I’m the sort of cook who looks through recipes and sales flyers and then works out what meals I’ll make for the week. Doing it the other way around, ingredients first and then making a decision, I thought would take some adjustment. However, when I picked up the first box from the CSA share we’d bought  this year I was excited about all the things I could try and create.

Box number one contained field greens, spinach, lettuce, garlic scapes, asparagus, rhubarb, oregano and garlic chives and radishes.

The field greens were eaten for salad, the same with the lettuce and radishes. I do in fact, have some leftover and I’m using it instead of bread for tuna and egg salad ‘sandwiches’. Something different and light now the weather is warmer.

One of my favorite ways to eat asparagus is oven roasting it. I tossed it together with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted it for about 15 minutes. I think it pairs well with just about anything.

The rhubarb…I have to say I haven’t bought or eaten any for years. I used my grandmother’s recipe and made a rhubarb and ginger crumble. It reminded me that something delicious doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Many deserts are made from inexpensive ingredients and this one is a great example. Just use any crumble topping recipe and here I chopped the rhubarb and cooked it with a couple of tablespoons of chopped fresh ginger, one half cup of brown sugar and a cup of water until it was tender.

I mentioned on Monday that I hadn’t used garlic scapes before. I sauteed them and have been using them throughout the week. They’re going into a meatloaf today.

The spinach is the best I’ve ever seen and I usually saute that but this time decided to steam it and it turned out perfectly. I think this is how I’ll cook spinach from now on. I do have some leftover which I’ll be using in a feta and spinach quiche…look for that one in an upcoming Meatless Monday feature.

Last but not least herbs. I probably don’t have to tell you that they’re one of the best ways to add flavor without spending lots of money. One of my favorite things is the garlic and herb cheese spread you can buy at the supermarket. Drawback is you don’t get a lot and it’s almost $5. So I thought with the garlic chives I’d try making my own. It’s simple, just an eight ounce package of cream cheese, some pepper, about four tablespoons of the chopped garlic chives…more if you like garlic, and some milk. Just put everything into a food processor. You can taste test it and see if you need more garlic or pepper. This is wonderful spread on toast and served with a salad.

The oregano I decided to use in some homemade bread. I also added some cheese too.

I still have some herbs left over and will probably use them up this weekend or even dry them for future use.