FFTY!!!

(Busted out ye olde kodak, don't mind the gratuitous use of flash...)

Look at what was waiting for me when I was running out the door this morning from FARM FRESH TO YOU, my first CSA box EVAR!!!:

Unfortunately I was LATE, so I only had time to pop the top and grab the first small fruit I could see... a loverly persimmon! When I got home it was time to unpack.

Nice reusable cardboard, pretty sturdy!


The lovely bounty within:



Fantastic with fennel, napa cabbage, curly kale, mustard greens(?), satsuma mandarins, meyer lemons, eureka lemons, butter lettuce, persimmons, limes, garlic, and leeks. YUM!!!

I had the rest of the galette for dinner, so no pics, but I had to research fennel as I've never cooked it before. I'm not too into the anise flavor, blame it on many years of chinese cooking and later years of absinthe. However, I thought a gratin would be nice with some potatoes.

I'm going to be busy for the rest of the week so I thought I'd prepare a bit ahead. Sorry mr. fennel, you're first on the chopping block!


When I chopped the fronds off I was SCARED. Very pungent anise, so I tasted a bit of frond... BLEH! TOO MUCH! I was sad, but I kept hacking away...


And found a nice center with a much more mild flavor raw. Slivered with a courgette:


Vegan Gourmet shredded, mozzarella flavor.


And lastly, I love to prepare garlic ahead of time, it saves a cutting board or two. A head and a half, minced, and tossed with a wee bit of olive oil and fresh pepper. It's too easy to toss this in a pan with a pinch of sea salt and have a great beginning to any meal.


The gratin will follow tomorrow night, I'm going to do my best to keep the camera working and post as often as I can. Oh yeah, going to bed on time helps A LOT! :)