It’s hard to believe that 2012 has come and gone. It was a wonderful year filled with birthday parties, special memories and of course lots of fruit and veggies. The What’s in the Box? Link Party was born in 2012 and has been rocking ever since. I am so grateful to all the participants that have shared their delicious goodies with the rest of us. It’s been a blast to swap recipes with you and drool over your fresh produce.
Speaking of drooling, I am totally salivating over last week’s party. With so many people’s CSA seasons ending, we only had 4 participants, so the party was small, but boy was it mighty. Everything from mashed root veggies, to cranberry nut bread, to homemade pizza with spinach crust and a killer party dip. Thank you ladies for making our new year bright :)
Now on to my favorite boxes of 2012. To be honest, it was hard to pick a top 5 because they are all pretty awesome. But after spending hours looking through the pics and checking to see what came of the produce, I was finally able to narrow it down. So without further ado, here are the What’s in the Box? Top 5 of 2012…
So many of my favorite fruits and veggies in one place, including the star of the show…blueberries! But really, this week it was all about Mashed Red Potatoes. They are the best you will ever have. And when you serve them with a side of steamed broccoli tossed with lemon juice and a small portion of protein, you have yourself the perfect meal.
Summer is my favorite time of year. I love all the delicious fruits that come my way. Nectarines, plums, berries. They just make me happy. I usually eat them for a snack, but after weeks and weeks of plums and pluots, I had to throw together a few Pluot Crumbles. It is a great dish to whip up for a summer barbecue and is sure to impress your family and friends.
I don’t think I have ever seen such a beautiful head of lettuce. It was so gorgeous it made me want to throw it in a vase and display it on my table as a centerpiece. However, after a few days of marveling its beauty I caved and made a huge Strawberry Salad. One of my favorite afternoon treats by far. Throw in some grilled chicken and you are good to go!
One word…apricots!! I can’t get enough of them. I think I might be able to live on apricots alone. Well, apricots and some Braised Pork with Fennel and Pork. I am so grateful that getting a delivery of fennel helped me to think outside the box. I would have never purchased fennel at the store but after some creative experimentation, I found one of my favorite recipes of all time. Try it…I promise you will become a fennel lover too :)
One of the highlights of receiving fresh produce every week, is that I get to share my love for fruits and veggies with my family. It makes me happy when Harper dives right into the broccoli without any begging, coercing or bribing. I also love that I can whip up a healthy and yummy meal in no time. This Chicken with Tomato Herb Pan Sauce is so easy to make and delicious to eat you will want it on your table at least once a week. That is, as long as you have some fresh cherry tomatoes sitting around.
So those are my Top 5 boxes of 2012. Can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store for me. I am counting down the days until my first box arrives. T minus 6 folks…
Your turn: What are some of your favorite boxes of 2012? Feel free to add the links to the deliveries you loved the most. Let’s take a walk down CSA memory lane shall we?
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!
I love your What’s in the Box? Link parties! I’ve gotten some great recipes and ideas from them, and I love to see what other people are getting in their CSA boxes. I have to say that I am definitely jealous of the beautiful fruit that you get! I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in the box in 2013!
Thanks Melissa! Love having you at the party :) Happy New year! Cheers to CSA…
The CSA may be done, but for two months I will be hitting farmer’s markets. I will be linking those posts. Happy New Year!
Ooohhh….Farmer’s Market! Can’t wait to see what you pick up :)
Thanks for sharing Annie!!
It is difficult for me to pick a a specific box since I use my boxes a bit differently than most CSA subscribers. Because I’m trying to make the seasonal produce feed us all year long, I do a fair amount of putting up the veggies to eat at a later date. So this is the part of the marathon where I am hitting my stride (I say this as if I have a clue about running. I don’t run unless the US Gov’t is telling me to run. Otherwise I walk. And lie down.) Everything that was rapidly perishable has been eaten, canned, or frozen. Everything that’s ok with long term storage is in long term storage. Now I can play! Hooray!
I’ve got canned tomatoes in the pantry that went into Foodie With Family’s Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala last week. I’ve got pesto from the freezer that keeps jumping into everything that’s not moving. I’m currently working on the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve in the cool corner of my breakfast nook, making stews, muffins, and of course pizza. And I’m still going! (Talk to me in March, when the freezer supplies are dwindling and the new season is NOT just around the corner and I’ll be needing encouragement . . .)
If it’s OK with you, I’d like to keep on sharing recipes w/ my CSA stuff. If not, let me know and I’m happy to take it down.
Thanks!
I think I need to take a page out of your book of incredible planners. I tend to eat everything at once! Kinda can’t help it :) But then when I am without a box for a week or two I start getting CSA withdrawals…
Of course you can still participate in the party! Keep linking up those delicious CSA recipes :) Love having you at the party…
I linked to one of my recipes! It’s a great idea! I’m not quite sure how the link party works, so let me know if I am not doing it right… Does it have to be a recipe from this week’s share?
Thanks for participating! If you have produce or recipes to share from your current goodies thats great! Otherwise, feel free to link up recipes that you think would be helpful for other CSA members :)
Great post. It’s nice to see the boxes together and remember what you made.
Thanks! I am glad you enjoyed it. It was fun to walk down CSA memory lane :)
As always, your boxes make me drool. I’ll be linking up in a couple days with my last week’s share. I’m so sad it’s over, so I’m going to live vicariously through you and your boxes.
I’m sad your season is over too :( I’ll make sure to save you a few bites of mine…
[...] check out all the great produce at In Her Chucks’ weekly “What’s in the Box?” [...]
I’m excited to participate again! I took an unexpectedly long hiatus from ordering, but we got our first box of 2013 yesterday. Delicious! I would have to say my favorite box of 2012 was from late October. It had pomegranates, butternut squash, beets, zucchini, Japanese eggplant . . . so many faves!
What a great way to start off the year! Welcome back :)
I have to say…that box sounds amazing! The pomegranates alone make it a highlight in my book…
[...] check out other very cool, delicious, and local produce, be sure to head over to Heather at In Her Chucks and Kristy at Gastronomical Sovereignty to see what they’re doing with their fruits and [...]