat toast with butter
half a mug of aforementioned homemade chai

What a delicious start to the day.

Strawberry fever

Strawberry fever is the condition that causes a usual "early to bed" person to stay up until almost midnight making a strawberry-rhubarb pie from scratch. It also describes the panicked feeling you feel knowing that strawberry season is only 3-4 weeks long, and you have to pack in all the essential strawberry dishes in that time period. Fresh, local strawberries are one of life's greatest pleasures, and they are gone too quickly every year. I got my first two quarts of the season today from a farm close to where I work. I'm hoping to pick more later this week. The rhubarb is from our CSA. The filling recipe is courtesy of the Joy of Cooking. The crust recipe is from my dear mom, who taught me that pie making is an art, a rapidly dying one, at that.