CSA » Life Lyn Style

Quiche with Mustard Greens

Oct 222012

It’s greens week in our house. In our CSA pick up on Friday, we received collards, lettuce, mixed greens, Napa cabbage and mustard greens.

I don’t like to waste anything from our CSA, and I like to find recipes for all of our items that our family enjoys. Occasionally, we get a few new or unfamiliar things at once. Last week’s pick up was one of those weeks.

These are mustard greens. I’m sure that we’ve received them before, but I had no recollection of using them. My friend suggested using them in quiche. Since quiche is easy for me to make, that seemed like a good suggestion.

I cleaned the greens and removed the larger stems. I chopped them and boiled them for about 3 minutes to soften them up. Then, I put them in the bottom of an already prepared pie crust. I had a weak moment at Whole Foods and bought a few already made whole wheat crusts. They are not as good as homemade, but made for a few quick and easy dinners.

I added some left over cooked chopped chicken and cauliflower along with the egg/milk mixture (5 eggs, 1 1/2 cups whole milk) to the crust. After baking for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, I added 4 oz. of smoked cheddar to the top. I continued baking for about 20 more minutes until set.

It was fabulous and everyone liked it. I’ll be open to other ideas for using mustard greens, but this one is a keeper.

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 20

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Oct 192012

Today, I had a rare pick up without the kids. I had been at a doctor appointment and headed up to the high school from there. It was strange. I havemixed feelings about today’s bag. I have “go to” uses for so many of our CSA items, but mustard greens, mixed greens (braising?) and Napa cabbage are not included. But, there are many items like cider, beans, squash, cheese, apples, etc. that I am excited to see.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive:

1 head Napa cabbage
1 8 oz. chunk pepper Havarti
1 bunch mustard greens
1 lb. black beans
1 half lb. mixed greens
1 head broccoli
1 acorn squash
1 half gallon apple cider
1 quarter peck Empire Red apples
1 bunch collard greens
1 butternut squash
2 ct. red peppers
1 head cauliflower
1 head leaf lettuce
1 package, 1.25 lb., Andouille sausage (Smokey, Spanish sausage)

I roasted lots of butternut squash this week. I think I’ll save this one for a few days and then try the squash/bean burritos that I read about last week.

The local broccoli is always delicious. I’ll use it for a side dish soon. I love that we received purple cauliflower. It is really bright and fun!

Pepper cheese is not usually my favorite, but this cheese is really good. I’m probably going to have it with eggs. The lettuce is very crisp looking and also a really small head. It will make one individual salad.

I haven’t made my stuff acorn squash yet this season. This might just be the week for it. The peppers will get chopped for salads.

Apples tend to disappear without any work. We put the sausage in the freezer. I see some more of the sweet potato hash in our future. The kids thought it was too spicy, but Stephen and I can eat it for lunches.

I’m too tired to think much about the greens. I read up on mustard greens, so I am a little less afraid of them. But, I still don’t know what my plan will be. We get these bagged mixed greens often, so I need to figure out a way to use them. I just think they are bitter.

I’ll probably chop the collards and cook them with taco meat. I have no idea about the Napa cabbage, so I need to look at that one on line.

I’m surprised that the cider has been here for several hours and is still unopened. Nick, Sally and Stephen will love it. It’s too sweet for me.

Weeks like this leave me in awe with the huge variety of items that we can obtain locally.

I have a full day tomorrow and then Sunday will be “use the greens day”.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 20

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Oct 162012

Well, this is the last pick up of the season. 20 weeks sure flew by. Our miss our weekly trips to Whole Foods, especially since the store is finally back together after their reorganization.

Here’s what we received today:

apples, acorn squash

sweet potatoes, carrots

garlic, green peppers

lettuce

This is an easy week with lots of things that we love and use all of the time. We were out of apples, so those will go into oatmeal and lunches for the next few days. Acorn squash is one of my favorites. This one is a little past its prime, so I am roasting it the next time I turn on the oven.

We ate some of the sweet potatoes for dinner tonight. They are fabulous. I’m going to add the carrots to butternut squash soup this week. It was my missing ingredient and magically appeared in our box.

Garlic and pepper will both go into an “unstuffed cabbage” dish that I am going to make in the crock pot on Thursday. It’s swim lesson night and we are all hungry when we get home, so I need a good plan.

The lettuce will go well in salads and wraps for our lunches the next few days.

It’s been a great summer.

We bought a 1/2 of a lamb!

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Oct 152012

A few weeks back, a saw a Facebook page about lambs for sale. I pondered it. A couple of weeks later, I ended up ordering 1/2 lamb from Blue Egg Farm. I’ve eaten lamb a couple of times. I’m not sure if I have ever cooked it, but I’ll be soon learning.

Here’s what our 1/2 lamb looked like after processing:

We have lamb for stew.

We have lamb loin chops.

We have ground lamb.

We have lamb leg steaks.

We have a lamb shoulder roast.

We have a lamb shank.

