(Updated June 18, 2007) It's a big-big week for the shareholders of Wolf Pine Farm -- the first real week of summer, that is, the first CSA delivery of the season!

Returning shareholders know what's ahead and can hardly wait for the return of fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers to their tables. New shareholders wonder what's ahead, What will be found in the first delivery?

And both may wonder, just what will we do with all that [insert vegetable]? In 2007, Wolf Pine Farm, Maine food writer (and Wolf Pine Farm shareholder!) Stephen Smith of StephenCooks and A Veggie Venture are joining forces to make it easy for shareholders to find vegetable inspiration and vegetable recipes.

Every week, visit A Veggie Venture for an update on the week's share contents and ideas about to use them - just click Wolf Pine Farm in the right sidebar.

Wolf Pine Farm's CSA Deliveries June 18th - June 22nd

Arugula - see all the arugula recipes but for the season's first arugula, I really do recommend this simple arugula salad, dressed with nothing more than a tiny bit of good olive oil and lemon juice

Lettuce (lots!) - see all the recipes using lettuce and other salad greens, plus, do you know how to make salad dressing?

Mesclun greens (this includes baby kale, mizuna, totsoi, maybe mustards...) - see all the recipes using leafy greens but since Wolf Pine Farms' greens will be so young and tender, check the spinach recipes too

Chinese cabbage - Natalie, Stephen and I have been discussing what, exactly, Chinese cabbage is and have decided it's something between Napa cabbage and bok choy; if you'd like to make a meal from it, I recommend the tropical supper salad which pairs beautifully with tropical pork tenderloin

Cilantro - For a list of recipes using cilantro, just search on 'cilantro' in the Search box at the top. Favorites include quick appetizers made with green chutney or almond cilantro spread, veggie burritos with cilantro sauce and for a vegetable, a Mexican flavor profile from Rick Bayless, green beans with tomatillo salsa dressing.

Fresh garlic - Search 'garlic' in the Search box at the top. Consider this garlic- and rosemary-infused olive oil, too.

Maybe baby turnips - See all the turnip recipes, including this raw turnip salad that provoked quite a conversation about CSAs

Maybe radishes - See all the radish recipes

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WHAT IS A VEGGIE VENTURE?
A Veggie Venture is a 'food blog', my very own website where every few days, I cook and write about vegetables. (Why? It started as a simple idea then took on a life of its own.) I also write a food column called Kitchen Parade, which my Mom started when I was a baby. It's published in my hometown newspapers here in suburban St. Louis and also online. You'll see recipes from both A Veggie Venture and Kitchen Parade featured here, special picks for Wolf Pine Farm subscribers.

I'm a home cook in a home kitchen, no fancy knives (though they're usually kinda mostly sharp!) or high-end stovetops (though I lust for two ovens!) here. I'm passionate about healthful eating and curious about food and cooking in general.

For an e-mail subscription to A Veggie Venture, including vegetable recipes from St. Louis-area farmers markets, start here. St. Louis is in Zone 6 so our vegetables precede southern Maine's by three to four weeks.