This week I received red potatoes, romanesco broccoli, pea tendrils, cherry tomatoes, spinach, butter lettuce, and parsley.

I am planning on pairing the red potatoes and spinach together with other ingredients to make a Minestrone Soup. I used a recipe from my Best Recipe Cookbook. It’s super simple. Just add 2 small chopped onions, 2 medium chopped carrots, 2 chopped leeks, 2 medium chopped celery stalks, 1 medium chopped potato, 1 medium chopped zucchini, 3 cups of spinach cut into thin strips, 1 can of 28 ounce chopped tomatoes with juice, 1 parmesan cheese rind, and 1 teaspoon of salt to 8 cups of water. Simmer uncovered for about an hour. Then add 1 can of cannellini beans drained and rinsed. Stir until heated through. Take off heat, add 1/4 cup pesto and take out the cheese rind. I served with a big chuck of crusty whole wheat bread from the bread counter at whole foods.

Pea Tendrils

I had never seen pea tendrils before so I wasn’t sure how to use them. From The Cilantropist I learned that pea tendrils, also known as pea shoots, are the young leaves, stems, vines, and flowers of a pea plant.  All the parts of the plant are edible. The website also listed some recipes including sauteing them in garlic and oil and putting a fried egg on top, a suggestion from Alice Waters, one of the pioneers for local, organic produce eating. I think I’m going to try that recipe, even though I’m not suppose to eat uncooked egg during pregnancy. They also said you could use pea tendrils in stir fries or as a substitute for spinach.

For the lettuce, I chopped it up into the salad I made for dinner last night with cranberries, almonds, feta and some left over rotisserie Costco chicken. I added a home made balsamic vinaigrette.

Romanesco Broccoli

From the internet I learned the Romanesco broccoli was actually closer to a cauliflower, which made me want to steam it and mash it with avocado again. But I might steam it and add a little lemon and olive oil as a side dish instead for a change.

Haven’t decided on the cherry tomatoes or parsley yet, but everyone in the house loves a caprese salad so might use the tomatoes for that. Tomatoes are a house staple. We always keep some on hand to slice in hummus sandwiches or grilled cheese, or chopped in salads. Parsley can be added as a garnish to anything. If it sits around in my fridge I can usually add it to enough things that it won’t go to waste. Sometimes I add it to tinned tuna with olive oil, lemon and capers instead of the traditional recipe with mayo. The tuna can go on bread for a sandwich or on top of lettuce for a salad.