Special Delivery: CSA Style

Our first delivery from Blackberry Community Farm arrived on Tuesday. I was out of town for work, so my sister-in-law Lindsay picked up our very first box of fruits and veggies (she is splitting the crop share with us).

Today when I arrived home from my trip, I opened the fridge to a bountiful bag of produce. Included this week were lettuce, chives, spinach, oregano, sorrel (a lemony salad green), cauliflower, greenhouse strawberries and rhubarb. We also received a jar of homemade lip and body balm.

I hadn't been to the grocery store this week since I was out of town so I scrounged the Internet (and my refrigerator) for a quick spinach salad recipe to whip up for dinner tonight. I selected this Wilted Spinach Salad recipe which turned out deliciously! I served my entree salad with fresh strawberries. It feels great eating ingredients grown organically from a local farm just over the border in Wisconsin.

Wilted Spinach Salad
*recipe from www.allrecipes.com
(Adapted to 2 servings)

Ingredients

         1-1/2 eggs

         1/4 pound bacon

         1/2 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and dried

         1 green onions, thinly sliced

         1/2 eggs

         1 tablespoon white sugar

         1 tablespoon white vinegar

         1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions

Place 6 eggs in a medium saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Bring water to a boil, and

immediately remove from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove

from hot water, cool, peel, and chop.Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat
until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside, reserving approximately 1/2 cup of drippings in the
skillet.

In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and green onions.

Heat the reserved drippings over low heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 remaining eggs, sugar, white vinegar, and red wine vinegar. Add to warm grease, and whisk for about a minute, until thickened. Pour at once over spinach, add crumbled bacon, and toss to coat. Garnish with chopped egg.

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Tomorrow night, I'm planning to make strawberry rhubarb crisp for the cabin this weekend. I also thought I could bring the chives and oregano to the cabin this weekend and whip up an awesome potato side dish or serve them over a breakfast dish.

The CSA is going to challenge me this summer in new ways. I'm forced to explore new recipes with foods I'd likely never purchase on my own and taste all the new flavors that accompany them. Excited!