Tokyo Bekana-Who?

One of the risks of a CSA is that you will get items you don't know. I know many people say they don't want to join a CSA for this reason. I say, it's a chance for adventure! My adventure this week is Tokyo Bekana. I have never heard of this item before. After doing a little research, I learned that is a small Japanese cabbage good in soups and stir fries.

I found a recipe for stir fried tokyo bekana. Wanting it to be more of a dinner, I added chicken to the recipe and threw some short grain brown rice into my rice cooker. Voila! Dinner for night #2 with the CSA.

Asian-Style Greens and Chicken with Sesame, Ginger and Soy Sauce

4 tablespoons light sesame oil or olive oil
2 tablespoons white hulled sesame seeds
4 teaspoons peeled, minced ginger root
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds tender Asian greens (works great with Tokyo Bekana)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/2 lb chicken cut into cubes

1. In a wide heavy saute pan or wok over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the sesame seeds and stir until they pop and become fragrant. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for 1 more minute.
2. Add chicken and saute until cooked through
3. Add the greens and 1 tablespoon soy sauce, raise the heat and cook, covered, for 1 minute. Uncover and saute for 1 or 2 minutes more, until the greens are tender but still bright green.
4. Stir in more soy sauce and vinegar to taste, and serve over brown rice!

First Share and Meals!

On Saturday, I received my first share (well, half share - we are a small family of 3). I went to the local farmer's market to pick it up. I could have had it delivered for a small fee, but I chose to pick it up. It would give me a chance to check out all of the other yummy treats!

This is what was in the bag this week:

• Kale - Mmmm...I love kale. Yes, I'm a little strange
  
• Tokyo Bekana (tender Asian green) - had no idea what to do with this
  
• Head of lettuce
• French breakfast radishes - my 3yr old jumped for joy when she saw these! Who knew! Turns out she was just excited for her stuffed friend, Peter Rabbit
  
• Field greens
• Spring onions - looked almost too pretty to eat!
• Strawberries - strawberries? None of these made it home

Well, the strawberries never made it out of the farmer's market. Between my three year old and my husband, they were gone within minutes! It's amazing that something could taste so different from what you get at the grocery store.

So the fun begins. What to eat first...what to cook.

I've been feeling a little under the weather, so the first thing that came to mind was some sort of kale soup. I searched recipes online and BINGO! I found a Martha Stewart recipe that I had all of the ingredients to in the house! This one won.

Sausage-and-Kale Soup

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• 5 waxy potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bunch kale (12 ounces), stemmed and shredded
• 12 ounces smoked chicken sausage, cut into 1/2-inch half moons

Directions

1. In a large pot (6 to 8 quarts), heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook until soft, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes; cook unti fragrant, 1 minute. Add potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. In a blender, puree half the soup. Return to pot; add kale and sausage. Simmer until kale is wilted, 10 to 15 minutes.

Mmmm...this was very yummy. I tend to simplify recipes, so in this one, instead of putting half of the soup in a blender, I used my hand, immersion blender and blended until I thought about half of the soup was purreed. Tasted great to me! I also used Italian sausage instead of chicken sausage (usually already cooked) so I had brown the sausage with the onions.

Great first dish with my CSA produce!!

First Time CSA Member

This year is the first year I have become a CSA (Community Supported Agrigulture) member. Essentially that means that I pledge a certain amount of money to support a local farm (or farms) and I receive a share of whatever grows.

Eating locally has become more important to me the more I learn about food. One of the first wake-up calls I had was on a bike trip through Tuscany (I know, it was as great as it sounds - the best bike trip ever was with Backroads). Our tour guide had to explain to the restaurants that my husband, I call him bubble boy at times, is allergic to nuts, oranges, melons, wheat, etc. Our tour guide explained to us that that they didn't quite understand food allergies in Tuscany because they don't really have them. Don't have food allergies? This seems strange. Well, if you think about this old culture, you don't see fruits and vegetables being flown in from Mexico to Tuscany!! I think they may be on to something.

The next big wake-up call was watching Food Inc. Seeing how your food is produced and where it comes from is eye opening.

From there, the evidence keeps mounting. Finally a link between pesticides and autism. We know pesticides are bad. It will be too late before we really know their full impact.

This is the long winded reason before becoming a CSA member. We are going to eat locally and support agriculture that does not use harmful pesticides.

This CSA food adventure will start with the Fertile Crescent Farm in Prince Edward County, VA. In this adventure we will also try new foods that I would not normally have bought for my family (only because I usually just cook what I know).

Can't wait for this adventure to begin!