I ordered my first surprise produce box from a farm last week, and it came on Wednesday. You know what I’m talking about, right? You give the farm XX amount of money and they deliver a box filled with random fresh fruits and vegetables. I had no idea what to expect, and it turned out to be quite bounteous: large bags of kale and spinach and a smaller one of rainbow chard, a head of bok choy, a bunch of spring onions so large I had to fold them to fit into my fridge, four or five pounds of white and red potatoes, two pounds of apples, and several large carrots.
What you see up there are the items I couldn’t identify—I was pretty sure I had a kohlrabi, a black radish, and some baby turnips, but I had no idea what the ones that look like hippos were, nor the two smaller green things. My guesses were correct, and it turns out everything else was some kind of radish! The hippos are purple daikon, the finger-shaped green is a meat radish (what an unfortunate name), and the round green is a watermelon radish. So many radishes.
Funny thing: My husband doesn’t care for radishes, and the kid basically gagged at the suggestion he try them. I wound up roasting allll the radishes, the kohlrabi, and a few of the spring onions, and used them in my lunch salads. My son demolished the apples already. I sautéed the turnip greens and chard for a side last night. And I still have everything else.
As an experiment, the box was fun. But it’s not something I can do regularly—that huge supply of radishes wasn’t exactly practical for my family, and I already had plenty of potatoes and carrots. Plus it’s wreaking havoc with my meal plan! I’ll use bok choy, some of the spinach, and carrots in the cold sesame noodles, more spinach in the tortilla soup, some of the potatoes, a spring onion or two, and some kale in the warm chickpea bowls, and definitely some kale in the pasta frittata. The applesauce waffles, I’ll leave as they are. Even with all that, I won’t have found a purpose for everything.
How would you use all those vegetables?
Here’s the plan for next week:
Sunday or Monday
Cook 3-4 pieces of chicken, simply seasoned with salt and pepper, by whatever method you prefer. Refrigerate for Monday and Tuesday. If it’s on the bone, pull off the meat first.
Monday
Cold Sesame Noodles with chicken or tofu and vegetables
There’s no recipe for the whole meal, just the super-simple peanut sauce that ties it all together. So: Cook a pound of long pasta. Set aside 1/4 of the pasta and refrigerate for Thursday. While it’s bubbling away, make the sauce. Chop up about half the chicken, if you’re using, or the tofu, as well as whatever raw vegetables you have. Serve it salad bar-style if you’ve got picky eaters. Refrigerate any leftover peanut sauce.
Tuesday
Chicken or Bean Tortilla Soup with chips & salsa
Let’s talk substitutes here: Use whatever kind of canned tomatoes you have, the equivalent of a 28-ounce can. No black beans? Go with kidney or pinto, or something else. No chicken broth? Use vegetable broth or even water (you’ll need to doctor that with more salt and chili powder). Chop the rest of the chicken, if you’re using it, and add it when you add the tortilla chips. No limes? Try a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
Wednesday
Photo courtesy Bon Appetit
Warm Chickpea Bowls with Lemony Yogurt
The other day I said the only three things you need here are chickpeas, yogurt, and lemon. I want to change that. Chickpeas are ideal, but if you don’t have them you can roast virtually any canned bean. They won’t be exactly the same, but it’ll be different enough from the way you usually eat canned beans that you’ll be happy. And if you don’t have the ingredients for the yogurt sauce, remember that leftover peanut sauce? Give it a shot. Sure, you’ll wind up with a very different dish from what’s in the recipe, but dinner will be taken care of.
Thursday
Pasta Frittata with fresh or frozen vegetables
Pull out Monday’s leftover spaghetti and turn it into an eggy cake! Alongside, make a salad or roast some root vegetables or steam some frozen vegetables… whatever you’ve got.
Friday
Photo courtesy Food Network
Applesauce Waffles with bacon and frozen (or fresh) fruit
If you don’t have evaporated milk on hand, heavy cream or half-and-half would both work in its place. You could even use 1 cup of powdered milk + an extra 12 ounces of water. No waffle iron? Use the batter for pancakes instead.
And just like that, we’ve made it through another week of quarantine.
Stay safe, be kind, and wash your hands.
Debbie
Make quick pickles with the radishes! They are great in salads or sliced thin as taco garnish.