Grasshoppers Pickup Number 16

This week's pickup consisted of:

• 1 small bunch parsley
• 1 large head Napa cabbage
• 1 small head Bibb lettuce
• 2 smallish winter squash
• 2 large and 1 tiny sweet potatoes
• Ginger root
• 1 head garlic
• 2 lamb ribs
• 1 lb. ground lamb

I also ordered a few add-on items for Christmas time:

• 1 free-range chicken
• 1 lb. bacon
• 2 lbs. coarse grits
• 1 dozen eggs

The parsley, garlic, chicken, and part of the bacon are destined for my Christmas Dinner entree: Coq au Vin. I've not yet decided on a full menu for the dinner.

The cabbage was a g-dsend. I may have mentioned that I've been accumulating my CSA meat in the freezer. I had decided that I would make an Irish Boiled Dinner this weekend with a rather large beef roast. I was going to buy a head of cabbage at Meijer this Saturday, but now I have a fresh, local head of Napa cabbage that will work out perfectly.

The lettuce will be added to a bag of salad that I made earlier this week.

I'm feeling pressured by winter squash! I have 4 small winter squash now and no firm plans for putting them to use. This is going to require some research. Roasted squash is good but I'm not a huge fan of sweet-tasting side dishes. It's like, if you add mass quantities of butter and brown sugar to a dish, it does not belong on the dinner plate. I could roast it, halved, as a dessert, but I rarely have room for dessert. And besides, I also got sweet potatoes!

I happen to have a spare pie shell in my fridge, so at least one of the sweet potatoes will be going into a pie. I'm cool with a roast sweet potato as a side dish with butter and pepper.

The ginger root would be great in a curry or a stir fry. With all the other cooking I'll be doing I don't know that I'll have room for another main dish. I'll have to research side dishes that use lots of ginger.

The lamb ribs have to be oven barbecued. I'm not sure what to do with a pound of ground lamb. I would definitely want to choose a dish that allows the lamb's own flavor to be prominent. So... more research.

The grits and eggs and part of the bacon will be used in some delicious Big Brunches over my Christmas vacation. I also have 8 or 9 eggs bought at Meijer that I need to use. Baking? Pound cake? I'm not sure.