Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Glad you're enjoying the recipes.

@oldredbike Thanks! I do think it would work with spinach. You might end up needing a little more stock.

@Maggie I almost can't believe you said that. As I was putting the scapes in the basket to take the photo, I was thinking to myself, thank goodness I got married young, with Gerbera daisies, before I got like *this.* :)

God, I love you guys.

You guys rock. There are some amazing suggestions here. Considering moving to CA to take advantage.

Thanks, everyone, glad you liked the post. There are some really great ideas in the comments, so thanks for that, too. The Crisper Whisperer hereby endorses them all.

@Maggie and @Robin I've heard other stories of CSAs like that, but that isn't the way it should be. At the very beginning of the season, it's inevitable that some crops will be a bit slow, but as the season progresses you should get a useful volume. On the one hand, CSAs are often run by small farms, and it's incredibly challenging to manage an unpredictable, super-low-margin business, so things won't always turn out perfectly. On the other hand, there are better ways of handling unpredictability than delivering tiny quantities every week.

If you do find yourself getting unusably small amounts week after week, you might consider freezing what you can and combining it with what you get in future weeks. Another option is to be brave about experimenting with unusual combinations. I've started treating meat that way, since we also get most of our meat from a CSA that sometimes delivers hilariously small quantities for a family of four serious eaters. The results are always edible (it's just dinner, after all), and sometimes they're surprisingly wonderful!

@mvl1014 With greens from a CSA, they'll sometimes have so much sand and soil still in tow that a little bit of stray moisture in your crisper can turn unwashed bunches into a veritable mudslide. Still, I started out under the same impression as you and didn't pre-wash them for my first few seasons. I'm a total convert now. Greens definitely last longer when they're pre-washed and thoroughly dried. Maybe they can feel the love.

@GretaGrace You can eat mizuna raw in a salad. I think it's great with an Asian-inspired vinaigrette (toasted sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and rice vinegar). You can sautée it, too.

@virgogrrl Sometimes CSA produce (or farmers' market produce, for that matter) does spoil more quickly, because they can wait until it's truly ripe to harvest it, rather than picking way too early and shipping it thousands of miles. The storage and usage suggestions here should help a lot.

@jeniyo You must live somewhere more fabulous than me to be getting avocados from your CSA. Have you tried ripening some more quickly in a paper bag and putting some in the fridge the moment they're just ripe to hold them off for a few days? Or, you know, making a pitcher of margaritas every Friday and inviting some friends over for guac?

Thanks again for all the great suggestions, everyone. Happy CSA season!

@SeattleDee @CulinaryKate Yes! Love all the alternative filling ideas. The sky's the limit, really, as long as it's pre-cooked or cut small enough to cook to your liking on the low-heat grill.

@GrazinginTheGrass Grilled Niçoise sounds wonderful.

@Willow Terrace Mom Nice! Looking forward to the recipe. I've had chiles rellenos turn into an accidental casserole more than once.

@awoodard Poblanos are a little tricky in the heat department. Usually the ones that come from the grocery store are fairly (sometimes disappointingly) mild, but it pays to take a little taste of each one before serving to the kids. As with any hot peppers, remove the seeds to avoid the hottest part. And I found it best to cut off the whole top and snack on it before feeding the rest to the kiddos. You can omit the garlic, no need to sub shallot.

Wow, what a great list.

@Monelle Now I have a craving for Mexico! You raise another good point, too. If the bulbs of spring onions are smallish, and especially if you're using a grill pan on the stove or roasting, you can sometimes get away with leaving the greens attached as long as you grill them low and watch carefully. I've had some issues with serious overcharring, though, so I tend to grill conservatively.

@avocadoandtoast I used sweet sopressata, but I suspect either would be good.

@The Rowdy Chowgirl Thanks!

Gorgeous.

@Alex Drinking out of those jars makes me weirdly happy. We keep them on some open shelving in our kitchen, and when someone notices them early on, it usually means we'll be friends for life.

@MandieO I'm a general proponent of splashing everything in sight with a little Champagne. That said, agua fresca is so mild that you'd want to choose a very light bubbly, maybe a decent Prosecco, and you might consider leaving out the extra 2 cups of water and mixing it with the bubbly instead. It would be different, but I can't really see it going too terribly wrong.

Ack @JourmetJoe111, thank you! There's supposed to be a crushed garlic clove in the marinade. We'll fix it!