Week Three: Taco Salad

This week's CSA pick-up is pretty basic.  There is nothing out of the ordinary, so I am sure my fellow Fresh Forker's have had no problems figuring out what to do with their haul.  I took a couple days off from cooking (I'm not ashamed to say dinner Friday night was a hotdog at the Tribe game!), but now I am ready to get back to it. 

The theme of this week's contents is "Taco Salad," and this is what I received:
-2 lbs grassfed ground beef
-1 qt. strawberries
-1 head leaf lettuce
-1 bunch green onions
-1 bag heirloom corn chips
-1 bunch of cilantro
-2 zucchini
-1 bunch field grown spinach
-1.5 lbs slicing tomatoes
-1/2 gallon 2% milk
-2 lb roll of butter
-1 bunch of radishes
-3/4 lb assorted braising greens

I can't remember the last time I ate a taco salad, and I have a bag of ripe avocados begging to turn into guacamole, so it looks like that's our dinner tonight.  I'm not quite sure what I plan to do with the other pound of ground beef, but a couple of family favorites I would suggest to you are Red Flannel Hash and Couscous Casserole.  A simple BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato) sandwich with the slicing tomatoes and leaf lettuce may creep into the rotation this week as well.

Last Thursday I spent some time working on recipes and developed a spelt berry salad with chicken and apricots.  I can't say the recipe couldn't use a little tweaking, but my husband loved it and insisted I share the recipe.  This recipe is extremely flexible and easy!  Try barley, quinoa, or wheat berries in place of the spelt, and peaches or plums in place of the apricots.  I used lime juice for the dressing, but lemon would work just as well if that's what you have on hand.  You could subsitute spinach for the arugula, but we think arugula's peppery bite is really what makes the salad.  Leftovers made an excellent lunch the next day.

Spelt Berry Salad with Chicken & Apricots (serves 4)

1 cup uncooked spelt berries
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 lb fresh apricots, pitted and sliced
4 oz arugula
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper

Bring 2 cups water to a boil and add spelt berries.  Cover and cook until tender, about one hour.  Drain excess liquid if needed.  Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper to make a dressing.  Combine spelt berries, chicken, and apricots in a large bowl and toss with the dressing.  Just before serving, add arugula and toss.  Can be served warm, room temperature, or cold. 

I am also working on a dairy-free strawberry muffin recipe that isn't quite ready.  Initial results are good, but I definitely need to play with it a little more before sharing.  Since Steven already put a good dent in the CSA strawberries, I'll have to stop by the farmer's market to pick up another quart or two.

As a side note, my kitchen is getting a make-over later this week!  New countertops are being installed Friday, and my husband plans to rip the old ones out himself before then, so it should make for an interesting few days of meals.  I'll be praying for some good grillin' weather, and just maybe I'll bust out the smoker as well.  Pin It