Fresh Fork CSA–week 7

CSA No Responses »
Jul 142011
 

Today was the 7th pick up for the Fresh Fork CSA.  It’s hard to believe we’re 1/3 through the season already.  As far as CSAs go, we’ve been receiving many familiar and easy to use items this year.  Here’s the list of what we were expecting today.

Small CSA:

  • 1 lb green beans
  • 1 bunch cilantro (last week we substituted green onions, this week it will be cilantro)
  • 2 ct zucchini
  • 2 ct squash
  • 1 whole pasture raised chicken
  • 1 head leaf lettuce
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • Approx 1.5 lbs cling peaches
  • Approx 1.5 lbs slicing tomatoes

Here’s what we received:

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There was a problem with the chicken order this week.  Apparently, they don’t fair well with thunderstorms.  One of the farms lost a bunch of them this week.  So, we had the option of a whole chicken or a roast.  We had a chicken thawing in the fridge already, so we opted for the roast.  Also, last week, we were shorted our zucchini, so we have 4 this week to make up for it.

The pint of blueberries seems really small to us.  Lately, we’ve been picking them by the quart or even gallon.  Everyone in our house loves blueberries, so these will probably make it until breakfast tomorrow before they are gone.

I read a recipe for zucchini pizza dough the other day. I’m going to try it out this weekend. I’ll write it up if it turns out well.

We picked up a container of local cream cheese while we were at the truck.  I don’t know how much it is, but I’ll let you know when I pay for it next week.  It was offered as part of the large package this week and will be for sale regularly when we pick up.  Robert wasn’t sure of the price, so we’ll settle up next week.

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Geauga Family Farms CSA–week 5

CSA 2 Responses »
Jul 122011
 

Today was our 5th pick up for the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  I think we have entered the heart of the growing season.  Based on what we received today, it looks like the crops are doing well despite such a wet spring.

Here’s what we received in our family share (not pictured are raspberries):

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Let’s take a closer look.

Red raspberries, green leaf lettuce

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Red leaf lettuce, large onion

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Yellow squash, zucchini

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Tomatoes, broccoli

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Pickling cucumbers, beets

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Green onions, kohlrabi

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Potatoes, sugar snap peas

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Cucumbers

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This looks like a pretty easy week to use everything.  I may freeze the onions, but I suspect everything else will be used as we prepare meals this week.

Geauga Family Farms–Farm Visits

Adventures with Nick and Sally, CSA No Responses »
Jul 092011
 

One Saturday a month during the growing season, several of the CSA farmers open up their farms for an open house.  We can go out and see the produce being grown, meat being raised and meet the farmers.  Today, we had an opportunity to see 3 farms.  We also stopped at Geauga Farms Country Meats.

We met Lester Miller first.  They have a “hobby farm” and are raising 4 cattle.

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Sally and Nick really liked the chicken coop.

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The farm was so picturesque today.  The weather was perfect for a visit.  The porch swing in the shade was welcome after our time in the sun.

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Next we headed to the farm of Tom Byler.    One advantage of having my husband along is I end up with photos of me.

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We took a look at the fields, saw a few animals, bought a loaf of bread ($3) and a plate of molasses cookies ($3), and enjoyed a cold drink. The bread was still warm when Mrs. Byler brought it out. It doesn’t get much fresher than that!

Next, we were off to see Jonas Byler.  I got really lost trying to find this farm last year.  I was happy to have better directions and the Welcome CSA member sign at the road was a nice addition for all of the visits this year.  Jonas is mostly growing sweet corn and tomatoes.  Since there isn’t much to look at with the corn, we enjoyed some time in the tomato house.

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The tomato plants are huge.  He offered a few for picking.  Nick jumped at the opportunity.  When we get cherry tomatoes in our pick up, they don’t even last a day at home.

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Although it was a bit of a drive from the farms, we ended our day at Geauga Farms Country Meats.  We purchased a $70 frozen box of meat.  We have a roast, 2 rib eye steaks, 2 sirloin steaks and 11 pounds of ground beef.  We had brought a cooler with ice packs to help keep it frozen on the drive home.  We’re looking forward to trying it.

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We saw a few others out at the farms, but none of them were busy while we were there.  I hope others got to take advantage of the beautiful day and enjoy the scenery.

Fresh Fork CSA–week 6

CSA No Responses »
Jul 072011
 

Today was the 6th pick up for the Fresh Fork CSA.  We were expecting the following items.  Trevor is good at sending us a detailed list.  We usually get it on Tuesday for our Thursday pick up.  It works out well because Tuesday is when I pick up my Geauga Family Farms CSA and then I can plan dishes and meals for the next few days.  This week, I was particularly glad to see the pasta on the list, since it makes a tasty quick dinner on days when we are running late.

