Farm to Table: Leftovers

With Wednesday’s week two pickup approaching and John out of town, I’ve been using up some of the leftovers from week one’s bounty. Last night, I turned the two extra red potatoes that had already been partially cooked for Monday’s salad into quickie mashed potatoes. I simply cooked them in the microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes (my default time for just about everything), then added around a tablespoon of butter and a bit of 2% milk before mashing them with a potato ricer. After a dash of salt & pepper, they were fantastic—moist and creamy, yet still chunky. I meant to take a picture, but was so excited about eating them, I forgot.

I also used more of the red leaf lettuce for a salad, adding small chunks of apple and using a sweet low-fat toasted sesame dressing. I tend to put the same boring accoutrements on salads—tomato, green pepper, olives—so I appreciated being pushed toward more creative ingredients.

Earlier in the day, I picked up our latest box of farm share goodies. With the cold, rainy weather, it was a bit more difficult to carry the box home than it was last week—I needed a third hand for my umbrella—but I was excited when I opened the box to discover a new collection of produce.

In addition to a new variety of apples, some mixed greens, and baby yellow potatoes, we also got cilantro, broccoli, collard greens, baby bok choy, green onions, and ginger. As a southerner, I’m excited to try my hands at the collards for the first time, and I’m also pleased to have three ingredients commonly used in Asian cooking. Now, if I can just decide whether to go with a slightly boring stir fry or put in the work for some kind of steamed dumpling. If you have any suggestions for good collard greens or bok choy Asian recipes, let me know!