2011 June » Life Lyn Style

Fresh Fork CSA–week 5

Jun 302011

Today was the 5th pick up for the Fresh Fork CSA. We were expecting the following items.

Small CSA:

1 bunch beets with tops
1 bunch carrots with tops
1 head cabbage
2 ct zucchini
2 ct squash
1-2 cucumbers depending on size
1 quart yogurt
1 head bibb lettuce
Approx 1.5 lbs tomatoes
Approx 2 lbs sweet black cherries
1 lb grassfed ground beef

Here is what we received:

So, it looks like the black raspberries were an unexpected bonus this week. Everything looks fabulous. We’ll be feasting well for the holiday weekend.

In addition to the above, I had placed an order for extras via the Fresh Fork website. It worked well. I ordered maple syrup, oats, 2 wheat flour, chorizo sausage, whole wheat linguini and 2 bunches of spinach. It was just under $30. I probably wouldn’t order the flour again since I didn’t realize they were one pound packages. The oats are just to try in a granola recipe. The spinach was the most delicious spinach that I ever had last week and I have the perfect recipe for it (along with the pasta), and we weren’t expecting any this week. We also really enjoyed the chorizo two weeks ago and I was glad that it was in stock this week.

Between two CSA pick ups and the field night this week, our fridge is well stocked with veggies. I’ve put together a simple lists of dishes to prepare this weekend in hopes to use many of the items up.

Menu Planning for CSA items this week:

Camembert / brie herbed cheese over spinach and linguini
Kolhrabi/radish au gratin
Salad with quinoa, beans, chorizo, etc.
Harvard beets
Summer squash fritters or baked squash fries
Carrots
Cole slaw (with apples, onion, cabbage, etc.)
Salads (with cucumber, radishes, red pepper)
Stuffed cousa squash (with quinoa or rice and ground beef, onion, etc.)
Beet greens
Foil pack glazed carrots

It will be a weekend full of cooking and eating local!

Food Log for Thursday

Food Log No Responses »

Jun 302011

Breakfast

overnight oats in a peanut butter jar with apple, cinnamon, milk

Lunch

zucchini fritters with honey mustard sauce

Dinner

Chop It Salad Co for Mom's Night Out

whole wheat cobb salad wrap

berry smoothie

Geauga Family Farms June Field Night

Adventures with Nick and Sally, CSA 2 Responses »

Jun 292011

Last night, the kids and I attended the first field night of the season. It was at the farm of Noah and Kathy Yutzy in Middlefield. We had been to this farm last year, and we were happy to return again.

It took about 50 minutes from our house in Mayfield Heights to get out to the farm. This included rush hour traffic through Mayfield and slowing down for the buggy traffic once we were in the Middlefield area. The kids loved the ride, especially seeing the horse and buggies.

We went on several visits last year, but this one had the most people of any that I had been to. I’m guessing that there were about 30 people there including kids, but I didn’t really think to count.

There was a GFF welcome sign a the end of the drive. This made the farm very easy to spot. Nick and Sally held hands as they walked to the barn where everyone was meeting. Noah led us on an informative tour and it was fabulous to see the farm in action.

We saw pigs and horses.

We also saw the greenhouse and lots of healthy crops.

This spiked wheel is a device for spacing the plants. It puts holes in the plastic at a certain distance so the crops are evenly spaced. This dog was the biggest hit with all of the kids.

There was also a ton of mud. I kept telling Nick that if he kept playing in it, he was going to fall and be covered in mud. At least he didn’t mind posing for photos. Mental note to self: bring extra clothes and shoes to the next field night.

Here’s Nick as cleaned up as possible. Sally chilled in the rocking chair. That was great until she flipped it backwards. Luckily, the chair and her were fine.

At the conclusion of the tour, Kathy had refreshments out for everyone to enjoy. There was also a table of items that people could buy. I purchased the items pictured below. I paid $9.75 total for 3 bunches of rhubarb ($6), 2 cousa squashes ($1) (a type of zucchini that is often served stuffed with meat and rice), and a loaf of fresh wheat bread ($2.75). I had never had rhubarb before, so I am excited to try it out in a few recipes. I was just looking for cousa squash this week since I ran across an article about it. We love stuffed winter squash and I had never thought about stuffing any summer squash. The bread is always delicious and my husband and kids really enjoy it when we have it in the house. (I no longer partake since it’s not 100% whole wheat, but I know from past experience that it’s quite tasty.) I wouldn’t usually buy extras on a Tuesday since we pick up on Tuesday and I hadn’t seen our share yet, but I was already on the lookout for 2 out of 3 of these items, so I splurged.

Even though Nick and Sally are usually in bed by 7:30 PM, it’s totally worth a late night out with them for the farm visit experiences. We can’t wait for July!

Food Log for Wednesday

Food Log No Responses »

Jun 292011

Yesterday and today weren’t the best food days, but I’m moving forward. I was happy to be down another pound this week. I’ll post my trainer workout tomorrow when I receive the written detail. It was a great workout.

Breakfast

oats w/banana, apple, milk, cinnamon, peanut butter

Morning Snack

nuts

Lunch

salad

cheese

potato chips

Afternoon Snack

nuts

strawberry smoothie

Dinner

chicken, quinoa, lettuce, honey mustard, sunflower seeds and red pepper salad

applesauce

Late Snack

potato chips

Geauga Family Farms CSA–week 3

CSA 2 Responses »

Jun 282011

Today was the third pick up for Geauga Family Farms CSA. Since it was also the first farm field night, my husband picked up our share for us and I took the kids to the farm. I’ll have more on the farm visit tomorrow!

