After years of thinking about joining a CSA, I finally decided this winter that I no longer have any reasonable excuses (moving, working too much, etc.) for not doing it. My friend Mike and I started to do a fair amount of research about the types of CSAs in the D.C. area, and about CSAs generally to get a better sense of what we would want to start with. The first CSA we attempted to join was Clagett Farm — but unfortunately, it appears that everyone else in the D.C. metro area also wanted to join Clagett so we did not make it in through their process. After regrouping, we decided on Karl's Farm, a farm located in Pisgah, MD. The sign-up was relatively easy, and the location/philosophy and reviews seemed to match what we were looking for.
So almost three months later, our first delivery arrived about two weeks ago (Karl's Farm delivers to your home, which is also a big plus). The first two weeks' deliveries included broccoli rabe (the first week I sauteed it in a skillet, and threw it on a pizza I was making), green onions, sage, oregano, mint, lemon balm, Daikon radish, a few varieties of turnips, and beets — lots and lots of delicious beets.
Besides using some items like the broccoli rabe, oregano and green onions in some standard dishes that I usually make, I have been taking the time to learn more about roots like beets, radishes and turnips. My most recent attempt to use these items included buying a handheld mandoline and baking homemade root chips — unfortunately though, the attempt was not successful as it seems I baked the very thinly sliced chips at too high of a temperature (375 degrees). The "chips" seemed to both burn and undercook, so I would recommend cooking them at a lower temperature (maybe 300 degrees) for a longer period of time.
My first, and most successful, attempt to use these items though including the simple stand-by of just roasting the root vegetables in the oven. After scrubbing and peeling them, I cut up the Daikon radish and turnips into 1/4 inch by 1/2 sticks, and threw up some mustard seeds and cumin on top of them. I baked them at 375 for maybe 45 minutes, and they turned out wonderfully. I also wrapped the individual beets in foil and baked them until tender — about an hour at the 375 temperature as well. I quickly then sliced them (burning myself in the process, but I was so hungry, it didn't matter) and ate them without any garnish as they were just so delicious on their own. They were so good that I am actually still upset with myself for messing with such a good, simple way to prepare beets and attempting my poorly-conceived vision (meaning burnt) of beet chips.
Definitely looking forward to what's going to come this week!
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