CSA Menu for first week of February

As I wrote about last week, we received our first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery last Thursday and have been exploring ways to use the vegetables in time for our next delivery tomorrow. Here is what we got so far:

Items received:
-1 whole chicken
-6 eggs
-Head of kale (don't know if it's actually called a "head" but that seems to work)
-Bag of some type of lettuce, maybe butter lettuce
-Bag of spinach
-2 zucchini
-2 cucumbers
-2 tomatoes
-1 onion
-Bag of strawberries
-2 oranges
-1 green pepper
-Head of brussel sprouts (again, not sure if "head" is right)
-6 carrots



Rosemary (From our rosemary tree) infused, roasted brussel sprouts and sliced raw tomato served with (not from the CSA) humane certified chicken cooked with bacon from Cognito Farms (Our local farm favorite).
This was really simple, the brussel sprouts were just sprayed with olive oil,(We got a Misto for Christmas which sprays the olive oil evenly...thanks Janice!!) sprinkled with salt, a few sprigs of rosemary placed on top and cooked in the oven until they were tender but not too soft.

Brandy's AWESOME roasted chicken: I made this recipe up and it turned out really delicious, but I think I may have to cook it at a higher temp next time because it took FOREVER to cook!
Here's what I did:

NOTE: I had some leftover organic butter from a recipe I had made a few weeks ago, so I used that, but normally I would probably use olive oil.

Ingredients:
-1 whole chicken, insides removed
-1 stick butter
-3 sticks Celery, probably will use more next time
-2 Carrots
-2 Potatoes
-1 onion
-Sea salt
-Black pepper
-Paprika
-Mustard Powder
-3 cloves raw garlic, sliced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, I did 350 and it took forever, so I'm going with 400 next time!
I took the chicken, placed it in a roasting pan and generously rubbed it down with sea salt and black pepper...inside and out. I then took about 2 tablespoons of sliced organic butter and cut it up into cubes and placed these under the skin with the cloves of sliced garlic. I then placed the celery, cut up into large pieces inside the chicken with half of the remaining butter. I placed the rest of the butter around the chicken with the cut up potato, carrot, and onion and a half cup of water. I then sprinkled paprika and mustard powder on the top of the chicken because I thought it coudldn't hurt.

I then cooked the chicken for an hour, uncovered. I then pulled it out and basted it before covering with aluminum foil and cooking for another hour and a half...but I think if the temperature is higher, this time could be reduced drastically...either way, check the temperature and make sure it's at least 165-180. Baste as needed.

It's not an exact science that I have worked out, but it was delicious. The butter reminded me that I was clogging my arteries, but I normally don't consume that much so I think it was okay.

We didn't actually eat the chicken right away because we were late to a Super Bowl party (stupid chicken took too long!!) but the next day we ate it with the veggies it cooked with and they were amazing...especially the carrots!


Spinach salad with chicken, cucumber, carrot and not from CSA: apple, dried mixed berries, raw sunflower seeds, and poppy seed dressing. I halfway finished this before I remembered to take a picture...oops


Chicken and vegetable quiche: Using eggs, chicken, zucchini, carrot and not from CSA: frozen broccoli, grated mozzarella and sliced potato crust. (No picture, sorry!)

Baked Kale Chips: I LOVE THESE! The next time I make them, I think I'll cook them at a lower temperature so that they can crisp all the way through without burning. They are so easy! You just remove the stem/stalk and tear or cut the leaves into bite size pieces, rinse, use a salad spinner or towel to remove excess water, place (in 1 layer) on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil (or use your Misto you got for Christmas) and sprinkle with sea salt and cook in oven at 300 degrees until crisp. (I cooked them at 350 and they were done in roughly 10 minutes but either weren't all crispy or burned if left in longer)

They don't really store well, so this is something you need to eat as soon as you make it. If anyone knows a proper way to store them so they stay crisp, please let me know!

That's how far I've gotten and I still have the following left to use between today and tomorrow:

-Remaining chicken
-2 eggs
-Lettuce
-2 oranges
-1 zucchini
-1 cucumber
-1 green pepper
-1 tomato


I'm thinking a salad is next on the list.

Here is what I did with the remaining ingredients:

Chicken Stock:
I covered the remaining chicken (on the bones) with 6 cups of filtered water. I added 3 stalks of celery, 3 carrots, 1/2 an onion, 3 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper and brought it to a boil before lowering the temperature and letting it cook until the veggies were soft and the chicken was falling off the bone. Then I strained the veggies and chicken from the stock and refrigerated the stock overnight. In the morning, if there is any fat, it usually hardens on the top and you can skim it off. The veggies are edible if you like cooked carrots, celery and onion :)

Everything else: a delicious salad!