I was a cooking fool today! Since I was gone most of Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for yoga teacher training, I had to make up for lost time to ensure none of our CSA veggies spoil before we can enjoy them. First, I made some fresh salsa with two of the tomatoes and the jalapeno pepper, along with some black beans, onion, garlic, and cilantro. Next, I parboiled the green beans (Boil for 2-3 minutes until bright green but still crisp, then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process). I don’t have a clear plan for them yet but partially cooking them will preserve them for another day or two, or I can always pop them in the freezer.
Since sweet corn doesn’t stay fresh for more than a few days, I decided my best option for getting through my 9 remaining ears was to make this vegan corn chowder recipe from cheekykitchen.com. So once the beans were done I started on the soup. Shucking the corn and cutting the kernels off the cobs is a bit time-consuming, but I used up nearly six ears to get the required 3 cups of kernels for the soup. The recipe was easy to follow, and the resulting chowder is rich, creamy, and delicious. The croutons are completely optional but a good way to use up stale bread.
Vegan corn chowder
While the soup was simmering on the stove, I made a “kitchen sink” vegetable stew using things I had in the fridge, including the eggplant and zucchini from last week’s delivery, along with some (non-CSA) mushrooms, as well as kale and Thai hot peppers from our garden.
I started by cooking about 1/2 onion and a 2 cloves of minced garlic in a little olive oil. Next I added the chopped eggplant to the pan and let that cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the eggplant had softened I added the sliced mushrooms, chopped kale, chopped zucchini, and 1 can of chickpeas (drained) and put the lid on the pan to help everything cook down slightly. Once the veggies were cooked through, I added two diced hot chilies (totally optional), a few tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs (I had basil and cilantro on hand but you could use anything), and 1 can of diced tomatoes with the juice. I let everything simmer for about 20-30 minutes and served it with a few of the croutons on top (the ones I made to go with the corn chowder). Here’s what the finished stew looked like:
“Kitchen Sink” Vegetable Stew
This is a very tasty stew on its own but it could also be served over rice or quinoa for a heartier meal.
You’ve probably noticed by now that I rarely use recipes when I cook. I prefer to throw things together based on what I have handy. I hope this is still helpful, however, for getting ideas on how to use up your CSA veggies. Tomorrow I have to use or freeze the cantaloupe before it spoils, and find a plan for the beans and corn.
CSA delivery progress:
- Sweet corn (
10 9 3 ears)
- Green beans (about 2 lbs.)
- Cucumber (
2 1)
Watermelon, Little Baby Flower variety- Cantaloupe, Sarah’s Choice variety
- Tomatoes, Estiva variety (
8 6 1)
EggplantZucchini (1 medium)Jalapeno (1 large)Lettuce head, Nevada variety
Wow. This is the first time all summer that I’ve felt overwhelmed with the amount of vegetables we got in our CSA share. Look at all those tomatoes! We also have a lot of tomatoes coming from our own garden, as well as green beans, kale, and bell peppers. I will need to freeze a lot of these veggies or we will never get through them all. I was happy to see celery in today’s CSA delivery. My brother is coming to visit this weekend, and he loves, loves, loves celery. This variety tastes so much better than the watery, bland stuff you get from the grocery store. Maybe we’ll make Bloody Marys!
