I skipped my CSA box this week. I can hear the collective reader gasp already...
It wasn’t because I couldn’t stand another box of root vegetables (though that helped make the opting out an easy decision), it was because I needed specific things for our holiday lunch and, once I had bought those vegetables, and those needed for the pork wraps that L. requested, and the green salad that I wanted, and the asparagus that I bought on a whim, the CSA box seemed like it would be overkill, especially since I had some substantial remainders to get through from last week’s anyway, and always have an abundance of onions, shallots, garlic, and potatoes from various previous boxes on hand as well.
So, this week, instead of my usual random seasonal CSA selection, I deliberately purchased: a variety of citrus including finger limes, cranberries, fennel, leeks, red peppers, watermelon radish, red leaf lettuce, asparagus, Belgian endive, rainbow carrots, mini seedless cucumbers, avocado, spinach, scallions, baby arugula, cilantro, mint, and rosemary.
Remainders: Most of a red cabbage, an acorn squash, and two turnips (and God bless my sister who took the damn Spaghetti squash mentioned last week off of my hands)
Unpacking the groceries was not the event that my CSA box turns it into each week, as I really do enjoy the moment of anticipation before I lift off the lid, and my pocketbook certainly did not thank me for this excursion into many non-seasonal veggies...
All the items mentioned above will be transformed into:
Sunday “Pantry Roulette”; fridge, freezer, and pantry item dinner]
Spinach Salad with Avocado, Crispy Slab Bacon, and Warm Grain Mustard Dressing
Monday [Wildcard; a more complex or fiddly dish than usual to test my culinary skills]
Tuesday [Pasta]
Mixed Salad
Pasta a la Vodka
Wednesday [L.'s choice]
Green Salad
Grilled Filet Mignon with Black Pepper Crust
Roasted Asparagus
Crispy Potatoes
Thursday [Fish but that did not feel festive]
Christmas Eve Charcuterie and Cheese Extravaganza
(L.’s favorite thing in the world as one of his presents and no cooking for me who will be in full holiday lunch cooking mode already and sick of being in the kitchen that day)
Friday [Veggie-centric]
I imagine that we will be exceedingly full from our holiday lunch (menu to be posted later) so soup from the freezer will be served if needed
Saturday ["Picnic"; something that is easy to assemble and easy to eat in front of a movie]
Sausage and Lentil Stew
Popovers
P.S. A happy holiday season to you all! I hope that you all have a safe, but still celebratory time.
P.P.S. For those of you who were looking forward to the Tofu burger that L. and I were supposed to have for dinner, it has been put on hold. We had quite a large lunch and neither of us was hugely hungry and also, when told what was for dinner and given the response of "Pickle Brined Tofu Burger with Crunchy Vegetables", L. did the teenage equivalent of this, into his room...Fridge foraging took place instead. Here is the inspiration recipe for those of you who might be interested.
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