thoughtful consumption

One of the fun things about sticking with a CSA is that every year is different. My first year was the Year of the Eggplant. This year has been all about the fruit.

Here’s what I got this week.

peaches, blueberries, and plums

watermelon and cantaloupe

rattlesnake green beans and heirloom tomatoes

butterhead lettuce, dilly beans, and eggs

And here are the items I ordered from the online store.

duck eggs, onion, and garlic

feta cheese and whole wheat sourdough bread

bulk sausage

New directions for some things

When we’re getting this much fruit, it can’t all become baked goods. So this week I’m trying to find recipes that use fruit in other ways. For instance, I’m planning stir-fried shrimp and Chinese cabbage with plum sauce. I don’t have all the recipes pulled together yet, but here’s one plum sauce recipe that looks interesting. The Chinese cabbage is from a few weeks ago, but it’s still holding up. I’m determined to finish it this week.

This recipe for raspberry spoonbread from delish.com sounded yummy. I’m thinking about trying a half recipe with the blueberries. Another option is this blueberry-bourbon barbecue sauce.

The peaches need to ripen a few more days, so I have time to decide what to do with them. The default plan is to chop and freeze them for muffins or cobbler later.

The melons we will slice up and eat. I may try Paula Deen’s watermelon salad with the Vidalia onions and feta cheese. Melon chunks can also be frozen for later.

Same old directions for others

I bought the feta cheese from Cole’s Lake Dairy to make Chris’ favorite pasta salad – tri-color rotini and feta mixed with Good Seasons Italian dressing.  I’ll have to divide the feta between pasta salad and watermelon salad somehow. I tried a tiny piece of the feta , and it’s so good I bounced up and down. (Which is what I do when I eat something special. It’s a habit I picked up from my younger niece, Grace. I wonder if she’s outgrown it yet. Wonder if I ever will.)

I’d like to cook down the tomatoes like I’ve been doing the past couple of weeks, but I may encounter objections from family members who like fresh tomatoes. Chris said one of the little reddish tomatoes was so sweet that it tasted like a grape.

The rattlesnake green beans are tasty. I can’t remember if I like them better than the Romano beans, but I’m looking forward to jogging my memory. I’ll simmer these slowly with a little olive oil or sausage drippings.

Meal ideas

Here are some of the combinations I’m thinking about for this week.

Pasta salad, dilly beans, and melon slices

Sausage, grits, green beans, and tomatoes

Shrimp-cabbage-plum sauce stir-fry

Watermelon salad and green beans

Scrambled eggs and sautéed cabbage

Linguini with pine nuts, lettuce, and tomatoes

Blueberry pancakes and melon slices

Duck egg custard!