CSA goodies this week

I shared this week's box with my girlfriend; the list below is what *I* got. She got much of the same but she also got beets and cilantro, while I got summer squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes, all of which she dislikes.

I got: 1/2 bunch Basil 1 bunch tatsoi (a salad green new to me) 1 bunch Chard (BEAUTIFULLY fresh gargantuan leaves) 1/2 bunch arugula 1/4 bunch of dill 1 zucchini 2 yellow squash 1 cucumber 3 "lemon" cucumbers (so-called because they're rounded and yellow) 1 bunch of sunflower greens, which are new to me 1/4 bunch of Red Flame grapes 1 small honeydew melon 4 Valencia oranges 1 pint each yellow and red cherry tomatoes

I think the dill and cucumbers will go together with buttermilk and garlic to make a salad. If I have leftover dill (which is likely) I'll have it with salmon or put it into an omelette.

The grapes are almost all gone already, just from snacking on them.

I wish I had some mint; it's a natural companion to a bunch of things on that list. (It pairs well with basil, cilantro, melon, and cucumber. I've never seen mint paired with dill, but they seem similar enough to be good together.)

I'm going to try chard simply steamed, as recommended here when I asked previously. In future weeks I'll surely branch out, because I get bored otherwise.

The tatsoi will go into a salad with steamed pea sprouts left over from last week. I'm thinking it will be part of a Japanese-inspired dinner, with sushi and iced green tea.

The sunflower greens are a puzzle: if you look on the web, they seem to have a kind of New-Age-hippie following who claim the greens are "strong in life force." But I've seen similar claims applied to blue-green algae, and I remain unimpressed. I'll play around with them to see what they're good for.

I think the basil and tomatoes will go toward a pizza margherita. Maybe I'll pile arugula on top, like some Italians do.

I'll have to do some thinking about what I'm going to do with the oranges and squash. And I'm not sure if I want to do anything more elaborate with the melon than slicing it and eating it. Maybe with cottage cheese for breakfast? Any suggestions or recommendations are welcome.

Bob