What’s in the Box? #22

My first link party was a big success!  Thank you to all of the fellow produce lovers who attended.  If you haven’t had the chance to scope out some of the other CSA boxes around the blogosphere, please visit a few of the links from last week.  There are some beautiful boxes and great recipe ideas.

I am looking forward to more attendees this week.  If you know of anyone who subscribes to a CSA or enjoys purchasing produce at their local farmers market, ask them to link up and share their finds.  The more the merrier!

Before we move on to my box for this week, I wanted to mention a few housekeeping notes that I think might enhance this link party experience.

1. When applicable, please link up to the URL of the post you wish to share, not the URL of your main blog.  This will help our readers navigate directly to the desired post.
2. I am in the midst of learning how to create a button you can grab that will help readers navigate back to this post, but in the meantime a simple text link back would be much appreciated.  (ps: while we are on the subject, if you think you can help with the html language of a button, your assistance is much appreciated!)
3. Share your weekly produce indulgences.  Whether it be your CSA box, Farmer’s Market finds or grocery store binges.  If it is fresh and delicious, we want to see it.  Any posts related to how you prepared it are also welcomed.  Feel free to link up to all of them.
4. Please leave a comment telling me that you’ve linked up so I can keep track of my attendees.
5. Please visit at least two other attendees and comment on their wonderful additions to the party.

I think that is all for now.  This is a work in progress, but I am having a blast getting this up and running.  I appreciate your participation in this project and your shared passion for fresh, local and organic fruits and veggies :)

Grateful for another great week of fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables.  My number one prize?  Blueberries!  And they are exactly how I like them.  Plump, crunchy and sweet :)  I have a thing about soft blueberries.  I just can’t eat them.  I need my blueberries to burst when I pop them in my mouth, not ooze.  If I can practice self-control and not eat the entire carton (half of which is already gone) I might get to enjoy a few in a bowl of oatmeal or yogurt.  But it has been a while since I have eaten fresh, raw blueberries, so I can’t promise anything :)

Speaking of raw, celery and carrots are always a healthy, nutritious and delicious raw snack.  Or when you cook them up with some onion and garlic, they make a nice base for soups, stews and sauces.  There is more than enough in each of these bunches to enjoy both ways.  Which works for me.  I love it when I get mileage out of my veggies.

And we might as well address the elephant in the room.  The elephant garlic that is.  The big ol’ white bulb that I initially mistook for a leek.  It’s pretty much the biggest garlic bulb I have ever seen.  This will make an excellent addition to any meal.  As I admire those red potatoes, I can’t’ help but think about spicing up my mashed red potatoes with some of this garlic.  Sounds like the perfect pairing.

You know what else is the perfect pairing?  Broccoli and lemons.  No really…amazing!  As I have mentioned before, I love a batch of simply steamed broccoli.  I typically dress it up with some butter, salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon.  Kicks it up a notch and gives the broccoli a whole new lease on life.  Try it!

A few weeks back I received my first bunch of dino kale, and ever since then I have boldly declared, that it is by far my favorite variety of kale.  I prepared it with some Turkey Meatballs and it was delish!  I might just have to recreate that masterpiece again.

Last but not least, we have some Murcott Mandarins and green leaf lettuce.  Something tells me there might be a marriage of these too in the future.  My mom used to prepare a delicious salad using these two ingredients so I am going to do my best to get a hold of it.  I need a few more jazzy salads in my life right about now.

Your Turn:  What are some of your favorite ways to use these fruits and vegetables?  Feel free to share techniques, tips and recipes.  I look forward to your responses :)

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