Mojitos, Pesto, Blueberry Juice, and Grilled Endive

This year we are trying a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. It's like a farm share or a food co-op. Each week we will pick up a big bag of vegetables, herbs, and a bundle of flowers. It should interesting coming up with ways to use ingredients that are outside our vegetable "comfort zone".

This Wednesday we received our first share. We got a huge bundle of mint, so Eli figured out how to muddle it and made Mojitos for the 4th of July. They were really good, though it was easy to end up with bits of mint all over your teeth. We also got a big bundle of basil so I made yummy pesto.

Last night we tried to cook curly endive, which is quite bitter. Eli tried brushing it with oil and grilling-- that had mixed results Some parts were crispy and delicious, but others just tasted burned. I sauteed some with sweet yellow onion and garlic and thought it was quite good.

On Friday morning we had Swiss chard and endive omelets. We still have some yellow squash, garlic scapes, cabbage, and more endive. So far I've enjoyed the variety and had fun finding different things to make. Tomorrow we're going to try sweet and sour cabbage soup with flank steak.

One last note: berry season is in full swing at Costco. After coming home with 4 lbs of berries we had blueberry milk, smoothies, and I boiled half of them down to a syrup to add to various dishes. This was a technique from a cookbook I've been trying on how to sneak healthy ingredients into food that kids will actually enjoy eating.