OK, this is a new one to me.
Asian or African in nature, there are numerous varieties of this prickly looking bitter vegetable that is supposed to be a super fruit, when it comes to reducing blood sugar levels and some other things.
The full share CSA members found one of these in our boxes today. I hung around for a while to see how many would swap it. The answer, after watching about a dozen full share members pick up their boxes. ONE!
Interesting CSA members with us. Willing to try something we had never seen before.
So, I did the research. Expect a blog post about making bitter melon soup with pork. I need to get the rest of the ingredients, but I am going to try it.
What else did we get?
1 Gold acorn Squash- Windy Hollow Organics
1 Yellow Watermelon – White Swan Acres
1 bag Red Potatoes – Green Valley Organics
2 8-Ball Zucchini – Red Fox Organics
2 Italian Eggplants – Windy Hollow Organics
1 Yellow Bell Pepper – Organic Willow Acres
1 Bitter Melon – De Glae Organics
1 bunch Thai Basil – Kirkwood Herbs
1 bunch Dinosaur Kale – Peaceful Valley Organics
1 bunch Lettuce – Landisdale Organics
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes- Taste of Nature
Never had gold acorn squash before. And, the eight ball zucchini are new to me. And that Thai basil. Wow! It overpowered you with the fragrance. There will be pesto made tomorrow.
What did I do with all this goodness? Came home and put it all away and made pizza.
I used up the last of the chicken I roasted, with halloumi, scallions, marinara and garlic, oregano and olive oil.
I’ll get into the CSA stuff this weekend. I need to hit the hospital market for cilantro and shallots, and Harris Teeter for fish sauce, mushrooms and bean thread noodles to make this recipe for the soup.
Also loving getting lettuce again. Seasons are changing. The veggies reflect it.
hocofood@@@
AnnieRie Unplugged 
Never tried it – waiting for you to go first 🙂
The look of the bitter melon reminds me of sea coral. I’m looking forward to your report on the soup.
I received a similar-looking watermelon from the One Straw Farm CSA this week, but with pink flesh. Last year I received larger watermelons, two weeks in a row. However, as I mentioned before, MOM’s has gone to a smaller space for the CSA pick-ups, It would not accommodate the size of the watermelons from last summer. I’ve thought of trying to make pickles from the watermelon rinds, but that is another project beyond my current schedule and cooking skills.