Where to Begin?

I just got back from picking up my first summer share.  Lots and lots of beautiful greens: collard greens, Red Russian kale, green leaf lettuce, pea tendrils, garlic scapes, radish greens, kohlrabi.  The sad part is that for the next month, I am still limited in the amount of these things I am allowed to eat each week.  Thankfully, I have someone to share them with.  Renee will pick up her portion tomorrow.  But I do believe that I will have to cook some of them and freeze them.

The first disappointment occurred today too: a very small batch of garlic scapes.  Since I have had them before and we are bound to get more (unless the early hot weather affected this crop too), I am going to give them to Renee this week.  So, I think the first thing that I am going to do is make a quinoa salad with steamed kale.  It's been a while since I have done that and quinoa has protein, so it will fit in my diet pretty well.  Rest assured, once I have made it, I will post a recipe and pictures.  So happy to be back to the CSA!!!!!!

Pork Shoulder

One of the best parts of these CSA packages are the meats we receive.  However, I have a small freezer, so I do have to be fairly consistant about making the larger pieces.  This weekend, it is a pork shoulder roast.  I have gotten 3 of these this winter and it's kind of funny because I buy shoulder roasts once every couple years normally.  The first, I slow roasted in the oven.  The second, I cooked in my crockpot.  Today, I braised my pork roast, and it turned out beautiful!  Since we had gotten a very nice brussels sprouts relish a couple weeks ago and I had just gotten some swiss cheese and turkey breast, I decided to make a variation on a Cuban sandwich for lunch.  It was so good, I cut a few slices to make sandwiches for tomorrow.  The rest, I pulled and put in a homemade BBQ sauce.  Here are the recipes:

Braised Pork Shoulder

• 1 5-lb pork shoulder roast*
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• cayenne pepper
• 5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1 med red onion, thinly sliced
• water

Rince roast and dry with paper towels.  Season with sea salt, pepper and cayenne.  Place in a large Dutch oven.  Add thyme, jalapeno and onion slices.  Fill the Dutch oven halfway with water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 3-4 hours or until thermometer inserted into the center reads 160-180F.  Remove roast to plate; cover and allow roast to sit at room tempurature for 10 minutes.  Drain onions and peppers and place in a large bowl.  For Cuban sandwiches, slice a few thin slices.  For pulled pork sandwiches, pull meat, removing fat, and mix with your favorite BBQ sauce.


Betsy's Cuban Sandwich

• 1 thin slice pork roast* (see above)
• 2 thin slices roasted turkey breast
• 2 thin slices Swiss cheese*
• 1 tsp brown mustard
• 2 tsp Ann's Raspberry Farm Brussels Sprout Relish*
• bagel thin

Split bagel thin and spread one side with brown mustard.  Spread the other side with relish.  Layer pork roast, turkey breast and Swiss.  Close sandwich and either heat for 40 seconds in microwave on HIGH or grill.  Serve with chips or fruit (this is served with Heirloom Corn Chips*).

Sorghum Honey BBQ Sauce

Note: I was distressed to find out that I had not published this recipe when I made it for the last pork roast, nor did I save it.  This is what I remember from making the sauce.

• 3 C ketchup
• 1 C sorghum*
• 1/2 C cider vinegar
• 1/2 C honey*
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme (I would use fresh the next time I make this)

Place all ingredients in small saucepan.  Heat until boiling; reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.  Adjust flavors as needed (I did add a bit more honey because this seemed a bit tart).  For 2/3 of a 5lb pork roast, use about 2 cups of sauce.  Pull the pork, removing the fat, and then mix with BBQ sauce.  Serve on a roll or bagel thin.

Oh one more thing:  I wanted to show you the beautiful head of butterleaf lettuce I received in my CSA package.  I just wish it would stay looking like that.  I am going to try to talk my husband into using it tonight in place of rolls for the pulled pork.  We can have baguette for starch on the side.

Here is one of the lettuce rolls before rolling.  They were so good!!!!!  The bread is what's left of a baguette I purchased earlier in the week from Murray Hill Market.



*CSA package ingredients