It’s no secret how much I love my Wednesdays. But this Wednesday was even more special than the rest. My brother and his fiancé came to visit before heading back to Fairbanks, AK where he is currently stationed with the United States Army. It was so nice to spend some time together and get the chance to chat and catch up. Harper loves her “Uncle” and “Koko” and was sad to see them go. And as always, so was I. My little brother is growing up and I am so proud of all his accomplishments. Can’t wait to see him again soon.
So speaking of growing up? Can you believe we had 58 link ups last week? Wowza! That’s a whole lot of CSA goodness :) I hope you had the chance to check out each and every one. We had everything from cocktails, to smoothies, to lasagna and soup. Your posts continue to inspire me. I am overwhelmed by all of the innovative ways to use my produce. And each choice is yummier than the next. Thank you for your continued participation :) Keep up the good work!
Alright…time to spill the beans :)
But, before I go any further, I have to report, that 1/3 of this box is already gone. Not only did my brother come to visit, he cooked a healthy and delicious meal that left my tummy happy. His signature dish is chicken. Simply grilled chicken has never tasted better. We paired it with roasted carrots (which is my new favorite indulgence…they are the sweetest, yummiest little gems I have ever tasted) and a side of farro with kale (a Koko Likes original recipe). My brother washed and prepared the lettuce for a side salad to round out the meal. Fresh and delicious!
Now what about the rest of the box? I am super stoked about the nectarines. They are on top of my list for the best summer fruits. No need to get fancy with them. Eating them cold and crisp from the fridge is good enough for me. And the apricots will have a similar fate. With all of these fresh summer fruits, I would be happy eating fruit all day :)
I was also excited about the fennel. It has been a while since we received fennel in our box and seeing everyone else’s fennel bulbs has got me jonesing for another round of my Braised Pork with Orange and Fennel dish. It is a huge hit in our house. Too bad I just juiced those oranges from last week. They would have been the perfect companion. Luckily my community garden has an orange tree, so looks like Harper and I will be taking a visit to collect some goods. Oh, and while we are on the topic of juicing, I plan on adding these pixies to my freshly squeezed juice that is sitting in a pitcher in the fridge. I am running a bit low on my stash and these tangerines will be just what I need to enjoy one last glass.
I have been dying to make these meatballs for dinner this week. The red onions will work great in this recipe. That is if Freddie doesn’t get to them first. It’s always a fight for the onions in the house. He usually wins but maybe if I bribe him with meatballs, he will let me use them just this once.
I must find an amazing recipe for the basil. It is so beautiful it deserves to be the star. It is currently sitting on my counter in a glass of water but before tomorrow ends, it will be made into a delicious tummy pleasing meal. Let’s hope the recipe calls for celery too, because to be honest, I got nothing.
Your turn: What are some of your favorite ways to use the fruits and veggies shown? Any special recipes, tips or tricks you’d like to share? Looking forward to hearing your responses :)
Linking up for the first time? Click here for more info…and Welcome! PS: Don’t forget to tell your readers about the party by linking back to this post. Thanks!
Wow, that looks great! Especially the nectarines… I never get a chance to make anything with those, since we always eat them as fast as humanly possible. Thanks for the link invite!
Same here. I have found so many delicious nectarine recipes but end up eating them up before I get the chance to make anything. This is when having a nectarine tree would come in handy…must look into that! Thanks for linking up :)
Awesome box! My favorite go-to dish for basil is pesto. I’ve been really obsessed with dipping my celery/other veggies into Sriracha hummus recently.
Sriracha hummus! You are a brave one :) I am a wimp when it comes to heat but I can vibe with the hummus idea. Thanks for sharing!
Love fennel! My friend got fennel in her first CSA box this week, and wasn’t sure how to use it. I pointed her to this recipe (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/gnocchi-with-chicken-sausage-bell-pepper-fennel-10000001723406/) for this chicken sausage, fennel, red pepper and gnocchi dish. It’s been one of my favorites for a long time and when I went vegetarian a few years ago, I started leaving out the sausage and missed nothing.
this sounds out of this world! and I LOVE myrecipes.com…favorite site for healthy, quick and easy recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Those nectarines look amazing and enjoy the rest of your produce! Thanks for inviting me to link up!
Thanks for participating :)
Wow, your CSA box looks amazing! You mentioned I could link up with your CSA reveals and I think that sounds like a fun idea. I’m at Fluffybutt Farms (where my CSA box is nowhere near as cool as yours!) and I just joined by linking in the collection above. What a cool idea!
Thanks for linking up :)
Looks great! I’m not surprised that the box goes really fast. When strawberries were at the market, I would buy a few pints thinking I would make something with them. But usually ended up eating them all before I had the chance!
guilty of that same thing…can’t keep fresh fruit in the house too long. it always ends up in the belly :)
I know. I feel kind of bad, but when good fruit is in season, it is irresistible.
What a nice visit you must have had with Quincy & Koko.
It was lovely. Only wish you were there to enjoy the fun with us :)
My favorite use for basil is pesto. I have a killer pesto recipe that freezes well and is amazing. Did you know you are not supposed to cook pesto? I didn’t, but after tasting this non-cooked pesto I know why, YUM. I can write the simple recipe for you if you are interested…
if it is not too much trouble I am totally interested :) Sounds amazing!
no trouble…
using a food processor (I just use my blender) add 2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons of pine nuts and 2 cloves of garlic.
I would add all the ingredients and then the basil last it seems to blend up better that way.
