Considering the weather, I didn’t really even expect to get any veggies from my CSA this week. But, amazingly, not only did ZJ Farms survive the powerful winds and damaging floods (minus one 102-year-old barn), the folks there were able to get out into the muddy fields to harvest fresh veggies.

So, here’s the full share for this week: radishes, lettuce, broccoli, kale, bok choy (not visible in this picture) and rhubarb.

That crisp, fresh lettuce was drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette and eaten nearly immediately. (Am I imagining things, or does just-picked lettuce have tons more flavor than grocery store lettuce?)

I used the rhubarb to make Big Crumb Coffee Cake, a recipe I got from Smitten Kitchen to bring into work for a co-workers birthday. I thought the crumbs on top were kind of dry, and they kind of overwhelmed the rest of the nice, moist coffeecake. But nobody in the newsroom complained, and my baking dish was promptly emptied.

I’ll have more about the kale in an upcoming column. In the meantime, I’m curious: I keep reading about kale chips. Has anyone tried these? What did you think?