CSA basket #1 and a fresh lunch

Rob and I subscribe to a CSA - consumer supported agriculture - from Chadron, NE. Once a week, produce and eggs are delivered to Rapid City, from the first weekend in June to the last weekend of October. Last year, we received a wide variety of vegetables throughout the summer, and even though the bugs and hail eliminated our tomato crop, I really enjoyed the freshness and seasonality. I have eaten garden fresh foods for years growing up on a farm, but apparently a few years of city living caused me to completely forget what an organic carrot tastes like, fresh out of the ground. They're amazing! "Our" farm - Harmony Food and Produce Co - raises everything organically, and the chickens are truly free range. In fact, we got shorted on the pea crop last year because the chickens discovered they liked the pea shoots more than the bugs!

During the summer, we can eat almost exclusively organically between the CSA, Farmer's Market, and Black Hills Milk. I even found local, organic, free range sheep and beef producers where you can buy individual cuts of meat (instead of the whole critter, like it would be if you bought from a typical rancher in the area). It's pretty sweet that you can support individual farmers and get tons of excellent food in the process. That being said... on to the food!

Our first CSA basket consisted of salad greens, spinach, spring onions and eggs. When I say salad greens, I mean a gallon bag full of fresh red and green lettuces. We got almost a whole gallon bag full of spinach too. Did I mention that this is supposed to feed a family of four for a week? =)

I had to come up with something fresh to utilize our tasty picks for the week... Rob had a big salad topped with roasted turkey breast, caesar vinaigrette, and asiago cheese. I decided to have something a little more "gourmet."

Poached Eggs with Spinach and Spring Onion on Seven-seed bread

2 farm fresh chicken eggs
2 cups loosely packed spinach, roughly chopped
1 spring onion, white and light green parts sliced into rounds
1 slice bacon
2 slices Seven-seed soda bread (see previous post for recipe)
sprinkle of asiago cheese

This recipe is really as easy as it sounds.... In a small fry pan with a little oil, saute the onion until just softened. Toss the freshly washed spinach on top of the onion and put a lid on the pan. It takes about a minute or two to wilt the spinach. Stir occasionally. Meanwhile, poach 2 eggs to your desired doneness - I prefer runny yolks. Crisp a slice of bacon (stove or microwave). Assemble the meal by putting the two slices of bread on a plate, top with wilted spinach and onion, divide the slice of bacon among the bread, and add a poached egg to each slice of bread. Break open the yolk of the poached egg so it soaks into the bread, salt and pepper liberally, and sprinkle with asiago cheese.

Tip: I learned this trick from Rob's mom. When you buy bacon - even if you only need one slice - cook the entire pound. Take the leftovers, drain any excess fat, put it in a freezer bag and toss in the freezer. When you want to add bacon to something, simply pull out a fully cooked slice, nuke for 10 seconds or so in the microwave, and voila! It's much cheaper than buying the precooked stuff (and you have some say in the quality of the bacon you're eating), and it's far more efficient than trying to thaw a pound of bacon for one slice.