Pork Chop, Mache Salad, Roasted Red Skins
There is a lot of pressure inherent in ordering produce from a CSA, or having produce delivered from a business like Fresh Picks. I have no philosophical problem spending more money than usual on my produce. Because the offerings were (mostly) local and all organic, I am glad to pony up a few extra bucks. But, when you get a box of produce totaling $46 delivered to your kitchen, there is a lot of pressure to actually use it all.
It's also a little awkward that Fresh Picks will only deliver to my neighborhood on Thursdays. We don't cook on Fridays and Saturdays, so the produce just sits there, taunting me. I made myself feel better this morning by making up a menu that used nearly everything that was brought. And dinner tonight was a great start. We had grilled organic pork chops (from Peapod, not from Fresh Picks), roasted red skins (from Igl Farm), and a salad made with mache (from City Farm), French breakfast radish (from JenEhr) and cucumber. The kids and Michael also had some corn (from Nature Blessed).
It was a delicious way to start diving into our box of produce. The potatoes were especially fabulous. I was amazed by how sweet they were. To prepare, I scrubbed them and cut them into wedges. I then tossed them in a ziploc with a few glugs of extra virgin olive oil, some kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder. I put the bag in the fridge for about an hour to let the flavors meld. When I was ready to cook, I put them on a baking sheet and into a 400 degree oven until they were crispy and the skin had blistered. It was probably a good 45 minutes.
Tomorrow night (if I'm home in time from my one-day business trip) is eggplant casserole and brown rice.
