Tiffanie: working through the CSA box

I bought a flat of strawberries from my CSA today. I didn't really think through how to use them all, so I've been trying out things today. I made a batch of freezer jam, sliced some up with sugar and vanilla and maple syrup to spoon over cake, and started a batch of strawberry shrub (an acidic fruit syrup, to mix with sparkling water or wine). I'll taste the jam in the morning and decide whether to buy more pectin and make a few more batches right off.

My fridge is completely full, to the point that it looks dark when I open it. I need to get some of the bulkier items out! So this post is to brainstorm how to use the box quickly.

In the box this week: blueberries (yay!), turnips, cauliflower (huge!), red butter lettuce, red onions, squash, kale, carrots.

The blueberries will be gone tomorrow, probably sprinkled on cereal and yogurt.

The cauliflower will pair nicely with the tarragon in a pot pie, with mushrooms and an olive biscuit crust. I love that dish! Now that the weather is cooling down it won't seem inappropriate. It may be too big to use entirely, but I can roast what remains.

The CSA newsletter came with an ayurvedic recipe for turnip curry. It sounds pretty good -- it has some onion, a lot of turnips, turmeric, cayenne, cumin, garlic, and salt and maple syrup. It makes a very large amount (it uses 8 cups of cubed turnips!), so I'll halve it to try it out.

The butter lettuce is gorgeous, it would be a crime to not eat it quickly. So I'll just have to make salads every night. I made a batch of balsamic vinaigrette today, so that should be easy. Some grated carrots would go nicely on it.

I'm starting to have so many carrots on hand that I should make a grated carrot salad, and perhaps also a carrot soup.

The kale... I don't really need more salads, but a raw kale salad would be tasty and healthy. I'm eating a tad bit more cake than I should these days, so a balance is welcome.

The squash is also becoming a problem. I still need to make my baked egg nestled in zucchini. I guess it'll have to be for lunch tomorrow. The kids aren't interested in roasted zucchini as much anymore, but I'll keep making it (I like it!). I suppose I could make another cake?

I foolishly bought a bunch of broccoli to make a stir fry with tofu, and that is taking a lot of room. I still have most of a bag of fantastic wild arugula; I marinated mushrooms with balsamic vinaigrette and put that on the arugula with toasted chopped almonds, and it was delicious. Perhaps I should keep doing that...

So, to summarize:

• Thursday: make a raw kale salad. Process lots of strawberries into jam, assuming it tastes good. Eat the blueberries (assuming the kids let me eat any). For lunch, use some zucchini to make the baked egg dish. For dinner, make a cauliflower mushroom pot pie. Make some salad.
• Friday: make the turnip curry for lunch. Make the broccoli stir fry for dinner.
• this weekend: try to consume all the leftovers...