We had received our newsletter and knew we would be getting items like lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green onions, zucchini, yellow squash, kohlrabi, carrots, radishes, peas, kale and pickling cucumbers. Our actual items received vary depending on mother nature, which size share and which pick up day – so we always have an element of surprise.

Here’s what we received:

Let’s take a closer look.

3 tomatoes, 1 container of strawberries

2 small bunches of green onions (pictured together), container of cherry tomatoes

2 heads of romaine lettuce, 1 head of red leaf lettuce

2 yellow squash, 2 zucchini

2 kohlrabi, small bunch of carrots

bunch of radishes

Here’s our plan of attack:

We’ll have more salads with the lettuce. I’ll probably make squash fritters again with the onions and squash, since everyone liked them this week. I just pickled some radishes, so I think these will go in salads and in our kohlrabi au gratin dish. The carrots and cherry tomatoes will get eaten (with our without salads). The strawberries will either get eaten at breakfast in the morning, or may make their way into a strawberry rhubarb dish. I’m almost hesitant to say this is a pretty easy week.

Update on last week:

I ended up making kale pesto with the kale. Most of the other items were used as planned. I did freeze a few tomatoes, some garlic scapes and some onions for future use.

Food Log for Tuesday

Food Log No Responses »

Jun 282011

Breakfast

raw oats with banana, raisins, cinnamon, milk, peanut butter

Lunch

cheese, potato chips, salad, pasta (crappy lunch and felt it too)

Afternoon Snack

pumpkin muffin

Dinner

more oats on the road

Trainer Workout Solo

Exercise 2 Responses »

Jun 272011

I’ve decided that too many of my workouts without Chelsea are lazy and unplanned. The goal of having a trainer is to learn many different exercises that I can do on my own. Currently, I am working with Chelsea on Wednesday. I’m going to start doing a repeat of the Wednesday workout on the weekend or Monday. I’d like to fit it in on the weekend and leave Monday open for spin class, but I’m still a couple of weeks away from being able to spin.

I forgot my paper with a list of what Wednesday’s workout was, so I winged it. Here is what I did:

eSpinner warm up – 20 minutes

jack-knife ABS – 10 on each side

core ball hold and crunch (3 ways) – 10 sets

regular crunch with knees in air – 30

biceps curl with 10 lb dumbbells – 2 sets of 12

triceps cable – 12 each at 60, 50, 40, 30, 20 pounds in a row

cable row in squat position – 15 at 40 lbs, second set of 15 at 30 lbs

squats – 20 (used the high step for a guide)

I also stretched well at the end of the workout. I feel good that I remembered most of the exercises from Wednesday and I’m excited to have a better plan for the next few Mondays. My knee is doing better, but it’s not 100% and I’m determined to keep it getting better, so I am continuing to increase my exercise – cautiously.

Next up: massage in the morning. I had referred a member to the J back in November and this is my thank you reward.

Food Log for Monday

Food Log No Responses »

Jun 272011

Breakfast

raw oats with skim milk, apple, 1/2 banana, cinnamon, 1 T peanut butter, raisins

Morning Snack

handful of nuts

strawberry, banana, blueberry milkshake

Lunch

few triscuits

Camembert pasta w/spinach

1/2 chicken brat

Dinner

stir fry with shrooms, peppers, green onions, garlic scapes, yellow squash

filet

Late Snack

corn chips

frap beverage

Recipe: Summer Squash (like zucchini) Fritters

CSA, Recipe 2 Responses »

Jun 262011

I made this recipe today and served them with potato salad and chicken bratwursts. It was a super easy and surprising light dish. Since we’ll be getting lots of squash this summer, I think this dish will get made often. I also plan to experiment with different seasonings as we go.

Recipe: Summer Squash Fritters

Summary: As usual, all measurements are approximate.

Ingredients

1 medium or 2 small summer squash (like zucchini)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t Penzeys Ozark seasoning
1 large egg
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
approximately 1/4 cup olive oil for frying

Instructions

Peel and great squash.
Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 5 minutes.
Drain and/or squeeze out as much juice as possible.
In a mixing bowl, lightly beat egg.
Add squash, pepper, seasoning, green onion, and flour.
Mix well.
Heat 2 T of oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat.
Drop 2 T of batter at a time into skillet until the skillet is full (approx. 6 fritters).
Gently flatten with a spatula.
Cook 3-5 min on each side until golden in color.
Drain on plate lined with paper towel.
Continue until batter is used, adding more oil as necessary.

Quick notes

Ozark seasoning contains salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, sage, paprika, mustard, ancho, celery, cayenne, dill weed, dill seed, caraway, allspice, ginger, cardamom, bay leaf, mace, cassia, savory, cloves. Feel free to season to your taste. Serve with yogurt, sour cream, honey mustard or other sauces.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 3

Food Log for Sunday

Food Log No Responses »

Jun 262011

Breakfast

oats with apple, raisins, milk, cinnamon, peanut butter

Lunch

Camembert cheese sauce over pasta and spinach

Afternoon Snack

cheese slice

cheese puffs

Dinner

chicken brat (local)

honey mustard potato salad

zucchini fritters

Late Snack

home made "real" frap (coffee chocolate drink)

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