Adventures in Eating, Part 1

Brandon and I joined the Avalon Acres CSA (community supported agriculture) for the summer. Last Wednesday he went across town to get our first pick up and came home with a box full of green stuff. Now, if you know anything about me, you know I'm a picky eater. Literally, I even pick off the kernel shell from my popcorn (it gets stuck in my teeth!). So when I saw all that green I kinda freaked out a little. Here's what the box looked like...

Our box included:

1 Kohlrabi

1 head of Cauliflower

1 head of Romaine Lettuce

1 bunch of Green Kale

1 bunch of Spring Onions (White)

1 stalk of Bok Choi

1/2 dozen eggs

1 bunch of strawberries

2 lbs of ground beef

Again, that's a lot of green. And a lot of foreign green to me. The only vegetables I had heard of were the cauliflower, lettuce, and onions. Brandon is pretty good about getting me to try new foods. He got me to try artichokes and asparagus and it turns out I like them. But this box presented a challenge for him: Courtney must try everything in the box. And thus, this post series begins. Throughout the summer, I will blog about my adventures in eating, in trying new foods that I would normally pass by in the grocery store or pick off my meal at restaurants. It's time for me to grow up a little in my eating habits and this presents a great opportunity. Each week I'll post about our meals, my reviews, and the recipe (especially if I like it!). So here we go!

Strawberries - The first thing I tried from the box was the strawberries. There is no recipe to include for them, well, except for a little bowl of powdered sugar for dipping. It's funny, when I was younger I liked strawberries, but as I grew older I no longer liked them, not even strawberry flavored things. But, as to my agreement with Brandon, I would try everything in the box. And though I'm not being a fan of strawberries, these were actually pretty darn good. They were pretty red in color, sweet with a little bit of tartness, and oh so juicy! Dipping them in the powdered sugar made them taste even better.

Green Kale - My coworker and fellow Oklahoman, Trey Wince, suggested to Brandon that we make Kale chips. You can click on the link to get the recipe but it's basically olive oil and seasoned salt, then you bake it. The taste - not too bad! I think they are better the more done they are, no wiggly kale chips! Brandon's family was in town for his graduation this weekend and the kale chips went super fast!

Lettuce - We made a nice salad for his family this weekend with lettuce, spinach, walnuts, strawberries, and dried cranberries. I've yet to try it but it does look pretty. If I had to choose one vegetable as an arch nemesis, it would be lettuce. But, I've made a promise to try everything, so, before this week is over....

Burgers - Well, I already knew I liked those but it was the first time we had ever made them on our own. We used a recipe from my bestie, Christina Mallory, and they turned out great!!

Kohlrabi - Tonight for dinner, Brandon made Roasted Kohlrabi. It kinda looks like an alien in it's normal form:

Weird... Anywho, the roasted kohlrabi was ok. I liked it, but not so much with the vinegar. It's definitely a good side dish though! We might have to make it again sometime!

Well, that's all for this post. Tomorrow night we're trying a stir fry recipe for the Bok Choy. I'll let you know what I think. But, until next time, bon appetite!