1st CSA bag!

CSA season is officially here! I picked up our 1st bag (a cute reusable Jones Valley tote) today. And, boy is it full of some interesting stuff! One of the exciting things about small-farm sustainable agriculture, is that the vegetable world is really so much more diverse than what we encounter in the grocery store.

Here's what's in the bag. I'm pasting the vegetable descriptions from our CSA newsletter, but I'll be sure to give you my own takes after we taste them all. First impressions: Bring on the salads! And I knew I had LOST on the brain when I saw the white turnips and jet black radishes and thought, "hey! LOST shout out!" (Anyone?).

(pictured in the order listed)

Hakurei Turnips white “salad” turnip; superb flavor; sweet and fruity taste with a crisp and tender texture. Excellent raw! Bright Lights Swiss Chard Milder taste than ordinary chard with stems of many colors. Shunkyo Radishes Specialty radish from North China; deep pink roots with crisp, nutty white flesh. Taste is both hot and unusually sweet. Nero Tondo Radishes Black Spanish type radish with hot, white flesh. Arugula Astro; mild flavored arugula. Greenleaf Lettuce Black Seeded Simpson; crinkly, juicy light green leaves. Jericho Lettuce Excellent tasting romaine lettuce; bright light green. Camarosa Strawberries Bright red color and great flavor!

As for the week's menu, I haven't done too much research, but I'm thinking asian chicken lettuce wraps for sure. I'd like to try to roast the radishes, and maybe the turnips, but I'll taste them first. Salads for lunches. And I can't wait for greek yogurt with granola and strawberries for breakfast tomorrow!

A big help for storing all this produce, will be this garden to table storage guide.