Woo-hoo! I just received my very first CSA share from Grow it Green’s Urban Farm; everything is so fresh and beautiful, but uh-oh, what was I thinking? How am I going to use all this stuff?   I thought I had planned this out—I only got a share for June because I have my own plot at Early Street and during July and August we reap the benefits of that little plot, not to mention that during June my hungry teenager is still around, at least for most of the month.

What I hadn’t planned on was the quantity of produce that I was going to receive, and the fact that even with our hungry teenager, we are only three people. These are vegetables, not brownies, which I can never have too many of.  That said, I am up to the challenge, and what’s more, I have agreed to share with you all how I used my produce and even provide a recipe or two.

This week (June 2) our CSA share included the following:

6 eggs

1 head of curly lettuce

A huge bag of arugula and spinach and another of mixed greens

1 small bunch of swiss chard

Snow peas

Garlic scapes

Onions

1 bunch of mint

1 bunch of garlic chives

1 bunch of tarragon

1 bunch of radishes

A handful of strawberries

Pretty nice, right?

Once I got it all put away I started to plan my market basket dinner. Oddly enough, the mint was the one ingredient that I was wondering how I was going to use until I remembered a lovely shrimp and mint curry recipe that I had clipped long ago. Once I dug it out, Saturday night’s dinner was set: Shrimp with mint curry, roast potatoes with garlic chives, sautéed spinach with mushrooms and minced garlic scapes, and mixed greens and arugula salad with strawberries. For a little appetizer we had some sliced radishes on toasted French bread with butter and sea salt.

Everything was really yummy (if I do say so myself)! The recipes really highlighted the produce I was given, and my men didn’t leave anything left over.  Here is the recipe for the shrimp:

Grilled Mint Curry Shrimp (adapted from Jane Brody’s Good Seafood Book)

(4 servings)

Marinade

1 cup low fat plain Greek yogurt

3 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 tbsp. olive oil

¼ cup roughly chopped fresh mint *

2 tsp. curry powder (I used 1 tsp. regular and 1 tsp. hot)

1 minced garlic scape*

Salt and pepper to taste

1 ¼ lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Oil for grilling

Optional: chopped cilantro for garnish (I did not use)

* ingredients from CSA share

In a large nonreactive bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients, blending them well.

Add the shrimp and stir to coat them with the marinade. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

When you are ready to cook the shrimp, heat up your grill or broiler.

Remove the shrimp from the marinade and place them on skewers or on a mesh grate that has been brushed with vegetable oil. Or, if you are broiling them, place them on a lightly oiled broiler pan. Grill or broil the shrimp for about 2 ½ minutes per side.

Sprinkle the shrimp with cilantro (if using), and serve immediately.

I’m thinking I might make a quiche for tomorrow’s lunch—don’t you think?