Small CSA:

  • 1 bulb onion, candy variety
  • 1 head German white porcelain garlic
  • 1 lb green beans or sugar snap peas
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 2 ct zucchini
  • 2 ct squash
  • Approx 2 lbs sweet cherries
  • 1 pint black raspberries
  • Approx 1.5 lbs slicing tomatoes
  • 1 lb garlic chive linguini
  • 1 cucumber

Here is what we received:

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We were able to request beans instead of peas.  That worked out well for us since we got peas on Tueday.  We didn’t receive cilantro or zucchini, but we have an extra cucumber.  I don’t usually know if these are packing errors or if the order was shorted.  So, I’ll email to ask about it.  I am surprised that we didn’t get lettuce this week, but it’s also starting to get hot, so we can expect a few weeks without it at some point until the weather cools off again.  We’ll see what next week brings.  We still have lettuce from our other CSA this week and plenty of other veggies to eat.

In addition to the above, we bought another bag of corn chips ($3) to have with our taco dinner this weekend.

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Menu Planning for upcoming meals:

  • taco filling with local ground beef, onions, tomatoes, garlic, carrots
  • roast from earlier week (freezer) with roasted carrots, beets, onion, kohlrabi
  • zucchini and yellow squash fritters or baked fries
  • more coleslaw
  • chicken with green beans
  • quiche with collards or maybe a sauté of collards
  • salad with cucumbers, radishes
  • tofu marinated stir fry with peas, cabbage, onions

Except for milk and bananas, we haven’t needed anything at the grocery store lately.  We love our fresh produce.

Geauga Family Farms–week 4

CSA No Responses »
Jul 052011
 

Today was our 4th pick up for the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  As usual, our pick up items were a surprise.  I was happy that we received lettuce since we were out.  Between our two CSAs we are getting tons of lettuce and not letting it go to waste.  The bounty did not disappoint and we received two types of lettuce.

They are taking applications for partial season shares that will start in a couple of weeks.  If you are interested in getting a CSA, let me know and I can send you the application.

Here’s what we received in our family share:

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Let’s take a closer look.

One large onion with greens, bunch of radishes.

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green onions, cherry tomatoes

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tomato, yellow squash

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zucchini, rhubarb

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kohlrabi, collard greens

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2 types of lettuce

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beets, snow peas (eat whole in the pod, usually used in stir fry recipes)

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We did well with our shares last week.  I can say that I had summer squash fritters 3 times for lunch and I’ll probably be having more of them this week.  Today, before I picked up our GFF share, I only had some cabbage and cucumber left from last week’s shares.

This week, I’ll be making a tofu stir fry to use the peas along with some of the cabbage from my other share last week.  We’ll probably try roasting the kohlrabi, radishes and beets this time.  I’ll have to think about the collards.  I’m guessing I’ll probably sauté them for lunch one day.  I froze some rhubarb last week, so I’ll add this to that bag.  I think I’ll end up making a rhubarb dessert soon.  The cherry tomatoes are already half gone thanks to Stephen and Nick.

It should be a great week!

Fresh Fork CSA–week 5

CSA No Responses »
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:

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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.

 

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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!

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.

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We saw pigs and horses.

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We also saw the greenhouse and lots of healthy crops.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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:

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Let’s take a closer look.

3 tomatoes, 1 container of strawberries

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

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

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2 yellow squash, 2 zucchini

 

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2 kohlrabi, small bunch of carrots

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bunch of radishes

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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.

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

  1. Peel and great squash.
  2. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 5 minutes.
  3. Drain and/or squeeze out as much juice as possible.
  4. In a mixing bowl, lightly beat egg.
  5. Add squash, pepper, seasoning, green onion, and flour.
  6. Mix well.
  7. Heat 2 T of oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat.
  8. Drop 2 T of batter at a time into skillet until the skillet is full (approx. 6 fritters).
  9. Gently flatten with a spatula.
  10. Cook 3-5 min on each side until golden in color.
  11. Drain on plate lined with paper towel.
  12. 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

 

 

 

Recipe: Kale Pesto

CSA, Recipe No Responses »
Jun 252011
 

In one of my CSAs this week, we received kale.  I polled a few people and decided to make pesto.

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Recipe: Kale Pesto

Summary: As usual, the measurements are approximate. Feel free to adjust to your taste.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch kale, chopped with stems removed (I used Red Russian Kale)
  • 3 garlic scapes, chopped
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 2T olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, grated
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Prep and measure out all of the above ingredients.
  2. Add kale, scapes and green onion to food processor.
  3. Process until a paste starts to form.
  4. Add nuts.
  5. Add olive oil.
  6. Process until smooth and check for desired consistency. Product will thicken a little when the cheese is added. If product is not thin enough, add more oil or some water.
  7. Add cheese.
  8. Process until smooth.
  9. Salt and pepper to taste.

Quick notes

If you are freezing the pesto for later use, wait until you thaw before adding the cheese. Pesto can be made with most greens and nuts. The variations are limitless.  Serve over pasta or as a spread with crackers.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

 

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