New Recipes from our CSA

It feels like the night before Christmas...Actually, it's the night before our CSA box from Glacier Valley Farm arrives, and that's a lot like Christmas! Because we were gone over Spring Spring, we didn't get a box last week, but now I'm all excited about the arrival of tomorrow's, which comes with a whole new set of recipes.

I'm so tickled about how the family is on board with the CSA box and healthier eating. Eldest (off in college) is probably wishing I would have done this YEARS ago (but I don't think they had much in a way of CSAs in Alaska back when she lived at home) -- anyway, she gets credit for giving me the "push" when I was dragging my feet. Husband is also on board with my new vegetable experimentations resulting in"new adventures in eating", and he's hoping it will help him loose some of those unwanted pounds. And both of the remaining kids-at-home are becoming VERY interested in food and good nutrition -- I love how engaged the kids are getting in the selecting, cooking (and of course taste-testing) new recipes, and the many discussions over dinner about where our food really comes from.

I mentioned in my first kitchen blog post how teenage son was reading Michael Pollan In Defense of Food for Science class, and now he's reading Pollan's Botany of Desire. In fact, he's decided to give vegetarianism a try -- and that from the boy who couldn't get enough chicken wings at the potluck the other day! But I digress...

My routine for right before a new CSA box arrives:
1. clean out the frig - take out any leftovers and eat or toss, depending on its status.
2. make stock (for recipe, see my post on Making your own stock) - I use whatever meat scraps I've saved in the freezer, plus bottom of celery, onions, carrots saved in frig during past week)
3. Make soup- use anything from vegetable drawer that you know is getting replaced by this week's CSA box.
4. Plan menu - this is the fun part. Figure out what staples you may need to pick up at the grocery store to make some of those mouthwatering new recipes you plan to try with the stuff in your new CSA box.
5. Bake bread - optional, but you might just as well get a loaf rising while you're busy in the kitchen! And when the fam gets home from school/work, the chorus will be "It smells soooo good! What's for dinner?" What's better than homemade Soup with bread fresh out of the oven?

Here's some what I'm planning with this week's brand-new recipes from Glacier Valley Farm:
For actual recipes, go to Glacier grist # 21

Broccoli w/ garlicky mustard vinaigrette & toasted pepitas

cabbage and sourdough bread gratin

Fennel, tomato & potato stew