I've made a few things..

What have I made over the past few weeks?
Here's the week 5 basket:

What all did we get?

• carrots
• beets (I've got to do something with all of these I'm accumulating!)
• kale
• fennel bulb w/ fronds
• rainbow chard
• cucumbers
• garlic scapes
• two heads lettuce (hidden under the fennel)
• a tomato!

The week 6 basket I forgot to take a picture of, but the Guilford College Farm posted one on Instagram so here's a link.  You should follow them @guilford_college_farm on the 'gram.  What was in it?

• carrots
• beets (I have a problem here)
• fennel bulb (the fronds were not quite as nice on this one so I tossed them
• collard greens
• cucumbers
• garlic scapes
• two heads lettuce
• pt cherry tomatoes (several types)
• 2 tomatoes!

 So there are some salads, gazpacho and beets (roasted and pickled) my future.

A few things I've made recently, from least complicated to most:

Grilled Garlic Scapes
Put garlic scapes in a 1 gallon ziplock bag (you may need to cut them in half).  Add a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and shake/massage the bag until the scapes are evenly coated.  Grill 5-10 minutes until a bit charred.  Serve as a side (like asaparagus) or how ever you like.

Tzatziki (cucumber yogurt sauce)

Ingredients:

• Cucumber, shredded and squeezed dry in a clean dish towel)
• Greek yogurt (I usually use 2%)
• 1small garlic clove, pressed
• 1-2 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

 Peel the cucumber (or not, I usually don't) and shred using the coarse holes on a box grater.  Pile cucumber in a clean dish towel, wrap up and squeeze to get out as much moisture as possible.  Place cucumber in bowl, and add greek yogurt to roughly equal the amount of cucumber (this is usually about 1/2 - 1 cup cucumber to 1/2-1 cup yogurt).  Stir to mix.  Press a clove of garlic into the mixture (or grate it in w/ a microplane).  Add 1-2 tsp of lemon juice, mix.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Hey, remember that head of red cabbage from a few weeks ago?  I finally got around to doing something with it!
Crispy Braised Chicken Thighs with Cabbage and Bacon (adapted from Serious Eats)
Ingredients:
    2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4 thighs; 1.15kg)
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    4 ounces chopped pancetta
    1 medium onion, thinly sliced (about 6 ounces; 170g)
    1 pound finely shredded cabbage (about 1 medium head; 450g - I used red cabbage here)
    2 tablespoons (30ml) whole grain mustard
    1/2 cup (120ml) apple cider vinegar
    3 cups (700ml) homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
    3 tablespoons sugar
    2 bay leaves
    6 sprigs thyme
One of the ways I adapted this was to substitute pancetta for the bacon called for, and to use less of it. I also didn't use any of the oil or butter called for, because between the pancetta and the chicken there is plenty of fat in this dish.

Directions

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350°F
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper, set aside (even better if you can do it the day before)
3. In a 5 qt cast iron dutch oven, heat 1/2 cup water and pancetta over medium heat.  As water evaporates, fat will render.  Cook until pancetta is browned (about 5-10 min?).  Remove pancetta from pan w/ a slotted spoon, leaving fat behind.  Remove (pour or spoon out) fat until there is only 1-2 tbs remaining in the pan. 
4. Place chicken skin side down in the pan. Cook without moving about 8 minutes until skin is crisp (reduce heat if it starts smoking).  Flip over chicken and brown on opposite side, about 3 minutes.  Remove chicken to a large platter or plate and set aside.
5.  Add onion to pan and cook about 4 minutes, until softened and starting to brown.  Add cabbage to pan and cook about 4 minutes, until softened and starting to brown.  Add mustard and vinegar and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Add chicken stock, sugar, bay leaves, browned pancetta and thyme sprigs and bring to a simmer.
6. Nestle chicken back into the pan, leaving the skin above the liquid but submerging most of the meat. Transfer pan to oven and cook, uncovered, until chicken is totally tender and liquid has reduced by about half, about 45 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and transfer chicken to a serving platter. Season cabbage mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, spooning cabbage and sauce into shallow bowls and topping with chicken.
   
   I also served this with some mashed potatoes to soak up the juices.  Some pics!
   
   The browned pancetta
   
   
   Cooking the chicken
   
   
   
   Cooking the onions
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Cooking the cabbage
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Ready to go in the oven
   
   
   
   All done
   
   
   
   Plated up!
    
   

Lettuce suppose...

...that you have too much lettuce.  Apparently one of the top searches on Google this time of year is about using up all the lettuce in your CSA.  I have a folder of "CSA ideas on my computer, and I was looking through them and found this recipe from Mark Bittman "Pasta with Proscuitto and Lettuce" that I'd saved a few years ago but never tried (I have experimented with a lettuce soup).  With a couple of heads of lettuce and a pound of salad greens sitting in my fridge, I figured it was time to give it a try.  And I liked it!  You can pretty much use up a whole head of lettuce in one serving, thanks to the power of wilting greens with heat.  I bet you could even make this vegetarian by replacing the crisped proscuitto with some mushroom "bacon" that I've seen recipes for.  This is adapted from Bittman's recipe to serve one, now that I'm home all the time and can cook lunch.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp butter
• 2 slices (about 1 oz) proscuitto, sliced crosswise into 1/2" strips
• 2 oz pasta (I think flat-ish shapes work well here, like farfalle orrecchiette, but use what you have)
• 2 tbs minced shallot (a good sub from the CSA would be a couple of chopped garlic scapes)
• as much lettuce as you can stand (I've been using the heads of lettuce that we're getting from the CSA), sliced into ribbons (about 1/2")
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 tbs white wine, chicken stock or water (I used wine)
• 1 oz grated parmesan

Procedure:

1. Cook pasta until al dente, drain and reserve.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat a 10" skillet over medium heat, add 1/2 tsp olive oil. 
3. Add proscuitto, saute until slightly browned and crisp.  Remove from pan and reserve.
4. Melt butter and remaining 1/2 tsp oil over medium heat
5. Add minced shallot, sprinkle w/ salt and pepper saute until tender ( 5-10 min)
6. Add liquid (stock, water  or wine) lettuce and peas,  cook until lettuce is wilted and peas are bright green, about 5 min.
7. Add cooked pasta and 3/4 oz of parmesan to pan, stir and toss to mix together
8. Put in bowl, garnish w/ remaining parmesan and the proscuitto.

Some pics!

Your mise:

crisped proscuitto:

Add the lettuce

Plated up!

Also, Black Lives Matter.  Educate  yourselves.  Be part of the solution.