The Full Belly web site has a recipe page with an index that contains many recipes from past years. When you get your box, if you aren’t sure how you are going to use one of the vegetables, the wealth of recipes that we have collected is worth a quick visit. The best way to use our index is to look at the list on the right hand side of the screen and click on the vegetable you have in mind or click the link in the electronic newsletter.
There are definitely vegetables that you will get in your CSA box that will stump you temporarily, but over time, once you experiment with them, you may end up developing a favorite way to use them.
Because the pace of our activities keeps all of us so busy, and because so many of us go out to eat a lot, getting people to eat their fruits and veggies from a CSA box can be a hard sell. It involves preparing and cooking your meals at home, which takes time. But there are lots of reasons why the effort is worth the trouble, not the least of which is that the increased consumption of locally grown organic fruits and vegetables will pay off in improved health. Besides, once you get into the habit, it really doesn’t take all that much time! Home cooked food really is healthier, tastier, educational for the kids, and less expensive.
Here are a few time-saving cooking strategies:
• Try using slow cookers and crock pots to make soups and stews so that they will be ready when you get home from work.
• Try using simple and quick recipes that you can prepare in less time. Steamed vegetables with herbs or stir fry over pasta for example.
• Make extra so that you have leftovers for lunch on the busier days.
• Freeze some of your leftovers in individual portions.
We encourage you to experiment with various recipes – there are lots of different veggies that can be used as pizza toppings, many different ways to make stir fry, and lots of approaches to succotash and stew. If you have some stand-by recipes that work really well with the CSA box, pass them along and we will share them with other CSA members!
