Wednesday, July 20, 2011

CSA Routine

Sorry for being so MIA lately, I got a new job and it comes with a commute and a somewhat more harried lifestyle than the last job.  Also we've been throwing together meals at the last minute, rather than really planning, and then I'm too tired to remember what goes in them.

But, after a couple weeks of this, we are finally making the CSA work with our hectic lifestyle.   We get our CSA share on Tuesday nights, and the routine is to immediately come home and prep the food.  This includes:
-chop onions - I do them into strips and into a dice, for different recipes
-tear up Kale leaves into bite sized pieces for making kale chips; wash and put away (I store them in tupperwares lined with paper towels)
-green beans/snap peas get washed and trimmed so they are ready to use
-lettuce gets cut up, washed, and stored in the salad spinner, so handfuls can be grabbed and put into salads
-beets get washed and if time permits, roasted and cut into slices or cubes
-cucumbers get sliced for easy snacking (although this week's cucumbers are a little bitter)
-everything gets cataloged and we talk meals for the rest of the week, even if we don't make a formal meal plan (last week, we said, "okay, let's do stir fry, eggplant pasta, and tacos for weeknights"; this week it's "lets try this weird zucchini thing and maybe do a risotto and tacos")

We still hit the farmer's market on weekends for the things we know aren't coming in our CSA share, or the things that we know we'll need more of than is coming in the share.  That gets us through Sunday/Monday meals, and gives us veggies to supplement our meals.  We still haven't perfected it though, like I really wish I had bought eggplant when I saw it on Sunday at the Farmer's market, but we're getting closer.  I suspect by next year, we will be old hats at this and have our routine perfected.

Even if we don't continue to have a CSA, it makes sense to be doing this after we get back from the farmer's market, but usually on Sunday we are rushing off to one place or another and don't have the time.

Anyone else like to pre-prep their food? Any tips to share re: washing, storing, or pre-cooking?

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