“CSA box is here!” Bethany announced as she walked through the door, holding the aforementioned box high up in her arms as her work bag dangled from an elbow.

“This is the farm box? With produce?” Esther asked, excitedly, coming up to help Bethany with the door. 

“Yep! I actually signed us up for a box with produce, meat, and dairy, depending on the season,” Bethany said, dumping her bag and heading to the kitchen. “I have no idea what’s in this one – although I hope there’s sweet corn. I want to make my lacto-fermented corn salsa.”

“Sweet corn seems likely – it’s July, after all,” Esther replied. “It’ll probably have zucchini too. Everyone with a garden wants to get rid of zucchini in the summertime.”

The girls began unpacking the box, which had the hoped-for sweet corn and zucchini along with cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, and dark cherries. They got down to the bottom, which had a cooler section for meat and dairy, and Bethany paused, looking down into the box with a bemused look.

“What’s up?” Esther asked, peering in alongside her. There was a large package of meat, at least two pounds, wrapped up neatly with brown paper and labeled in black permanent marker.

“‘Rosé veal,’” she read out. “But wait, isn’t veal like … super inhumane? Why would a CSA box have something like that?”

“There’s a card,” Bethany said, fishing it out. She spent a moment reading it, then grinned with excitement and turned to her friend.

“Oh wow!” she said. “This card says this veal is humanely raised – there’s a dairy farm that lets their bull calves stay with their mothers in the field until they’re weaned, and then slaughters them for veal. It’s called ‘rosé veal’ because they aren’t kept cooped up, so the meat is pink rather than white like commercial veal.”

“Huh!” said Esther, grabbing the package and holding it up. “What should we do with it? It seems kinda … special.” 

“I actually have a bunch of veal recipes in that old box from my great-great-grandma,” Bethany said. “Maybe I can try one of those!”

Veal Birds 

(Six portions)

1½ lb. veal steak

4 slices bacon

1 T-butter

½ C-crumbs, fresh

½ t-salt

¼ t-paprika

2 T-milk

2 T-fat

Cut veal from the round (veal steak) into strips, four by two and a half inches. Put the trimming and four slices of bacon through the food chopper. Cook the chopped meat three minutes in the butter. Add to this the fresh bread crumbs, salt, paprika and milk. Spread this mixture on the strips of veal. Roll and tie securely with white cord, roll in flour and sauté until browned a little on both sides, in two tablespoons fat in frying pan. Place in a casserole or small covered pan. Season each bird with salt and a small piece of butter. Pour an inch and a half of water into the pan. Cook an hour, or a little less, in a moderate oven. Gravy may be made by adding four tablespoons of water to two level tablespoons of flour, mixing carefully and gradually pouring into the stock in which the meat has been cooked. Bring to a boil.

Updated version:

• Reduce veal to 1 lb, resulting in 4 birds. Keep other ingredients the same.
• Use ground veal rather than steak, and wrap with the bacon instead of a strip of veal.
• Use beef or turkey bacon for kosher or halal recipe.
• Don’t precook veal – mix directly w/ crumbs & seasoning (as with meatloaf).
• Need ¼ c flour to roll.
• Set oven to 350°F.
• Remove from stock and cook for five more minutes to crisp, while making gravy with the stock.