The Burns Family: Vegetable Management

Have you heard of The Noisy Rabbit? It's a local group of produce loving peeps that like the idea of a CSA, but instead of supporting one local farm, the Noisy Rabbit supports local businesses and grocers, which guarantees the grocers their sales and the consumers their produce at a discounted price. We have done a CSA before and enjoyed it, but found that the produce didn't stretch very far for our growing family. With Noisy Rabbit, affectionately called "Dirty Bunny" by the husband, we get a laundry basket full of vegetables and fruits every week for just $15 a week! It is fun to get the basket, but there is a sense of responsibility and urgency to manage the veggies when they land in the house. Thus a friend affectionately calls it "vegetable management".

This brings a weekly challenge, gladly accepted, of using up every bit before it goes bad. Some things get eaten up without even thinking (bananas, apples, grapes, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, citrus) but other things send us to Google or Pinterest for ideas. Chayote squash? That becomes Sausage stuffed chayote squash. Fennel? Italian sausage and fennel pasta bake. Brussels sprouts? Sauteed with white wine and apples, topped with bacon and parmesean. I certainly can't NOT use them, so they must get eaten, someway, somehow. Usually by me. By myself. As leftovers. For lunch.

Any ideas found, favorite recipes, fast and easy, or kid-friendly recipes, are shared with other friends that are also "noisy". Extra root veggies get roasted with a chicken or put into stock. Any scraps get composted. And, thankfully, we get lots of onions, and now I've found a use for all those onion scraps!I am so awesome, aren't I? I am not trying to be all braggy, but basically prove to my husband that this experience is worth the cost. We make lots of noise of our own in emails, and now there is even a google group where we post our successes and failures (which I haven't actually posted on yet, because I have been so busy cooking and cleaning). I have been pretty good about using up most of what we get, but this weekend I found my drawers were busting at the seams with bits of unused veggies. Anyway, we had a vegetable management dining experience. I used every pot, pan, mixing bowl and measuring spoon and cup in the kitchen. Twice.

How did it fare with the fam? Everyone took a bite of each. The "parsnippits" were the favorite. And yes, I had all this for lunch today. I have to remember that if my 5 year old puts one kale chip in her mouth, that's one more kale chip than I would have tried at 5, so maybe in 20 years she'll eat them for lunch leftovers herself.

Noisy Rabbit is constantly adding pickup locations, and have recently added their 500th member. Check it out if you are interested, and tell them I sent you over their way - I'd get a free week! And don't be afraid to come eat with us....I promise I would only serve brussels sprouts with your permission, no surprises.