CSA Report - Oh, the Greens

There were a lot of hot peppers in my share this week. I've been holding on to the jalapeno, Thai and cayenne peppers from the last few weeks because I'm really not sure what to do with them and haven't taken the time to do the research. I guess I better get going before they're not good to me anymore.

With the cooler weather, things are starting to slow down in the distribution shed. The tomato pickings are getting slim and the greens are coming back full-force. Think kale, chard and lettuce in abundance again. I'm glad to have plenty of eggplant (I saved last weeks' CSA share and got an extra at the farmers' market) to make ratatouille and maybe give baba ganoush a try, too. I'm going to try to get creative with some of the other vegetables and make some pasta dishes. This cooler weather is really bringing on the cravings for carbs and richer foods.

This week's share:

• 1.5 lbs green beans
  
• 2.5 lbs tomatoes
  
• 1 sweet green pepper
• 1 small eggplant
• 1 head lettuce
  
• 0.5 lbs delicata squash (1 small)
  
• 0.5 lb chard
• 0.75 lb kale
  
• 2 cayenne peppers, 5 Thai peppers, 1 Chinese lantern (habanero) pepper
  
• 0.5 oz. parsley
• 0.5 oz. cilantro
  
• 1 pint red raspberries

If you can find delicata squash anywhere, I highly recommend it. The flesh is just sweet enough that all I added was a bit of salt and pepper and a dab of butter before mashing and eating it. I'm looking forward to having another one this week. As for the tomatoes, green pepper and cilantro, I think some salsa is in order. For some reason, salads are making my stomach turn, so I'll have to find something creative to do with the lettuce. And, as usual, the kale and chard will probably be sauteed and tossed into a fritatta or pasta dish.