I ended up skipping my imperfect produce box for last week, but I still managed to avoid the grocery store, except for a mid week run for a few random essentials. Forcing myself to use every single thing up is not a new practice. I’ve always been good with buying no more than we need (with the exception of chocolate!) and then making sure it gets used up before I buy more. That said, I miss the ability to have total control over our meal planning. And losing control is a HUGE deal for me. So the CSA is more than supporting local farms and eating seasonally, but is also a mental/psychological exercise for me personally. Letting go of my need to control things, one step at a time. Eeeeeek. Anyway, what I’d say I’m making more of an effort to do now is not to go out to re-buy some item that we just ran out of for the sole purpose of replenishing a vacancy…but rather, forcing myself to make or use something else we already have in it’s place, until we really really need it and I am next at the store. This is easily possible because our pantry and freezer are stocked. Excessively so. Which is what I’m trying to get away from.
Case in point: this soup.
I was brainstorming what to make for Kyle and the kids’ lunches for the week and rather than adding stuff to my grocery list, I challenged myself to cook only from what I already had.
Which ended up being a few leftover ramen packets (I had extra tofu flavored ones from when I used the noodles but not the seasoning), a rice and lentil blend, dried chickpeas and kidney beans, and beet greens.
After sautéing some minced garlic in oil, I simmered the rest of the aforementioned ingreds all afternoon…and it smelled sooooo good.
And Kyle and the kids have been loving it. Who would have thought these odds and ends could come together so nicely! I didn’t even have carrots, celery or onion on hand – three things I’d never attempt a soup without!!! But it was lovely! And now the pantry is a little lighter. We ate the rest of the beet greens that night…
In this plant powered meal. Kyle had had a few too many pizza and beer events and was begging for veggies. A request I am obviously happy to oblige.
I sautéed the beet greens and turnip greens from my UC Davis student farm CSA with pancetta, which was the one non-vegan part of the dish.
Next up…this cauliflower!!! It was so incredibly massive I was overwhelmed with what to do with it, but in the end I decided not to overthink it. I busted out the air fryer for half of it and then sautéed the second half in a wok with high heat. I think I liked the sautéed portion better than the air fried portion, but nobody else seemed to have any preference.
The last component was leftover roasted potatoes (sweet and yukon gold) and squash (acorn).
The bigs had dessert ones the littles were in bed…
Up next…
Our second weekly haul! This one included: cilantro, dino and carinata kale, carrots, chiogga beets with tops, red leaf lettuce, turnips with tops, Chinese cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, daikon, rutabaga, leeks and a butternut squash. Get excited!
Whoah, that CSA haul is amazing!! So much stuff! I’m impressed with your soup, without carrots/celery/onions I don’t know that i would have even attempted soup but how satisfying that it not only used what was on hand but was also a big win for the family!
That cauliflower is so big it’s comical! I don’t think i’ve ever seen one so massive before….