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Copious amount of veggies - and a giveaway!

Yesterday was the longest day of the year (daylight wise that is) which means the days are getting shorter now, noooo!!!! But it also means it's officially summer! To celebrate I wanted to make something super fresh utilizing the copious amount of veggies we got from our CSA this week!


Arugula, turnips, garlic scape (anyone else have to google that? I had no clue what they were), bok choy, leafy greens! The best part is I'm storing all of my veggies in those Clearly Fresh Bags I told you about a few weeks ago! (I'm also going to mention that the sprouts are now officially 4 weeks old... and still aren't floppy or dried up.. insanity. I had some on my lunch salad today. And they were good!).


I decided to whip up a quick arugula pesto. Have you ever made your own pesto?? You really should, it smells so amazingly fresh it's unreal. All it takes is a few minutes in a food processor and you are good to go!


Arugula Almond Pesto (makes about 1 cup of pesto)
adapted by steph chows
In a food processor spin until well chopped
6oz arugula washed and dried (about 1.5 cups packed)
1 scape (or you can use a few cloves of garlic)
3 Tbs slivered almonds
1/4 cup parmigiana cheese
1/4 tsp salt

Then slowly drizzle in
1.5 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs water

We had this over pasta tonight, it was a bit bitter (just a warning) but delicious! We also grilled up some chicken and adding that into the mix made it a lot less bitter tasting.

Another great way to celebrate summer officially starting is a giveaway!

The wonderful people at Clearly Fresh Bags have offered 20!!! of my readers a package of Clearly Fresh Bags to try out!! Want to know how to enter?

You can enter up to 3 times. Just leave a separate comment for each entry.
Shipping is only to the US at this time (sorry my international peeps).
1. Comment and tell me what would you store in your Clearly Fresh Bags?
2. Tweet /FB / or blog about the giveaway (then come back here and comment to let me know) Example: Check out this awesome giveaway @steph_chows for Clearly Fresh Bags! http://stephchows.blogspot.com
3. Like me on Facebook, then come back here to comment and tell me know you did!

You have until Friday July 1st midnight to enter the contest! Good luck!! But come on, 20 people will win!! That's crazy good odds!

Can't wait that long? Head on over to Clearly Fresh Bags and you can take 15% off your total purchase by using the code stephchow15 while supplies last (so head on over!)



Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :)

48 chews:

Jeanne said...

YAY CSA! I love all things CSA related.
And that pesto looks awesome. 

RunningRicig said...

I like you on facebook!

Also, I'd totally put bananas in the bags, since the heat is making them all ripen crazy fast!

Brit Rose said...

I would store spinach and unfinished avocados in the bags!

Stephanie said...

I would put any/all of my farmer's market finds in the bags!

F. Plvan said...

I would put all my veggies and fruits in the bags!

F. Plvan
fsplvan@syr.edu

Brooke Malko said...

I would store my romaine!! I can never seem to eat it all!! Maybe these would help!

~Brooke
brooke.malko at gmail dot com

cookingalamel said...

I would store spinach - we never eat it fast enough..and bananas!  I love them green, so it'd be really cool to have them that color a bit longer! :)

cookingalamel said...

I like you on facebook!

Kendraly said...

I would store my lettuce in the bag. I hate buying bagged lettuce (tastes like plastic!), so I buy it fresh and can never seem to eat it before some of it starts to wilt and brown. Ack!

Moose Lisa said...

Who doesn't like free stuff? I for one am particularly fond of the free. Love the concept of having something stored (sprouts) for an entire month without droopage. I would store all my herbs and leafy greens in these bags because it seems like they always spoil. How was that Steph? Do I win the big prize? 

Sarah said...

Your pesto photographs are beautiful. Do you ever freeze it or just eat it fresh?

Fun giveaway!  I'd use the bags for the produce I get at the farmers market.  I love that it's not wrapped in plastic but I never have enough bags at home to keep everything fresh.

Counting_shipwrecks said...

I just started a CSA this summer!  I would store any greens in the bags.  Since I'm always busy, I can't always cook when I want.

Leslie said...

Which CSA are you going to?  We belong to Mud Creek in Victor and LOVE it :)

Also - I like you on FB :)

Susie DuVal said...

Hmmm, I wonder of this would keep my lettuce fresh longer? I crave salad all summer but it's hard keeping it around.

