CSA: Going Where We've Never Gone Before

It's our third week receiving our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box with fresh organic fruits and veggies. This week we received:

Spinach
Lovage (a perennial herb that can be finely chopped and used in cooking for its strong celery flavor)
Mint
Kohlrabi
Chinese Cabbage
Strawberries (from the greenhouse)
Radishes
Broccoli

My favorite part of receiving the box of produce is identifying what the items are. We receive an email from the farm each week with a list of the items, but it still takes a lot of sniffing and analyzing for me to  tell what they are. I actually think it's kind of fun; how often do you have a bunch of Lovage on your hands, smell it and think "wow, that smells just like a celery stock!" Quite the learning experience.

The first week of our CSA was challenging. We had SO MUCH spinach I wasn't really sure what to do with it all. You can only eat so many spinach salads, you know. But reading back through the newsletter I realized this is the only time of the season we'll receive spinach so while it's abundant, we should enjoy it. That said, I ended up composting the last half of it because I didn't plan well enough with other grocery items on hand.

This week, I assumed we'd be receiving more fresh spinach and kohlrabi so I researched recipes ahead of time that used these items. I also purchased some poppyseed dressing and slivered almonds ahead of time anticipating more greenhouse strawberries. I'm planning to make some yummy spinach salads this week.

But by far, my favorite recipe of the week is Squash and Kohlrabi Empanadas I made last night. It was super easy to prepare and used kohlrabi (something I've never eaten before). Plus, the empanadas freeze really well so I made six, ate one and froze the rest for another night. Husband will love having something easy to pull out of the freezer and bake for dinner.

My new friends - Kohlrabi

Squash and Kohlrabi Empanadas

Ingredients
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece of fresh ginger, minced
2 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and cubed
1 yellow squash
2 green onions
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1 pinch nutmeg
1 egg
1 (15 oz) package of pie crust

Directions
Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and ginger; cook and stir until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in kohlrabi, cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in yellow squash and cook for 4 minutes. Stir in green onions, spinach and nutmeg. Add more salt and pepper, as needed. Cook 1 minute. Set mixture aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Beat an egg in a small bowl; set aside.

Roll out the pie crust and run a rolling pin over it once or twice. Cut out 6-inch circles using a large cookie cutter or cereal bowl. Fill the center of each circle with 1 Tbsp of the kohlrabi mixture. Fold the dough in half so the empanadas make a moon shape. Crimp the edge of the dough with a fork to seal and place on the baking sheet. Prick each empanada with a fork and brush with egg wash.

Bake in oven until golden brown and flaky, about 5-7 minutes.


Enjoy! These were flaky, warm and filling. The kohlrabi and squash mixture wasn't overpowering, but I loved the hints of ginger you'd get in every bite. I'd definitely make these again and perhaps utilize the technique to stuff them full of other veggies I have on hand. Yum!