Cook away my CSA Challenge

I just signed on to take the "Cooking away my CSA challenge," so I will be posting about once a week about how I'm using my CSA contents that week! It sounds like my CSA started a little earlier (end of April) than some other folks, so I have a bit of a head start. Therefore, I may be getting some warm weather vegetables earlier than others (like cucumbers.) I will also be using produce from my one-woman-CSA (my own garden.)

This week, in my CSA, I got the usual lettuce and raddiccio (delicious salads all week!) some little yellow squash, a big fennel bulb, beets, mini broccoli (called "happy-rich," love that,) garlic, leeks, and baby pac-choy. I also received a dozen eggs and a four pound chicken.

I've got big plans to do grilled spatchcocked chicken (that's just a fancy word for chicken with the backbone cut out and flattened. I just love the word,) veggie packets on the grill, and rice. I love to marinate chicken in just basic olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice for about an hour before grilling. It really enhances the flavor and keeps it moist without overwhelming it. These CSA chickens are so delicious on their own!

I'm going to cut up the squash, fennel, and an onion and add some herbs from my own yard and balsamic vinegar and grill those up next to the chicken.

I'm also making cucumber salad with cucumbers from my yard, just basic rice wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and a little bit of sugar with some vidalia onions. I start it in the morning and then shake it throughout the day.

My favorite thing to do with the whole "choi" family is to make wilted, chilled sesame-vinagairette salad. You blanch the greens and then chill them in a bowl of ice water and squeeze them dry. Meanwhile, whisk together some sesame oil, vinegar (I use rice wine vinegar,) Sake, Soy Sauce, garlic, ginger, and whatever else looks good that day (crushed red pepper? mirin?) toss the dryed greens in the dressing and *try* to let it chill for an hour (I hardly ever make it, it's so good I eat it all straight from the bowl. my husband has never gotten to try it.)

There's not much of the mini broccoli, but I will probably saute that and then squeeze some lemon on it for a side sometime this week.

I'll be chopping the garlic and leeks and mixing them with the rice for dinner tonight!