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Fresh Fork Market Winter CSA–week 4

Dec 062012

Today, we had our 4th winter pick up of our Fresh Fork Market CSA.

Here’s what we received in our bag this week:

Here’s what we were expecting this week:

Winter Week 4:

1 smoked ham hock
2 lbs. black turtle beans
1 lb. kale
2 acorn squash
3 lbs. sweet potatoes
Aprrox. 1 lb. onion
1 head broccoli (or 1 bag broccoli shoots…which are just smaller heads)
1 package chorizo or Italian sausage
1 bunch beets with tops
1 bag mixed salad or braising greens
1 stalk Brussels sprouts
1 quarter peck empire apples

I haven’t given much thought to how this week’s items would be used. I’ll probabaly cut the sausage into pieces and bake it in the oven. Although, a crock pot batch of Italian sausage with peppers and onions might be a great meal for a busy swim lesson night next week. I’ll probably make soup with the ham hock. I don’t feel the need to be extra creative in the kitchen since holiday time. We haven’t even put our tree up yet.

Last time we got beans, I cooked them in the crock pot and then froze them in 1-2 cup portions. That worked quite well and I haven’t had to buy canned black beans in ages. We were out of apples, so these will go into oatmeal as early as tomorrow.

The sweet potatoes weren’t in the best shape, I’ll probably just make mashed potatoes with them. Beets will go into Harvard beets. It will be a smaller batch, but enough for one or two of us to have them for a side.

I haven’t stuffed acorn squash yet this winter. I like to make a stuffing with squash, sausage, cheese and rice. Yum! The onions will get used in general cooking.

I can not get enough of the sprouts this year. Love them! This kale is some of the prettiest that I have seen all year. I will probably make a quiche with it.

I never know what to do with these mixed greens. They are bitter and tend to have lots of stems. The broccoli on the other hand is always fabulous and will probably get cooked tomorrow.

It was nice to stock up on milk and yogurt at the truck. Too bad I didn’t think to buy eggs. There’s always next time!

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”.

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 13

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Aug 292012

Due to some last minute travel plans for the weekend, we picked up our CSA share today. It was our first time picking up on a Wednesday in Solon. The pick up spot at a church was very nice. The lot was shady and newly resurfaced. With a busy evening that included preschool parent orientation, it was very dark when I attempted photos. So, I’m just using one tonight. Yes, I have nice lights, but I don’t have the energy for that tonight.

Dark overview photo:

I think the only thing the photo really shows is how big a large share is. I’m continually impressed with a what we receive for our value each week.

Here’s what we received:

1 bunch Cylindra beets
1 quart whole milk yogurt
1 acorn squash
1 pint blackberries
1 bag mixed peppers
1 lb. red fortune plums
2 lbs. Roma tomatoes
1 kohlrabi
1 bunch collards
6 ears sweet corn
1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese
2 frozen pizza dough balls
1 pint heirloom tomato sauce
A handful hot Hungarian peppers
Approx. 1.5 lbs. heirloom tomatoes
concord grapes

Originally, we were going to get a spaghetti squash and not have grapes. You can’t argue with mother nature. We’ll see squash soon.

This is a crazy week for us as we are leaving town for a few days tomorrow. So, all of our food needs to be cooked, eaten, froze, or packed so that we don’t lose any of our items.

I have some beets already in the fridge. I’m going to make Harvard beets and freeze them. I’ve never frozen that recipe before, but a quick Google search tells me that it’s possible.

We love the yogurt and are fully stocked. I’m glad it has good dates. I’ll be taking one container with us in our cooler.

I love winter squash season as much as melon season. I’ll roast this acorn squash, make puree and freeze it. It would probably last if I just waited until we got home from our trip, but I’d rather just take care of it now.

The plums and blackberries will come with us on our trip if they last that long. I’m going to freeze the peppers, tomatoes, collards and corn. I’ll blanch and chop as needed. I’m hoping to make the grapes into a usable concentrate for sorbet. Then, I’ll freeze it.

I’ll use the pizza dough, sauce and cheese to make some pizza for lunch tomorrow and maybe dinner on the road. The dough was already thawing before I got to it, so I need to use it up.

Whew! I need to get busy. We’re leaving at 12:30pm tomorrow and I still need to pack too.

Fresh Fork Winter CSA–week 4

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Dec 082011

Today, we had a great Fresh Fork CSA pick up. It was not busy when we arrived and we were in and out in a flash. Robert even carried our stuff to the car. Also, it was DRY! There was an almost full moon and no precipitation.

Here’s what we were expecting this week:

1 bunch bok choy (approx. 8 oz.)
1 bunch leaf lettuce
1 bag mixed braising greens, approx. 0.75 lb.
3 count winter squash
2 lbs. onions
1 head broccoli
1 head cauliflower
1/2 lb. spinach or pak choy
1 bag corn chips
1 8-oz. wedge of Havarti or pepper Havarti from Mayfield Road Creamery
3 lbs potatoes, Yukon gold or Red Norland
Approx. 3# beef roast (we’ll have an assortment available)

Here’s a group shot:

Both the ground beef and the roast were frozen, so I just popped them in the freezer.

I really like caramelized onions and haven’t made them in a while. I think I’ll be having them soon. I’m also going to try a Shepard’s Pie with the potatoes.

We were supposed to get one head of cauliflower. I’m guessing we have two due to the size. They aren’t in the best shape, so I will be cooking them tomorrow. The winter squash look nice. We have an acorn, butternut and an orange Hubbard squash.

