Meg's Meal Planning

farm box

CSA Week 1

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In my first week of participating in a CSA farm box, I received kale, sage, asparagus, broccoli rabe, sorrel, and radishes. Here is a list of everything I made with the ingredients from week one.

Kale

Sage

Asparagus

Broccoli rabe

Sorrel

  • Pesto – I decided to make a pesto sauce with the fresh sorrel to have for future dinners. I used sorrel, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Blended it in my food processor until smooth and stored in a jar.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chopped fresh sorrel, ribs removed
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup almonds or pine nuts
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  1. Add sorrel, parsley, garlic, Parmesan cheese, nuts, and olive oil to a food processor and puree well.
  2. Transfer the pesto to a jar with a tight fitting lid. Store in refrigerator.

Radish

Week of June 7th

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This was the first week using my CSA farm box from Beckett Farms, LLC in Glastonbury, CT.   I’m so excited to be participating in a local CSA. I’ll admit, I was a little overwhelmed picking up my box on Monday and not knowing what to expect.  I usually do my meal planning/shopping on Sundays, so having to wait until Monday to plan and Tuesday to shop threw me off a little. However, it was well worth the wait! I planned all my meals based on what was in box.

Week one contained – sage, sorrel, kale, radish, broccoli rabe, and asparagus. I have never heard of sorrel before and had to do some research on what to make. Click here to see everything I made using ingredients from week one of the farm box. Overall, I’m VERY satisfied and can’t wait to see what surprises I’ll get from week two!

Monday – Pappardelle pasta with a brown butter and sage sauce. I knew I was going to get sage before I picked up the box, so I planned for this easy meal for Monday. The brown butter sauce is as simple as they come. And I love the wide noodle of pappardella!

Tuesday – Chicken sausage and kale served over quinoa.  This is a one pot meal!  YAY!  (If you couldn’t tell by now, I LOVE one pot meals) You cook the chicken sausage and kale together, then add quinoa and chicken broth. It reminded me a little of cooking risotto, adding quinoa to the broth and letting it simmer. It tasted delicious!

Wednesday – Pork burgers with apple and sage with a side of prosciutto wrapped asparagus. I have never made pork burgers before, but these were unbelievable! Sage is quickly becoming one of my new favorite herbs! It adds an earthy fragrance that pairs very well with the pork and apple.

Thursday – Broccoli rabe, red pepper, prosciuitto stromboli. I roasted the peppers first, then cooked the broccoli rabe before assembling the stromboli and cooking it for one hour. The prep work was a bit longer than I anticipated, but well worth the wait. No sauce needed for this tasty stromboli.

Friday -BBQ chicken with radish and cucumber salad, sage/cheddar biscuits and buttermilk mac and cheese. This dinner screams summer! My husband and I really enjoy cooking together and this meal was as fun as they come!  It was the perfect end to a long work week!

Summer pasta salad with asparagus, roasted peppers, and fresh mozzarella

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I made this pasta salad for a work cook out, but it’d also be perfect for a Father’s Day BBQ. I was able to use some of the fresh asparagus from my CSA farm box! This recipe was inspired by apples and sparkle . 

Asparagus ends snapped off and cut into 1 inch pieces

 

 

Roasted red peppers, stemed 10 minutes in bowl

 
 

Pasta cooling

 
Ingredients

  • 2 red peppers
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 teaspon red pepper flakes
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 bundle of asparagus, tough ends snapped off, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 lb penne pasta (I used veggie penne)
  •  8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Steps

  1. Roast the red peppers – Turn oven to broil and let it heat up for 5 minutes. Wash the peppers, cut the top and ends off, then slice open and remove the seeds and stems. Lay down flat, skin side up on a foil lined cookie sheet. Broil 7-9 minutes, turning pan halfway through cooking time.Peppers are done once they start to turn black and blister. Remove from oven and place into bowl. Cover tighly with plastic wrap and let peppers steam for around 10 minutes. Scrape away skin and cut peppers into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside
  2. In a large bowl combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix together and remove 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and place into a medium sized bowl.
  3. In large dutch oven, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the asparagus. Cook until just barley tender (about 3 mintues). Use slotted spoon to remove asparagus pieces, place in colander, and rinse under cold water until cool.
  4. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until done. Drain pasta and add the hot pasta to the large bowl and toss to coat in the dressing.
  5. Add the roasted red peppers and mozzarella to the bowl with the asparagus and mix in the vinaigrette.
  6. Once the pasta has cooled, add the asparagus mix to the bowl of pasta.
  7. Enjoy!