CSA-Week One: Spinach!

Spanakopita

Thursday marked the first week of my CSA share pickup at Nourse Farms. I like the way they have things set up:, I get 30 points a week to spend. All the produce is set out in boxes and each item assigned a number of points. Shareholders can then select exactly what they want, rather than receiving a box of goods that may contain stuff that they’re not crazy about. Things like strawberries (and were they beautiful) were limited to one quart and one pint per person.
Since this is still early spring, the variety was limited but the produce was choice. I selected rhubarb, fresh mint, strawberries for Chuck, some fabulous beets (with greens), a bunch of red chard, a head of lettuce (a Big Giant Head of lettuce), and a bale of spinach. Yikes!


The spinach would cook down quite a bit, but still, what do you do with it all? Salad? Forget it; I'm sick of salad and summer hasn't even revved up. Solution: spanakopita, the great Greek phyllo pie. Made with steamed spinach, goat cheese, ricotta cheese, some garlic, and a load of the fresh mint. Working with phyllo always sounds like a lot of work, but isn't really; the pie went together quickly and made a terrific meal, with dividends. Of course, a rhubarb crisp was absolutely necessary for dessert. I may make some beet preserves if I can pry the recipe from my friend Darlene, a woman who knows beets. A saute of beet greens and bacon, some rhubarb BBQ sauce, and mint pesto should take care of the rest of it. (The chard I pawned off on Maile, along with the rest of the lettuce - seriously, the salad boycott is on).

Lovin' the CSA – all the benefits of gardening without weeding!