Process the ingredients to a uniform, creamy consistency and transfer to containers to either freeze (freezes for up to 3 months) or use right away.
When you use it, make sure it is at room temperature and stir in by hand a pinch of salt, a heaping 1/2 cup of your favorite cheese (like parm or a mixture) and 3 Tbls room temperature butter.
stir the cheese and salt in first until mixed well then mix in the butter.
spoon pesto over freshly cooked pasta, you can use a little of the cooked pasta water to dilute the pesto if it seems too thick.
Mix into the pasta (about 1 1/2 pounds) well and enjoy!
When I make this I split it up into to batches of pesto in 8 oz canning jars and it works great over 1 pound of pasta.
This is not your average pesto, I even made up a large batch of this and gave it to all my sons teachers as appreciation gifts this year, they loved it :)
wow! Can’t wait to get busy…thanks a million :)
you are welcome :)
Well I put my chocolate chip zucchini muffin post in the link party, but used MY name instead of the recipe name–oops! I’ll know better next time!
no worries :) I like the suspense it creates!
[...] always, this post is part of What’s in the Box? – check out all the other posts and CSA goodies here! Share [...]
All linked up! (and the rhubarb pizza too) Once again, I am envious of your fruit. You always have such beautiful looking fruits.
As for fennel, I was interested in just trying some roasted fennel back during the winter months, but I never did get any. I have really no idea if I would have liked it, but the picture on the recipe below looked so delicious I wanted to try it.
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_fennel/
I LOVE simply recipes. I will have to give this recipe a try sometime. Thanks for sharing and linking up :)
That is a glorious CSA box! I wish New England weather would produce that sort of mixture – but we’re still eating a LOT of lettuce. I couldn’t tell from the picture – what’s the purple stuff?
onions :)
[...] you growing? What’s in your box? What are you making with fresh local fare? Share it at the inherchucks link party. I’m there [...]
Alright, I’ve linked up. I just noticed that there were multiples from the same blog, so I’ve linked up a few of mine. :)
Awesome! Feel free to add as many links as you want. The more the merrier :)
Celery penut butter and rasins… Ants on a log ;) xoxo
Best snack of all time! Thanks Ashley :)
Nice Haul. I love how different the boxes are depending on where the in country people are. Thanks for the invite to link up I’ll be there!
Thanks for participating! I too love seeing the variety. Makes this whole party very interesting :)
[...] week I’m linking up to the What’s In the Box? CSA party over at inherchucks.com. So when you get a chance, stop by and leave some [...]
Mmm…your box looks delicious. Think i might have to try the farro with kale recipe – sounds delish! Thanks for sharing. :)
Its super good! Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve tried baking with nectarines before, but they are so good by themselves, I don’t think it’s worth the effort. I just eat them plain or slice them up in a salad.
I like the idea of slicing them up in a salad. I love salads that feature fruit :) Thanks Lesley!
All linked up!
I’m envious of your nectarines. We were told that we *might* get one or two in our box this week. Our CSA got too much rain in March, unfortunately, which ruined the fruit. Hopefully our CSA will work out a deal with a nearby farm whose fruit faired better. Fingers crossed!
Hope all of your nectarine dreams come true…they are the best part about summer.
Thanks for linking up…missed having you at the party!
[...] and for more CSA goodness, check out the link party over at In Her Chucks, where me and my CSA buddies meet up weekly to ooh and aahh over each other’s goods (oh, get [...]
Lots of zucchini ideas this week from me. Thanks for hosting this party!
Awesome! Thanks for linking up :)
I’m finally figuring out how to use the bounty from the Clemson student farm share and I only get about six more weeks. They end the first weekend of August. Guess I’ll start hitting the farmers markets after that! I’ve discovered lots of veggies I wouldn’t have used before. The blog is a mishmash of stuff, but right now, it’s what we’re doing with farm share food. Last night, we had a pizza made with sundried tomato pesto with basil and carrot tops, along with garlic, green pepper and scallions. Five farm share ingredients in one meal: I believe that is a record! http://christineprado.wordpress.com
Sweet! Thanks for linking up :)
[...] sure to check out (and link up!) with In Her Chucks for more great CSA produce recipes and creative [...]
[...] out other CSA Booty and Ideas over at the Link Party hosted by InHerChucks Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like [...]
This is awesome! Thanks for letting me know about your link party!! I’ll definitely check back each week with my CSA finds.
Also, I am so jealous your CSA has FRUIT in it, too… ours is just veggies!
My first experience with CSA: http://creativemetaphor.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/community-supported-agriculture/
Thank you for the invite to post my link here!
Thanks for participating! Hope you come back next week :)
I finally have something to share in this one –yee-haw!
I was wondering where you went :)
[...] What’s in the Box? #31 (inherchucks.com) [...]
[...] about what other folks are getting in their CSA boxes this time of year? Check out the What’s in the Box? link party for this week! Spread the love!DiggFacebookRedditStumbleUponTumblrTwitterLike this:LikeBe the [...]
[...] you want to find out more about what other bloggers are whipping up with local veggies, check out this post at In Her Chucks and get inspired to take on some local cooking adventures of your own Share [...]
Hi! Sorry for the delay in linking up! I’ve been bombarded with zucchini lately, so I’m sharing a post about making zucchini chips (just like mozzarella sticks, but healthy of course) and it also includes a few other of my favorite zucchini recipes. Check it out at: http://lifewritenow2.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/seasonal-fare-zucchini/ Thanks, Stacy :)
Awesome! Thanks for sharing :)