CSA Today!

I was going to try to post something else today and wait for the recipes tomorrow, but I'm too excited.

I received my first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery today!

 In the box was 2 cucumbers, 4 bananas, 1 mango, 1 squash, 2 green peppers, 2 tomatoes, 3 apples, a bag of spinach, 1 box of blackberries, a bunch of radishes and a whole bunch of sun chokes.

I had never even heard of sun chokes.  They are a root vegetable/ tuber native to North America.  They grow from a plant that looks similar to a sunflower.
I've always been interested in Native American culture and foods.  Now I have some!


They look like a ginger root, and you cook them similar to potatoes.  However, it is recommended not to peel them, just scrub them very good, otherwise you might lose too much of the tuber.

The taste was mildly like a potato, but slightly sweeter - similar to a carrot.  Overall, very good.

So tonight's dinner was the first in utilizing this weekly veggie delivery.

Fish (courtesy of my local grocery store) and sun chokes and radishes.

First on the fish:  Swai was on sale (something else I had never heard of) - I was told it was a cross between tilapia and catfish.   Its farmed in Vietnam.  Something they did for me (which I highly recommend that you check your grocer and see if they do...) was they put it in an aluminum bag all set for the oven.  Inside this bag was the fish, and select ingredients I chose - Butter, Rosemary, and garlic powder.  All of this included in the cost of the fish, which was 2.99/pound.  Not bad!

As for the flavor of the Swai.... it tastes like tilapia, but the texture was different (I assume more like catfish)  The seasonings were amazing- great combo!  (So much so, my son asked for seconds - he finished off 75% of the 2 fillets)

I chose to sautee the sun chokes and radishes in butter/olive oil with some salt, pepper and garlic powder. 

(about 1-2 Tablespoons of butter? - didn't really measure, just enough to keep them from burning - and seasoned to taste)

Now for full disclosure:  I HATE RADISHES!  I have never liked them, always picking them out of my salads.  My son, however, LOVES them.  So I went ahead and ordered them with the CSA for him. Someone recommended  that I cook them.  Such a novel idea!

So I sauteed them.................. I must say, WOW!

I now LOVE radishes!

When you cook them, the biting peppery flavor mellows a lot.  They become more like a turnip in flavor ( I think, I haven't explored much with turnips).  The texture was still a little crisp, not super soft like potatoes get.   

The radishes were my favorite part of dinner.  

So I am now excited that we will plant lots of radishes in the garden this spring (my son's request).

I plan on keeping them constantly in stock in my kitchen.