Our first CSA share!

Welcome to my new blog!  I have always loved cooking, and although it is tough to find time to make new things with the two little munchkins around, I am passionate about finding healthy and yummy food for the whole family!  This year for my birthday, my amazing parents and in-laws bought me a CSA share, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  This is basically a membership to a local farm, and each week, they prepare a box of whichever crops are ready to be harvested, and I get to pick it up to use for the week!  By being a member, I get the freshest fruits and vegetables (because they are picked the morning that I pick them up!), and I get a huge variety of things that I may or may not have ever used before.

The CSA share that I got was for Dragonfly Farms in Pepperell, MA (http://www.dragonfly-farms.com).  I picked up my very first box yesterday, and I am SO excited to try out new recipes with all the different types of vegetables that I got!  In this week's box, there is spinach, broccoli, broccoli raab (rapini), mustard greens, spring onions, and a lettuce mix.

Last night for dinner, I made a pasta with rapini, mushrooms and goat cheese according to a recipe that the farm sent out, and it was delicious!  I paired it with some salad made with the lettuce mix that was in the box, and it was a complete, healthy, and tasty meal!  Vivek was a big fan :)

Recipe for Pasta with Rapini, Mushrooms and Goat Cheese

INGREDIENTS

Salt, to taste

1 bunch rapini, washed and roughly chopped

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic, crushed

3/4 tsp. crushed red chili flakes

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

12 oz. pasta of your choice (I used penne), cooked al dente

2 tsp. lemon juice

4 oz. goat cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring an 8 qt. pot of salted water to a boil.  Add rapini and boil until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Using a slatted spoon, transfer rapini to a large bowl of ice water; chill.  Drain rapini, pat dry, and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add chili flakes, basil and rapini and cook stirring frequently for about 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

3. Add the cooked pasta to the vegetable mixture and toss.  Add lemon juice and mix well.  Season with salt.  Divide up the pasta into serving bowls and top with crumbled goat cheese.

I also used the broccoli that came in the box to make some baby food for Vidya!  She loves the combination of steamed and pureed apple and broccoli!

I'm really looking forward to trying new recipes and sharing them with all of you!