Thanks so much Sarah! I normally just make small batches and use it fresh, but if I have too much I'll portion it out into an ice cube tray and freeze them. That way you can pop one out and toss it into a soup or with pasta and don't have to defrost an entire batch!

Oh it absolutely will! Maybe not for 4 weeks like my sprouts.. that was
kinda crazy. But I'm sure it will make it last longer!

I would store my cilantro!

Tjw28 said...

Definitely fresh herbs

Sherri said...

Leafy greens and vegetables....I always buy them, then get lazy about cooking!

Sherri said...

Tweeted the giveaway! :)

Merstar said...

Lettuce, cilantro, parsley...

Valerie said...

I believe herbs would benefit tremendously since we don't always need the quantity purchased or grown. Also, greens. Like tonight....I have a large bunch of chard which is way too much for dinner. We are having the chard with butter beans and there is only two of us. A complete bunch would get rather soggy if we cooked it all at once. Better to set the fresh aside and cook as needed for the soup.

Auntiekake said...

Greens...we've been getting so many from our CSA that I'd love to extend their vitality.  I added some spinach to my arugula pesto to cut the bitterness. Delicious, and so easy! I love the fresh smell.

tellmeyourekidding said...

definitely my lettuce and spinach

Laura L. said...

I wait all year for cherry season, specifically Bing Cherries. Around here the season is almost over, so I would use the Clearly Fresh Bags to prolong the life of the few precious cherries I still have.

Laura L. said...

Liked on facebook!

jc said...

i would use them for lettuce and other greens~ also herbs!

Lucidmoonstudio said...

I would use them for our CSA veggies!

I would use them for the okra we're attempting to grow in our backyard! :)

Megan's Cookin' said...

I got some garlic scape last year at the Farmer's Market. I guess you can make a pesto with that too. Pretty much anything green goes for a pesto. I really need to make a big batch this year and freeze it. Yours looks so vibrant and fresh. Thos bags are doing a good job! ;)

I like you on Facebook and I would store my lettuce mix in those bags if I won!

Hannah said...

These would be so helpful! For starters, I'd store fresh herbs and/or lettuces in these bags, since it's always a struggle to keep them looking beautiful for photographs.

Mom said...

All of my fruits & veggies would go in the bags.  I'd love to try them.

I joined the CSA too!!! I'm going to have to watch your blog for recipe ideas! :)

Great give away!!  If I hadn't used all my garlic scapes (I've been cooking and blogging about them for almost two weeks) I'd be storing them in there.  Guess I would put my beets that are about ready for harvest in them!

Karenreichmann said...

For lettuce and herbs mainly.

Prickles29 said...

I would fill them up with smoothie ingredients - spinach, strawberries, you name it!! :)

Laura L. said...

tweeted: http://twitter.com/Laura5555555

dk said...

I have been using these bags now and can't tell you how much I love them. I have NOT pitched one pcs of produce away because it spoiled...everything has been eaten because it’s stayed fresh. These things are amazing. Thank you Steph!

JenniferS said...

I'd store all of my herbs in these!

Tracy said...

I would store bananas in there! Ours go bad so quickly, especially in the summer!

Tracy said...

I tweeted too!

Tracy said...

I already like you on Facebook! Yay! :-)

I would love them for my CSA swag!!! 

You are liked! :)

flapjack molly said...

What are you doing with all those radishes??  I never buy them at the store, can't eat more than 1 or 2 on a salad, and every week here come more!

So I started experimenting in the kitchen and here's the best result so far

Julienned radish salad:
Julienne 6 or 7 radishes (easier with the long skinny guys)
Slice 1 or 2 scallions
Chop up a handful of arugula
toss together
Dressing: wisk together an inch or so of balsamic vinegar + 1 clove crushed garlic + squirt of dijon mustard + fresh ground pepper + a glug olive oil

(I browsed some of your other recipes and relieved to find that measuring is not so essential...I rarely do)

The balsamic really takes the edge of the spiciness of the radishes and thus you can eat a big pile instead of just a couple.

I'm going to try radishes in omlettes this weekend with my CSA eggs.  Maybe radish-zuchini bread?

Hey thanks for the email!! And thank you so much for the recipe idea!! Those
things are crazy! I've been pawning them off on friends!! LOL They are just
too spicy to eat raw unless they are in a salad and mixed up good, wow they
have kick. I'll have to give your recipe a try for sure though if we get
more :) Hmmm I made a few loaves of zucchini bread.. but man I wonder if the
radish would be too much in addition.. would be fun to try out though!

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