And, we have a mystery non-vacuumed packed bag.

I’ve contemplated buying a half of a hog many times before and never went through with it. I’m never sure if we’ll have the freezer space. A 1/2 lamb seemed like a manageable amount to spend and store at one time.

I’m excited to give a few lamb recipes a try. I hope that the kids like it too!

If you have any ideas or favorites to share, let me know.

Fresh Fork Market Customer Appreciation Pig Roast

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Oct 142012

Wow, what a great event! Today, Fresh Fork Market hosted a customer appreciation pig roast & pot luck. It was quite the event. It was held at Hill N Dale Club in Medina. We arrived right at 2PM and there weren’t too many people there yet. The kids headed straight for face painting. Kirsten did a great job and the kids loved it.

We didn’t have a mirror, so we took photos of the kids and show them to them. Worked like a charm. Next up was pumpkin carving. Our kids aren’t quite old enough to work the tools, so I talked them into coloring them with a marker instead.

There were 3 sets of corn hole set up. Quite a few people enjoyed them. We also had brought chairs for Nick and Sally. For a while they carried them everywhere they went.

There was a registration table. We could get our deposit back or donate it to the Innovative Farmers of Ohio. Mary Holmes their president and Parker Bosley staffed the table.

Most of the attendees brought a dish to share. The dishes were labeled and set out in the pavilion. It was quite the spread.

The pig was the main attraction. Here, Trevor and Clark are checking the temperature. It was a really big pig.

Kelly was our emcee for the day. She did a fabulous job organizing the signage and activities.

Our family participated in and egg toss.

They were strong eggs. I love this one with the egg mid-air.

Oh, and it rained! But, Trevor put up and tent and the pig was fine. We had tents to eat under and we didn’t let it ruin our festivities.

Nick and Sally didn’t even know what a 3 legged race was until today. Sally fell a couple of times.

Nick didn’t want to stop, so Stephen swapped Sally and became his partner.

The kids went back for round two of face painting.

The played with (fought over) the umbrella.

We played awesome Fresh Fork bingo for bacon! And then there was the pie eating contest. No thanks, those folks were crazy.

We had a super excited winner too! Before we headed home, Sally tried catching a few rain drops.

I never tried to count the number of people who came out, but I’m sure it was at least 200. I can’t wait for next year! Although, Nick has announced plans for us to have one in our living room tomorrow. He wants to run the games and thinks Trevor should cook a pig everyday.

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 19

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Oct 122012

Today was a perfect autumn day for a CSA pickup. We had some logistical issues this week and at one point considered Solon, Mayfield, Beachwood, Hudson and Mentor as possible sites. We ended up making it to our normal spot at Mayfield. I was glad to visit with Kirsten and Robert for a bit during a slower time.

Here’s what we are expecting to receive:

1 dozen eggs
3# sweet potatoes
1 head cauliflower (some will be cheddar, purple, or green varieties)
1 head leaf lettuce
1 head baby Bok Choy
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 lb. chorizo sausage links
2# cornmeal
2 ct. red peppers
Red onion (s)
2 ct. zucchini
Approx. 1.5 lbs. tomatoes
2 ct. eggplant (or 1 if they are enormous)
1 lb. pumpkin sage linguini
1 quarter peck Cortland apples

They were out of slicing tomatoes. I was happy since I was offered spinach as a replacement. I have too many tomatoes in the freezer already. Everything else on the list was dead on!

I’m behind on egg use a bit. I see some hardboiled ones in our future. Maybe I’ll make a small batch of deviled eggs for Sunday’s pig roast. We’ll use the peppers in eggs and salads this week.

Last year, we found that either Andouille or Chorizo could be used in this recipe. So, it’s definitely on the agenda for this week. I remember it being extremely delicious.

I tossed the pumpkin sage linguini in the freezer since we have a busy few days ahead. I’m sure it will be tasty. I’ve never met an Ohio City pasta that I didn’t like.

I’m going to make a veggie lasagna this week. I’ll use the squash and eggplant in that dish.

We haven’t picked any tomatoes from our garden lately. I’m sure these will be welcome snacks.

I’ll sauté the Bok Choy for Stephen one day. He likes the Asian flavors. The apples will be great for our oatmeal. We made all of our other apples into sauce.

The lettuce will go for salads. The cauliflower will make a great side dish with some chicken we have ready to eat in the fridge.

To make make room for our 1/2 lamb, I’m making a pot of chili. Some cornbread will make a nice side to go with it.

I’m glad it’s cooler out and love cooking this time of year.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 19

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Oct 092012

Next week will be our last pick up. The summer season has flown by.

