What Are You Going To DO With All That Produce?

You took the words right out of my mouth only I have 2 spice plants. Cilantra and I honestly can't remember the name of the other spice. I look at them growing bigger and bigger and think, "I really need to find a recipe to use these. I also purchase mustard greens at a local farm stand thinking I could put them in a green smoothie. Boy was that a mistake as mustard is hot! Duh... who would have known. Anyways thanks for the recipe. Now I have something I can do with those mustard greens.

Marie Cheek

Love this!!!

You can also check out http://www.ampleharvest.org/

We love the idea of sharing the harvest..with everyone! ~Jenn

Jennifer

What I like about my CSA is that I can pick and choose what I like, so when I get my package I know it will be foods I love. I like not knowing what I'm going to get and it inspires me to cook somethng new!

Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers

For more good garden/harvest recipes, check out First Lady Michelle Obamas book, "American Grown" good read on the WH kitchen garden and others too.

Jamelle

I love my CSA with Easy Acres farm in Ohio!(I'm still dreaming about the amazing peaches I ate in this weeks basket.) I just got a big head of cauliflower. I have never been a fan of it so I never eat it. Thanks to my CSA I gotta figure something out.

Mandy @ findvitality

One of the women at my office belongs to a CSA and LOVES it. It's definitely something I'll be looking into in the future

Stephanie G

I am from Louisiana ,so luckily we eat alot of greens. My favorite way (and a favorite among kids) is gumbo z'herbes or green gumbo. Basically, it is a gumbo with as many greens as you can stand. It will clean out your fridge!

mary a.

I love CSAs! I like the fact that ours gives us recipes and posts them on their website, too. It's fun to do google searched and find ways to use new-to-me veggies as well.

Carrie @ Season It Already!

@Mandy,

Cut UR cauliflower into florets and toss w/olive oil and roast it in a blaring hot oven until brown, delicious. I also deep-fry it like French fries and my family (and their friends) love the unique flavor...

Love me some mustard greens w/smoked turkey drumsticks...

Angie

Here's how I get rid of extra greens. I used spinach the first time but collards and chard also work well, and I bet mustard would add a neat spice to the recipe! http://crunchyhipandbroke.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/potato-p…

Courtney

OH! And this recipe looks super great, I'm gonna have to give it a shot. I bet the tofu would also be good marinated in some lemon juice with this.

Courtney

Whenever my rhubarb gets overgrown I just tell people on facebook and it's usually gone within the week! I'm pretty sure I'll be depositing tomatoes with neighbours this year too.

Patricia

I could really use some new ideas for cucumbers - harvested our first one yesterday and there are dozens more on the vines, think we're going to have a bumper crop this year!

Jenni

Have you tried cauliflower pizza crust? It's a good way to use that cauliflower. I like it topped with pesto and grilled or sauteed veggies.

Nina

Great idea for using up greens. One thing I like to do is wash my greens as soon as they come in from the market or the garden, chop them and keep them in a sealed bag in the fridge. Then, I toss them into whatever I'm cooking without a second thought. Dark leafies are excellent in stews, soups, chili, scrambled eggs, all manner of casseroles, you name it. Plus, it makes everything mega healthy.

Katie at Mom's Kitchen Handbook

Another great use for greens is pesto. For kale or chard I usually sautee it with onion and garlic before putting it in the food processor, but for more tender greens like cilantro and spinach you can blend it raw. Throw in some sort of nut like pinenuts or almonds or walnuts, some parmesan, maybe some lemon or lime juice, olive oil, and a little salt, and you're good to go. You can do anything with it -- smear it on toast with cheese and put it under the broiler, stir into eggs before cooking an omelet (my toddler loves these "green eggs"), use as a base for homemade pizza rather than tomato sauce, use as a sauce over cooked chicken breast or fish, or of course toss with cooked pasta. And the leftovers freeze beautifully.

statgirl

My husband grows lots of veggies but doesn't ask me what kind I would like to cook! We have lots of yellow squash, cucumbers and the hardest for me to prepare, eggplant!!

Charlotte in Georgia

I just polished off a bowl of kale, sauteed in oil, garlic, red pepper flakes with veg. broth. With slight variations I gotta have my weekly fix of greens. Beet greens are another fav. I agree with statgirl that pestos are the answer to excess greens and the varieties and uses are not only endless but really add such a freshness to dishes with ease. Parsley, garlic, oil pesto for any quick seafood sauces/chowders; cilantro, lime, oil, garlic for mexican dishes; I've done a basil, parsley, oregano,garlic, oil pesto to make quick marinara, bruschetta, crostini toppings, etc. Just freeze in ice cube trays, pop out and label freezer bags for tons of future meals that call for fresh herbs, garlic breads, meatballs, meatloaves, stews, etc. Other greens can be blanched, drained and frozen as well. so healthy. My adult kids raid my pestos all the time for cracker spreads. I will try garden spinach this summer for soup additions, can't wait.

Barb

I got the allrecipes.com app for my phone. So I can look up recipes by random strange ingredient from anywhere. My CSA I have to go pick it up from the farm, so we often get a choice "take 1 this or that." So when faced with greens (which are my nemesis. Spinach is the only leaf I like so far. No, wait. Kale chips too) I search recipes for the ones I'm allowed to chose between and then pick what sounds best.

Or, like today, my daughter chooses the one I didn't really want (mustard greens. Natch!) But I found a few good-looking mustard greens and beans curry recipes. I'm going to try adapting for a crock-pot, since I'm a lazy chef. :)

Ludicrous Mama

oh, Ludicrous Mama, you just reminded me, I too use allrecipes,com, for their daily recipe, which put me on to Chef John's videos! He is great AND last week I made his Escarole and Beans soup which was perfection, [I froze a qt, and my daughter grabbed in on her visit]. Its easily adaptable to other greens as well. I found it at Foodwishes.com. :)

Barb

Bok Choy. I'm getting a TON through my CSA (Bull Run Mountain Farm in Northern VA/Washington DC)and I can't seem to cook it without it turning to slime. I like it raw so maybe just make salad!

Melissa

If you're truly overwhelmed with quantities you can't use in time, you could always donate it to a local food bank. Many would be so grateful! :)

Karen

If you like spinach try beet greens and Swiss chard (though often mistaken for a lettuce like romaine chard is a beet green that doesn't form a beetroot). Chop leaves and tender end part of the stems roughly and saute in a small amount of olive oil (or butter if like), chopped garlic, and a small pinch of salt (don't use any if you don't want to, but go lightly regardless or you'll be sorry-it reduces in volume a lot and everything you add will concentrate). Cooks in just a couple minutes-when it stops expressing liquid and that liquid is mostly boiled off it's ready to go.

BCombs

Oh, forgot, cucumbers. One word...pickles. We've grown cukes in the garden forever and there's no better way I know (if it exists please tell me). OK, depending on the type you have sugar and/or salt to deal with, but just like tomatoes, that's what a canner is for. You don't have to eat them all right now, so you can spread out the excesses over the rest of the year. It's also quite interesting to make real, live culture pickles, sauerkraut etc. Something kids nearing the tweens might enjoy.

BCombs

My father and his family put me off from mustard greens almost forever. They were from Mississippi and cooked them in water with bacon, which would have been OK, if the greens hadn't been simmered for over an hour! Overcooking makes the greens not only slimy but bitter! I'm still trying to get over that, and it's been close to 70 years!

Linda Bell