Written by Kristin of The Intentional Minimalist
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), farm-to-table, cooking consists of creating recipes based on local foods including, CSA farm shares, locally produced artisanal products, and a well stocked pantry.
My pantry is stocked with gluten-free bulk whole grains, local dried beans, local dried and fresh fruits, local raw nuts, bulk olives, locally produced olive oil, locally produced apple cider vinegar, local honey, local maple syrup, local teas, locally roasted coffee and bulk seasonings.
Using farm fresh, vegetables, and herbs, I make my own infused olive oils, infused vinegars, dressings, marinades, pestos and sauces.
When I receive my Community Supported Agriculture farm share, I write down all the produce that I have available on a weekly planning sheet. I note which produce is left over from the previous week or which produce is fragile and plan to use that produce first. I strive to create recipe ideas for the week based on the produce listed and with my whole food pantry staples.
Cooking with what is on hand paired with striving to create new farm-to-table recipes each week leads to creative seasonal recipes. You also reap the benefits of good health from eating fresh, unprocessed and sustainable produce.
Fall Farm-to-Table Recipe: Cauliflower, Pea Shoot and Sorrel Soup
Ingredients:
- Homemade green onion infused olive oil
- Farm fresh local red onion
- Farm fresh local cauliflower
- Farm fresh local pea shoots
- Farm fresh local sorrel
- Local fromange blanc
- Sea salt
- Ground pepper
- Smoked paprika
Method:
- Chop one cup red onion and three cups cauliflower. Remove three cups pea shoots from steams and one cup sorrel leaves from stems.
- In a large metal soup pot, heat two tablespoons green onion infused olive oil. Stir in red onion, cauliflower and one teaspoon sea salt, cover and cook for five minutes. Stir in four cups of water, bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for five minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in pea shoots and sorrel; cover and let rest for three minutes. With a hand blender, blend soup directly in pot. Stir in one cup fromange blanc, one quarter teaspoon sea salt and one quarter teaspoon ground pepper. Blend with hand blender until smooth. Taste, adjust seasonings as needed. Optional: stir in one quarter teaspoon smoked paprika for a little kick.
Do you have a CSA share? Please share with us what vegetable you’re currently getting.
I love, love, love my CSA. Today I’m getting arugula, pea tendrils, turnips, onions, persimmons and pears. My CSA allows me to pick from a weekly list of produce, and I like to try something I wouldn’t usually use each time. Last week I discovered that pea tendrils are great in smoothies! Yum!
I adore my CSA share as well! This weeks share included bread, eggs, fingerling potatoes, breakfast radishes with greens, hakurei turnips with greens, tatsoi mix, salad greens mix and cilantro. Now if I can only stay out of the tatsoi mix and not eat it like a bag of potato chips and create something with it….