week 5: i've been fired

donald trump may have made it famous, but chopsticks can certainly hand over the words with a certain gusto.  turns out, i'm not that good at the photo taking... or at least not up to chopsticks' standards (looks like she's earned herself a new job!)

keeping with the surprise boxes as they are giving us some great variety and introducing us (or challenging us depending on how you look at it) to some new things.

clockwise from top left: snow peas, new potatoes, broccoli, turnips, spring onions, lots of space showing the box, cucumber, blueberries, maple butter (add on), summer squash

two weeks behind

ok, ok... it was a new idea, so i'm a bit (two weeks) behind... and, well, i can't remember everything i've made with the first two boxes, so here's a quick recap from what i can actually remember:

week 1:

• we'll call this the "oh my god, what am i going to do with all of this" box
• i know there were strawberries were in the box, i can see them in the picture...  but i don't remember really ever seeing them (glances at chopsticks)
• grilled asparagus (brush with olive oil, salt & pepper and garlic powder and grill)... so, so good
• sorry to report, but the cabbage did not find a home this week... it gave me a dirty look when i put it in the fridge... sorry buddy
• didn't realize that spring onions were ever this big; but wow were they good.  they made their way onto the grill and then sliced into some salsa.  one made its way into the lettuce wraps
• bibb lettuce = chicken lettuce wraps of course.  i'll spare you all the recipe... we ate it... but it wasn't the best offering ever.  we'll rack that one up to experimentation
• beta sweet potatoes - these things were UGLY but delicious.  i diced these up into cubes and roasted them.  one batch chili roasted; one "plain" (little salt, pepper and olive oil).  i'm still holding out hope we see these come back in another box as the season progresses

week 2:

• more peanuts?  thinking maybe we should start one of those bars in our house and just throw the shells on the floor.  olive (our dog, aka ojp) would be in heaven.  went ahead and roasted a bag full and used them as a snack
• romaine automatically meant grilled caesar salad 
• one of the voices in my head says "grill. the. asparagus."  i quickly question if i should start cutting down corn fields and playing baseball... instead i oblige and grill up some asparagus and serve it with some pan seared fish
• we're getting smart about the strawberries as they keep flowing in... hulled and into the freezer for later use
• the voice is back telling me to roast the potatoes...  i resist the temptation and decide to launch myself into the internet to look for some inspiration (maybe i should be looking up something about voices in my head while i'm there too).  inspiration finds me (google, you have helped me once again) and my adventure with sweet potato salsa begins.  served with some pan seared fish and wilted spinach.  

whew... 

week 1: surprise!

it's here!  it's here!!  our first week "surprise box" sits so elegantly on our porch just waiting for us when we get home...

clockwise from the top left:  cabbage, spring asparagus, bibb lettuce, spring onions, beta white sweet potatoes, strawberries, peanuts (not pictured)