It was during one of my culture building moments, as I was listening to WHYY radio on 90.9 FM that I decided to become more organic and healthy. Instead of just shopping at whole foods, I wanted to take part in this interesting idea I heard in the report on the radio. It is called CSA or community supported agriculture. The idea is that you pay into a farm in advance and then when it's time for harvest, you get fresh produce that's in season every week. Some require that you actually participate by volunteering time. Since I have the opposite of a green thumb when it comes to plants, I decided to steer clear of those programs. I ended up joining a CSA already in progress that received items from numerous farms. I'll hold back the name of it as I am still deciding if I like it or not.
In the meantime, I have received two 1/2 shares of a lot of green leafy vegetables that I am determined to work into my diet somehow. Kale....um....ok. I have yet to try to make kale chips which friends have recommended. Other than that I am slightly perplexed at the idea of how to eat that many green things in one week. I decided to cook more often as that is the only way to eat many of these unknown items.
My first attempt was an easy mix of whole wheat pasta, chicken sausage from the grocery store, a little chicken broth, some mushrooms, stewed tomatoes and garlic and then...wilt some green stuff into the mix. I believe the item was tatsoi. To be honest, I have no idea what it was. I looked up pictures on random websites to get an idea of what I was dealing with. This would be part of the reason I am looking to switch CSA's. The guy at my pickup center is not really enthused or helpful when it comes to identification of items.
Anyway, the dish came out okay, minus the green part. That part was a little bitter and didn't fit with the rest of the items. I ate it under the premise that it was healthy.
My next attempt will be tonight although the prep work has been completed already. I am going to make butternut squash gnocchi. The recipe was right up my alley. I cooked the squash by cutting it up and then boiling it. Then I drained it and mashed it and kept adding flour to it until it became a dough. The dough is in the refrigerator for me to make pasta tonight. I am very excited to make it and hope it turns out really good. After all...I'm not Betty Crocker.
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