I’ve been waiting for a package on my doorstep all afternoon.  Packages are a pretty common occurrence here, as we are both quite addicted to Amazon Prime and loathe shopping in person.  Shampoo on my doorstep in two days for free vs dragging a baby out to the store?  Don’t mind if I do!  But today’s delivery was something different…

We joined a CSA!  I have been wanting to join a CSA ever since I worked on an organic farm in North Carolina two summers ago.  I love the idea of supporting local farms and businesses, as well as having a variety of fresh produce delivered straight to my doorstep. 

Whenever I go to the grocery store, I tend to buy a lot of the same things over and over again.  I thought joining a CSA would help us mix up our dinners and our meals a bit more.  I’m also looking to streamline our grocery shopping.  I tend to go to like five different stores – one place for produce, one for pantry, one for bulks – and it’s not a very efficient use of my time or energy.

We’re using New Roots Organics, which happens to be right around the corner from my old house in Fremont.  With New Roots, the fruits and veggies are selected for us each week based on what’s in season and available, but we have the ability to sub things in and out based on our preferences. 

Let’s check out our first haul!  First up – greens.  One bunch red leaf lettuce, one bunch red chard, and one bunch of giant spinach leaves.  We can never have too many greens in our house – these will not last long.

I opted for the mixed bin – both fruits and veggies – since I wanted a bit of both.  Today’s bin included this container of GIGANTIC strawberries.  Hard to believe these are organic!  Most of the organic berries I buy at the store are itty bitty.

Underneath all the greens on top, the rest of the goodies were lurking…

Three teeny tiny avocados.  I added these in (can’t remember what I subbed out) because I wanted to mash some up for baby food this week.

Also, local Anjou pears!  These will also likely become baby mash.  Hope he likes them!

One pound of gypsy sweet peppers.  What should I do with these?  I need ideas!

The total box included the following (all organic and local)…

Veggies:

• 2 lbs red new potatoes
• 1 bunch purple beets
• 1 red leaf lettuce
• 1 red chard
• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 lb crookneck squash
• 1 bunch broccoli
• 1 lb gypsy sweet peppers

Fruits:

• 2 peaches
• 4 Fuji apples
• 4 Valencia oranges
• 1 lb strawberries
• 6 bananas
• 3 Hass avocados
• 6 Anjou pears

For $39.50 total, I think that’s a great deal.  Plus I love knowing that our money is supporting local farms and a local business, and it’s saving me trips to multiple grocery stores.  I’m looking forward to sharing our adventures in cooking our way through the CSA haul each week.

We are off to the neighborhood Friday night market for vegan bean tamales, a round on the baby swings, and hopefully some fresh cut flowers.  Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend!

This was supposed to be cookies.  I baked them again, Huey ate them again.  I don’t want to talk about it.  Yes, I am a fool.  Moving right along to soba noodles!

I have a major thing for cold noodle salads.  Whenever I get something from the prepared food counter at a store like PCC or Whole Foods, I always end up gravitating toward the Asian noodle salads.  So when thinking about what to make for my moms group this week, I figured it was about time I make and share my own.

Sesame Soba Noodle Salad

by Emily Malone

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 4 minutes

Ingredients (6 servings)

For the Dressing

• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 2 teaspoons honey
• salt to taste

Instructions

I love cooking with soba noodles because they are so easy to prepare and keep cold.  They cook in just a few minutes, and the thin, chewy texture is unique and different from what you expect from Italian pasta.

But before cooking the noodles, prepare all of the raw ingredients. Chop the bell pepper, thinly slice the green onion (or scallion), and mince the cilantro. Add veggies and herbs to a large mixing bowl.

Prepare edamame according to package directions. If frozen, cook for a few minutes in warm water to bring up to room temperature. Make sure your edamame is shelled (no one likes to eat chewy pods!).

One the veggies are all prepped, go ahead and cook the noodles. Soba noodles only cook for 4-5 minutes, so don’t wander too far.

Once the noodles are cooked, drain in a colander and rinse with cold water immediately.  In a separate bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the dressing.

Combine noodles, veggies, and dressing in the mixing bowl and toss until everything is well combined. Sprinkle with sesame seeds to garnish, serve, and enjoy!

This salad is great served immediately, or it can be prepared ahead of time and served cold from the refrigerator.  The edamame add a great healthy protein component that helps make this dish a complete meal! 

This was so easy and simple to make, and I’m making a point to stock soba noodles along with my other pantry goods from now on.  It’s one of those dishes that feels fancy and fussy, but it actually came together in less than 15 minutes from start to finish.  Great for quick, healthy dinners or for portioning out for lunches all week.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!