I’m back with another CSA haul, and as usual, there’s a good mix of the same ole staples and a few new items to keep my creative juices flowing.

• bunch carrots
• spring onions
• cabbage
• red leaf lettuce
• rainbow chard
• fennel
• zucchini
• cucumber
• salad greens

The wild card this week is the fennel. I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten it before, although I feel like I’ve watched Giada de Laurentiis make it about a thousand times. To familiarize myself with it, I think I’ll just try roasting the fennel first. If it shows up again in the CSA box, maybe I’ll get more creative.

I’m probably the only person in the world to say this, but I am PUMPED about the head of cabbage in this week’s box. This particular head is quite lovely–no grungy outer leaves and a perfect size for making my beloved unstuffed cabbage. Can’t wait to cut into this!

I’ll turn the zucchini into zoodles, and I plan on tossing those with some marinara, chicken sausage, and the rainbow chard. If I have time, I might use the cucumber to make my first batch of gazpacho for the summer. Maybe the spring onions could be used for that too?

I kind of wish there were a fresh herb in this box, as there have been in the past few weeks–I got used to having that around for seasoning my cooking. I guess that’s a sign I should have an herb garden, but I’m a bit notorious around here for killing every. single. plant.