I hope you all enjoyed last week's box of produce; onward to week 2.

Game plan, week 2:

The first thing I will do with this week's box is wash my lettuce which I will rip into salad size pieces, spin dry, and then store in a plastic bag with a paper towel.  I know - why do this first when there are other things to deal with? The reason - if I don't, I may put it off and then instead of having amazing lettuce to enjoy all week, it will be limp at best.

Next up - I will supplement this week's box a bit.  I am going to saute some onions, garlic and mushrooms.  While these are melding, I'll wash and chop the boc choi and toss it in the mix.  I'll season it with a bit of soy sauce.  I will serve these with tofu and rice.

The strawberries and rhubarb will be put to utilized in a dish Chris described to me while we were working last week.  I will put about 1/2 cup of sugar in a medium sized pot with a 1/4 cup water, a shot of citron liqueur, ground cardamon, and vanilla.  Once the sugar has dissolved, I will add the rhubarb which I washed and chopped while things were warming up.  I will let the mix come back to a boil and then simmer for about 4 minutes while I wash and chop the strawberries.  I'll add them and cook for another minute or so.  I'll take it off and let the mixture cool.  When it is about room temp, I will make yogurt parfaits in glasses, layering plain (or vanilla) yogurt, rhubarb-strawberry mix, yogurt, mix, and a layer of yogurt on top.  I will cover each glass and put them in the refrigerator.

I will be making a pot of vegetable soup - I'll saute the greens from the turnips along with onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms.  Once these have softened, I will add vegetable stock and a can of diced tomatoes, bring it to a boil and then simmer.  While this is going on, I will grate the turnips and toss them in the soup.  I'll add some spices (including some thyme that I dried from last week's box) and salt along with a handful of barley.  Once the barley is cooked, I'll turn the pot off, let it cool and then refrigerate.  

Last of all - wash and spin the oregano.  I'll then hang it up to dry.  After a few days, once it is dry - I'll store it on the stalks in a brown paper bag.