Produce box

When I go to the grocery store I usually get spinach, cucumber, kale, apples, baby bell peppers, and bananas. Occasionally I like to pick up a random fruit — something unusual and unique for the season. To change things up, I decided to pick up a produce box at my local community garden to support the work that they do. Also at work the other day we had a mobile food drive for the community and there was a leftover produce box I took home too.

So anyways I wanted to go through all the produce I received and figure out what to do with them. I enjoy cooking and food prep. My favorite activity to do on a Sunday is go on a food prep marathon to plan for all the meals to make for the week. Usually I plan meals up to Wednesday. Thursday is for leftovers/cleaning the fridge and Friday we like to dine out or do takeout.

Celery — and there’s lots of it too! Celery is generally in my grocery rotation. I can make celery juice and sweeten it with a little bit of apple but I think celery juice alone is just fine. I also like to have it by itself as snack. I do find the celery in the center not taste as good. So what I do with the less appetizing celeries is chop it up and freeze it in a bag. I have bag of chopped carrots, onions, and celery so I always have a mirepoix on hand.

Oranges – These were in the pantry box I got through work. I usually eat these as a snack. Maybe I can use it to brighten a salad.

Dandelion greens – I got this from the community urban farm. Honestly this was arugula but it tastes different — it’s less bitter and the stems are a little thicker. I made a salad yesterday along with the lettuce.

Pakistan mulberries – these have an interesting taste. It’s earthy yet citrusy.

Asparagus – I’ve been eyeballing to make a cream of asparagus soup.

Avocado – Well there’s lot of things to do with an avocado. You can put it in toast and in salad. If I am feeling indulgent, I make an avocado smoothie — it’s just banana, almond milk, and half an avocado.

Radishes – I love eating radishes as a snack — raw and nothing else. I also like to put it on butter (or avocado) and toast. A couple years ago, I was on a pickling kick because I was learning how to pickle stuff. Maybe I could pickle the radish? Honestly, I’ve never cooked radishes — maybe I could try this garlic roasted radish dish.

The radish greens could be a stirfry to get rid of that fuzzy texture.

Kale (or are they collard greens)- I would eat kale raw in a salad or a smoothie. I would eat kale cooked if it was in a stew. In the winter time, I like to make a kale, bean, and sausage soup.

Carrots – save the carrot tops for a pesto. The carrots can be roasted on a cast iron skillet for a side dish.

Fennel – for the bulb, I would make this green shashuka. For the fronds, I would make a pesto (could I mix it with the carrot top?) or cook it with salmon.

Lettuce – I used it to to make a garden salad yesterday along with dandelion greens.

Potatoes – Maybe for a challenge, I could make these honey butter potato chips and top it with ice cream.

Yellow squash – I received lots of yellow squash from the leftover mobile food pantry. Could I experiment with yellow squash in place of zucchini bread? Or could I make a squash noodle lasagna?

Any recipes or dishes you recommend with any of these produce above? Comment below!