Here’s what we received today:

apples, butternut squash

huge kohlrabi, garlic

bell peppers, broccoli

lettuce

Stephen and the kids picked 49 pounds of apples on Saturday. I’m in the process of making applesauce. I’ll probably add some of the apples from the share to it for variety. I’m going to make some puree out of the butternut squash. I’m also going to try a recipe I saw for butternut squash bean burritos. I’ll use this recipe as a base, but I won’t be making them vegan. I’ll use the garlic and peppers in them too. The broccoli was a side for dinner. All that’s left is a little bit that someone can have with lunch tomorrow. The lettuce will make a nice salad. It’s so fresh and crisp. I’m going to roast the kohlrabi with some beets and radishes that I have left in the fridge. I have a chicken thawed, so I will be turning on the over in the morning to cook a couple of meals ahead. I’m picking up 1/2 lamb this week and need to make some freezer space. There will be more to come on that purchase soon.

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 18

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Oct 052012

Today was a rainy, but very green pick up. We haven’t seen this much green since the spring.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive this week:

1 lb. city chicken (cubed Berkshire pork)
1 head broccoli
1 bunch turnips
1 spaghetti squash
A handful Croatian peppers
1 bunch beets
1 bunch mustard greens
1 head cabbage
1 bunch kale
1 head cauliflower
1 lb. bulk Italian Sausage
Approx. 1 lb. onions
8 oz. piece smoked cheddar cheese

We actually had our choice of the city chicken or a pork tenderloin. We haven’t had tenderloin in ages and I had never had city chicken. I ended up buying one as an extra. The Italian sausage I cooked up to go with some pasta for dinner tonight.

Turnips are hard for me, but I’ve been perusing some new recipes. Cabbage is always welcome in our house. I’ll probably make unstuffed cabbage this week.

Local broccoli is one of my favorites. It will probably be part of tomorrow’s dinner. I’ll use the peppers in quiche or chili this week.

I’m going to prep the greens by sautéing all of them in the morning. That way they will be easy to add to quiche, eggs or other dishes throughout the week.

I’ll probably include the onion when I sauté.

The smoked cheddar will go into quiche or perhaps some butternut squash burritos that I was just reading about. We ate most of the cauliflower at dinner tonight. The left over will be part of lunch tomorrow.

I love winter squash, but spaghetti squash is not my favorite. I must research a new way to prepare it. We are still finishing up our last two.

I missed apples this week. Hopefully, Stephen will be taking the kids picking tomorrow and we can make some applesauce this week. Last year, we canned many quarts and still didn’t have enough to get through the winter months.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 18

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Oct 022012

Our CSA pick up was smooth today.

Here’s what we received:

Red Russian kale, romaine lettuce

Garlic, bell peppers

Apples, butternut squash

I feel like the share is a bit light this week. The lettuce will go into salads. We’ll use some peppers for snacking. I’ll chop the garlic and use it with the kale. The apples will be for snacking and oatmeal. I’m going to use some squash for soup and roast the rest as cubes. (I have two of them in our kitchen right now).

I’ve been extra busy the last couple of weeks. I’m anxious to get back to cooking more.

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 17

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Sep 282012

We picked up our bag in Mayfield today. Tonight’s the Homecoming Football Game, so the hours are shortened and they are expecting full parking lots for the game. We got there early and quickly picked up our bag.

What a pretty bag!

Here’s what we were expecting this week:

1 piece Mayfield Road Creamery “Bloomfield,” a brie style cheese
1 lb. raw honey
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 bunch carrots with tops
1 bunch radishes
1 bag mixed greens, can be used for braising or salad greens
1 head speckled romaine lettuce (it will have brown spots…that is how it should be)
1/2 dz. ears sweet corn
1 quarter peck gala apples
1 butternut squash (2 if they are small…but that’s doubtful based on what I’ve seen)
1 pint mixed color cherry tomatoes
2.5 lbs. Roma tomatoes
2 zucchini/squash
Approx. 1 lb. onions
1 head broccoli
A handful Croatian sweet peppers

We received everything exactly as listed. I’ll probably just use the Swiss chard in a quiche. We haven’t had it in a while and I plan to be home on Sunday, so it’s a good day to make it. I’ll probably use some other veggies in it as well. The kids are excited to see the carrots, so they’ll make an easy side dish for lunch one day this week. I usually just cook them and sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on them.

I have plenty of eggs and think some zucchini muffins are in order. The corn is going to need cooked today, so I’ll be adding it to tonight’s dinner.

I haven’t decided on a specific use for the Brie, but I’m sure it will disappear. We use honey as our regular sweetener. This will mostly go into tea and muffins.

I’m going to make some sauce this week and use the onion, peppers and tomatoes. We also picked tomatoes from our garden, so we have plenty.

We’ve been eating the apples as they come. I’m going to try to source some additional ones for sauce this week. Winter squash is my favorite. I’ll probably make soup with this butternut squash.

The speckled lettuce and radishes will go into salads. The broccoli is part of tonight’s dinner.

I’m determined to tackle braising greens this winter. We’ll see these often and I never can get away from the bitterness. I am going to conquer them. I’m open to ideas.

Hopefully, our schedule will start to calm down this week and I’ll be able to cook a bit more in the kitchen soon. Lately, our meals have been thrown together based on what’s handy. It works, but I miss some of the more complex dishes.

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