Life with a CSA

Each week, I think "How on earth am I going to use this up?" with various vegetables we get in our CSA share,  and every week, miraculously, I find a way.  Well, mostly.  This week, I had a beet greens pesto planned, and I didn't have a chance to make it before my greens went crispy and brown...bummer!  But for the most part, I can almost always come up with a way to use up my vegetables (and use them before they go bad). Thank goodness for Google, blogs and Pinterest, though.  They save my skin regularly!

(collard greens quiche)

I have a decently ironclad rule that once I go to the grocery store for the week, I don't go back for 7 days (thus, the raiding the pantry).  This is great for my budget, for my creativity, and not so great for our pantry.  Sometimes I turn it upside down trying to find something to make just one more dinner.  Here is another week's worth of meals from my kitchen!

For this week:  

To use up: 
Onions
Parsley
Carrots
Collard Greens
Beets (planned on using this week, but will probably use them tomorrow instead)
Brussel Sprouts

Menu: 
 - Peanut Sauce over Rice and Veggies - I used the sauce from this pizza and doubled it.
 - Honey Mustard Brussels Sprout Slaw - I ate this for lunch one day.  It was pretty good, but I don't love eating the brussel sprouts from our share.  They take forever to clean and prepare.  I spend 40 minutes cleaning them, 15 minutes getting everything else ready and chopping them, then 15 minutes eating them.  I guess the thing that bothers me the most is that tiny caterpillars also really like them, and finding them in your food can be... disturbing.  Organic, local food is the best, but that does mean the occasional bug finds its way into the lettuce or in this case, brussels sprouts. I can usually clean other things thoroughly and not have to worry too much about that with other dishes, but I am quite sure I ate several caterpillars during this lunch, despite a rigorous and thorough cleaning.  I am trying not to think about it too much...
 - Spelt Berry Salad- I subbed in peanuts for almonds, onions for shallots, and apples for grapes.  So apparently my salad was just inspired by this one... Similar swaps, though.  We hadn't eaten spelt berries before, and they were interesting.  I enjoyed them, but they were pretty chewy.
 - Cheese Pizza with Parsley Pesto - The pesto was similar to the one I linked to, but I used pine nuts.  Not bad, but not the best pizza I have made lately.  Parsley always reminds me a little of grass.
 - Feta Chickpea Salad - I make this one A LOT!  I always use peanuts instead of walnuts, leave out the mint, and only occasionally add the cilantro. It is SOOO good!  I am always turned off by the way chickpeas smell, but one bite of this, and I remember why I make it so often.
 - Lima Beans and Carrot Soup - surprisingly good.  I used mustard powder instead of dijon (I ran out this week), and left out the celery, because it is one thing Adam doesn't like to eat.  Also, I used straight up water and put in a bay leaf while it cooked.
 - Collard Greens Quiche - This one coming soon to the blog.  It was delicious!

Have you been eating anything fabulous and vegetarian lately?  I would love to hear about it!  Hope you are having a healthy and awesome week!