I’m sooooooo excited!

This weekend I got to pick up my first CSA share at our local farm.

So I grabbed my reusable grocery bags and went on down to the Farm.

Stone Gardens Farm in Shelton, CT to be exact.

And my big box of fresh goodies was there waiting for me!

I got tons of lettuce, like green leaf and red deer…

An asian mix and braising mix…

Radishes and kohlrabi…

Kale and bok choy.

And my favorite…escarole and basil!!!

So this week I’ll be bringing to you some fun and new ways to cook up the things you’ll be finding at your local Farmer’s Market right now that you may not be familiar with or know what to do with.

More importantly, how to make the kids want to eat up these goodies.

Today, it’s the Braised Mix.

I must admit, I wasn’t terribly familiar with it.

It’s like a bunch of lettuces that are a bit tougher than your usual baby lettuce mix.

I didn’t braise them…I wilted them.

It was delish!  Cooper couldn’t get enough of this one.

WHAT YOU NEED:

3 cups braised mix lettuce (or any lettuce you have on hand – baby spinach would be great!) I threw in some of my red deer lettuce too.

1/4 red onion, sliced

1 tomato, diced

1 t olive oil

4 slices bacon

8 button mushrooms

3 T apple cider vinegar

1 T dijon mustard

S&P

WHAT TO DO:

In a large bowl toss in your lettuce mix, red onion, and tomato.  Set aside.

In a small saucepan heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add in your bacon and cook it until it’s nice and crisp.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel and set aside.  Once it’s cooled a bit, add  to the top of your salad.

Pour off all but 2 T of the bacon fat.  Set the pan back on the heat and add in your mushrooms.  Season with S&P and let the mushrooms soften up.

Once the mushrooms have softened knock the heat down a bit and deglaze the pan with your vinegar.  Stir in some dijon mustard, season with a bit more S&P, and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Pour the dressing over the top of your salad and toss to wilt your lettuce mixes.

Look out!  This one’s a keeper.

Think your kids don’t like salad?

Try a salad with BACON!

Everything is better with Bacon…

We decided to have ours with an awesome Roast Chicken.

I got the chicken from the Farm too!  Along with some hamburger and farm fresh eggs.

Stay tuned this week for the coolest ways to use kale and kohlrabi that you’ve ever seen!

Want to find your local farm or farmers market so you can buy local too?

Just visit the Local Harvest finder on right side of our page there and add in your zip code to find your local Farmers Market and Farms!

You’ll be glad you did!