Bailey's Greek Kale Salad
Fresh local kale, cherry tomatoes, cucmbers and feta combine with chicken for a main dish salad that sings of summer.
Single & a CSA
I grew up in a small town called Winchester, right at the base of the Sewanee mountain, where most folks recognize me because I look just like my mom. Back home, a CSA is just a cardboard box of veggies passed between coworkers from backyard gardens because someone’s tomato and squash plants had been producing more than they could eat.
This summer was my first not living at home, and I was bummed knowing I wouldn’t get to eat as many of my favorite things from my dad’s garden this year. But thanks to a CSA box from a local farm, I’ve been getting to enjoy the same kind of foods my parents always taught me to appreciate.
This season, Athena’s Harvest Farm in Santa Fe (it’s pronounced Fee) has been the fix to my need for heirloom tomatoes and yellow squash, and thanks to them, I’ve been able to stash my pizza rolls in the back of the freezer and channel my inner Ina Garten at the same time.
Athena’s Harvest is run by husband and wife Jesse and Athena (hence the name). At the Richland Park Farmers Market (my pickup point), Jesse gave me the grand tour of box number one, and inside, I saw baby carrots, lettuce and a basket of tiny strawberries. Instant relief—I know what those are and, more importantly, what to do with them. Then I came face to face with some things I wasn’t as well-acquainted with—starting with Harukei turnips and French breakfast radishes. To follow was garlic scapes, Swiss chard and fresh herbs like dill and oregano that this girl has only ever seen dried in a bottle.
My strategy for eating my way through this CSA was to plan everything—I did a major fridge clean out, created a board on Pinterest to save recipes with my CSA ingredients in mind and looked up how to store everything. Carrots and radishes went in a jar of water in my fridge, greens were washed and wrapped in a towel to soak up any extra moisture and herbs were either hung to dry or put in a mug of water.
Meal planning was also really helpful in making sure nothing went to waste. I made a note in my phone with space for each day and room to write out what I’d be eating.
In searching for recipes and meal planning, I was even able to find a few new staple dishes. Who knew Swiss chard, stems and all, was so good? I sauteed a bunch in some olive oil with a crushed clove of garlic and some red pepper flakes. I could have easily stood over the stove and eaten it right out of the pan. Dark dinosaur kale cut in a chiffonade and topped with sweet grape tomatoes, crunchy cucumber, salty feta cheese and grilled chicken is another meal I discovered, and since week two, it’s been a regular in my lunch rotation.
I’ll be honest though—not everything was a picnic in the Hamptons. The Harukei turnips brought flashbacks of boiled turnips, and I was more than happy to share those with my parents. And as for the radishes, I tried to do like my mom taught me and dip them in salt for a cool, crunchy snack. I quickly realized though, that it’s hard to hear the TV over the crunch-crunch of radishes, and they didn’t seem like the right kind of quiet snack to bring to the office. Even my favorite Swiss chard was a bit of a challenge near the end of one week—somehow I’d let the towelfull of leafy greens slip my mind, and by the time I remembered, those once soft leaves were a crunchy mess. I salvaged what I could and into the compost bag went the rest.
And even with good intentions and planning out every meal, sometimes 50-cent corndog night at Sonic just wins.
Though initially, there were worries going in, I’ve only had to compost one bit of lettuce and a few leaves of chard, and despite some of the vegetables being intimidating, getting to experiment with different produce has been much more exciting than making zucchini noodles and calling it a day.
And who doesn’t feel like they’ve got their life together when kale salads are on the menu a couple times a week?
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