I’m impressed: My second CSA delivery arrived this morning from Burning River Farm.

I’ve been at this CSA thing for just a week, and already I’ve found that I’m really into it. I woke up this morning thinking that I needed to rush to the office to greet my delivery, and when I picked up the package I realized that I was looking forward to hearing all about the latest and greatest from Burning River Farm. Mike Noreen, farmer and correspondent, did not disappoint. Here are a few excerpts from his newsletter:

“It’s the end of another day of packing and harvest and most everyone has gone to the lake,” wrote Noreen. “It’s summer, don’tcha know? Thought it would never arrive, but it’s feeling more summer-like, more hot hot heat. Last spring was so dry, I pulled out the irrigation ’round the end of April. This is the first day this year that I’ve put water to anything that wasn’t a new transplant, more pre-emptively than anything, just in case . . . I hope it all proves to be unnecessary.”

“I was listening to the radio as I washed radishes, and the talk was about food; where it’s coming from these days, the politcs and marketing of food, and just how we got to where we are at in our “modern” relationship to food. Anything you want, almost anytime you want it. That’s where a couple of stat’s stuck in my mind. One was that in the U.S. we import 50 percent of our food. Fifty percent! Coming from all over the world. I’ve often thought that if we were truly concerned about security, we would do something about this situation. But business is just that. Another stat is that, on average, people spend 9 percent of their income on food. This is historically a very low percentage. As a nation, we have come to expect cheap food, as much as we want, when we want . . . wrapped in plastic!”

“All of this is the way it is. Some folks say it’s a disconnect, some say that it is just the way the world goes. Some say that it’s about having choices. I’ve been giving the whole CSA concept a thought-over and the choice that you make when you sign up for a season, or go to a farmers market or buy directly from a farm. It’s a choice to cut out just a little bit of the madness and politics that turns food and sustenance into a commodity to be traded on the “free market.” Just some thoughts. Thanks for making a choice.”

Delivery No. 2 included (clockwise, from upper left): Spinach (bagged), lettuces, kale, broccoli, turnips, radishes, baby pac choy and lettuce.

Here’s this week’s inventory (the descriptions are Mike’s):

1. Spinach: “Another good helping, I hope what’s left in the fields holds another week.”

2. Lettuces (a red-leaf version, and a sturdier, all-green version)

3. Red Bor Kale: “Purple and frilly.”

4. Broccoli: “More little tasty ones.”

5. Hakurei Turnips: “These have a very mild zing. A gem, eat them uncooked.”

6. French Breakfast radishes: “Spicy.”

7. Baby pak choi: “A stir-fry staple.”

Next week’s forecast: “May see the first of the sugar snaps. Let’s hope so. Lettuce, maybe some more arugula, kohrabi and perhaps some scallions.”

My eyes immediately went to the kale, so curly, so rigid, so striking. It also caught the eye of my colleague Kerri Westenberg (OK, true confessions: I brought the box over to her desk, to boast about my CSA bounty) and her attention landed right on the kale, too. Kerri, a former Bon Appetit and Cooking Light staffer and now editor of the Strib’s Travel section, is the kind of co-worker a person wants to have at an office potluck; she’s a talented and adventurous and instinctive cook, and when she spied that kale she didn’t hesitate to mention what she would do with it, raving about a dish she ran across in Gourmet magazine.

I asked for a few key search-word ingredients so that I could find it on Epicurious, the Conde Naste website that maintains a vast online Gourmet recipe archive. She obliged, I logged on, and in a few clicks I found it. Yeah, it sounded like a winner, and easy, too, the kind of dish a time-starved person could just about toss off after a long day at the plant. Then I remembered another Kerri tip.

“Here’s what I really like about Epicurious,” she had said. “Users rate the recipes and add their ideas about how to improve them. That’s where I got the idea about adding thyme to this recipe.”

That got me paging through the comments, where I encountered several intriguing-sounding ideas; along with the thyme that Kerri talked about, I also liked the idea of incorporating a bay leaf. Other suggestions included pumping up the kale and onions quotients, adding herb chicken sausages, and replacing the penne with bowtie pasta and the plain onion with a more colorful red onion. They all sound worthwhile, and I’ll have to remember them the next time I make this recipe.

PASTA WITH LENTILS AND KALE
Serves 4.

Note: Adapted from the April 2007 edition of Gourmet magazine, archived at Epicurious.com. “This dish has been one of my family’s favorites for years,” writes the author. “The secret to its enduring popularity is the caramelized onions. I cook them long and slow until they are meltingly tender and deep golden brown. Their rich sweetness rounds out the earthy flavor of the lentils and kale.” Lentils and onions can be cooked up to 5 days ahead and chilled, uncovered, until completely cooled, then covered. Reheat over low heat, thinning with water as necessary. Kale can be washed and trimmed 1 day ahead and chilled in a sealed plastic bag lined with dampened paper towels.

1/2 c. French (small) green lentils
2 c. water
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
1 bay leaf
6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped (2 cups)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 lb. kale
1 tbsp. fresh thyme
3/4 lb. dried short pasta such as penne
Toasted bread crumbs and/or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, optional

Directions
In a small saucepan over medium heat, simmer lentils in 2 cups water with 1/4 teaspoon salt, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep lentils barely covered, until tender but not falling apart, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve. While lentils simmer, heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion with pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring, 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and golden (stir more frequently toward end of cooking), about 20 minutes. Remove lid and increase heat to moderate and then cook, stirring frequently, until onions are golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more. While onion cooks, cut out and discard stems and center ribs from kale. Cook kale in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer kale with tongs to a colander to drain, pressing lightly. Keep pot of water at a boil, covered. Coarsely chop kale and add to onion along with lentils (including lentil-cooking liquid) and thyme, then simmer, stirring, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta to kale-cooking liquid and cook, uncovered, followed directions on package, until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup pasta-cooking liquid, then drain pasta in a colander. Add pasta to lentil mixture along with about 1/3 cup of pasta-cooking liquid (or enough to keep pasta moist) and cook over high heat, tossing, for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, transfer to a platter or bowl, top with toasted bread crumbs and/or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional) and serve.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Recipes, Weekly CSA delivery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.