Bok choy has been being made Asian style for Stephen lately. I’m not sure if we will try something different or not.

The lettuce will go into taco salad. Fresh Fork posted a recipe on the braising greens. I think we’ll try it out this week. We get these weird mixed greens a lot during the winter.

These are two tiny heads of broccoli. I’m sure they are tasty and will disappear quickly. We had the return of the corn chips. We bought one extra bag ($3.5) not pictured.

This week’s share ended with local Harvarti cheese. All of the cheese from Mayfield Creamery has been great and I’m sure this will be no exception.

As you may recall, we we short a few items from our Thanksgiving package a couple of weeks ago. These items were delivered with our regular share today.

So, we have more of a few items and are glad to have apples back in stock. I’ll probably be cooking/freezing the winter squash and pumpkin in the next day or two to have for recipes in the winter.

The holiday ham and other package order form came out today. I’m not sure if we are going to order a ham this year. I’ll need to check with my folks to figure out our menu for Christmas.

I’m off to put the rest of our share away and clean the kitchen from dinner.

Geauga Family Farms Winter CSA–week 2

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Nov 122011

Today was our pick up for week 2 of the winter Geauga Family Farms CSA. We had a full schedule for today and I just ran up to St. Noel without the kids to pick it up first thing this morning.

Here’s a group shot of what we received:

Potatoes, bok choy

Radishes, beets

Acorn squash, apples

1/2 dozen eggs, 2 small heads of lettuce

Dozen of chocolate chip cookies

We have quite a supply of potatoes at the moment. I’ll be rotating these into our storage and trying to make a couple of potato recipes this week. I’m thinking that some kind of Shepard’s pie may be in order. The last time we got bok choy, I cooked it in the crock pot with Asian spices (ginger and sesame oil) and served it to my husband with soba noodles and pork. He liked it. The rest of the family isn’t big on the sesame flavor.

We’re going to roast radishes this week. We’re also going to make Harvard beets. I think I have 2 bunches of both in the fridge right now.

Acorn squash is one of my favorite squash. I’ve been making a rue and adding squash puree and seasonings for use over whole wheat pasta. It will be lunch a couple of days this week.

We’re still using apples in our oatmeal everyday while the season is still here.

We were out of eggs and I’m cooking my dish ahead for Thanksgiving tomorrow so the eggs will disappear quickly. The lettuce will be eaten with salad.

The cookies are GONE!

Looks like another week of great, fresh, local food!

Geauga Family Farms Winter CSA–week 1

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Nov 052011

Today was our first pickup for our winter Geauga Family Farms CSA. For the 6 week winter program, our pick up is on Saturday at St. Noel church in Willoughby. For the most part, this works well for us although there is the occasional time when we have other plans on Saturday and would prefer not to bother.

Here’s a group shot of what we received:

2 types of lettuce

Sweet potatoes, green onions

Lacinato blue kale, wheat bread

Daikon radish, green bell pepper

Cabbage, acorn squash

We’ll enjoy the lettuce in salads this week. We have some other salad greens as well and they will mix nicely together. We can’t get enough sweet potatoes. Lately, I’ve just been slicing and baking them. We have been using the onions and pepper in unstuffed cabbage and will make that again this week.

By the way, I had no idea we had lacinato blue kale. I was able to check with the farm reps and get a speedy reply! I’ll probably cook it like my other greens. I usually saute them with garlic, onions, peppers and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

The Daikon radish always stumps me. We’ve made “chips” and soup before. I’ll have to see what strikes me this week.

I was surprised that we didn’t get eggs. I thought we were going to get a dozen eggs and a baked good each week. I’m guessing that with the abundance of other items still available that we will get eggs some of the future weeks. I’ve been enjoying the local eggs, but I wasn’t out yet.

It looks like a great week!

Fresh Fork CSA–week 15

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Sep 082011

Today, we picked up week 15 of our Fresh Fork CSA.

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

Small CSA:

1 lb. pumpkin sage linguini
2 lb. log of butter made from grass-grazed, organic milk
2 ct. eggplant
2 red peppers
2 ct. winter squash (varieties include butternut, acorn, spaghetti, honey bear, heart of gold, and a few more)
Approx. 1.5 lbs. heirloom tomatoes
1 lb. yellow wax beans
Quarter peck Gala apples
1 head leaf lettuce

We received notice via our weekly newsletter that the heirloom tomatoes were not in and we could expect slicing tomatoes as a substitute.

Here’s a group shot:

The lettuce will be easily eaten in salads. We got two heads on Tuesday too. I’ll miss lettuce season when it ends. I’m not a big fan of yellow wax beans. I think they might go in our vegetable soup. I used to make vegetable soup often during the summer, but now that I know what items are and how to cook them, I hardly ever make it. Since I’m going on vacation soon, I thought a batch of veggie soup would be good to leave in the freezer for my husband and father in law.

I’m super excited that it’s winter squash season. These acorn squash are beautiful! I never got sick of winter squash. I haven’t decided for sure about the eggplant. I’m either going to make eggplant pizzas (sliced eggplant baked and then topped with spice, tomato sauce and cheese and baked until the eggplant is cooked and the cheese is melted) or another veggie lasagna. The lasagna might be nice to have in the freezer for Stephen’s lunches while I’m away.

We ate the pasta for dinner. I made a basic white sauce (butter, whole wheat flour, pepper, milk, cheese), country sausage crumbles and red peppers to go with it. It was delicious. We’ve had this butter before. It’s good and will last us awhile.

I was glad to see apples. We got cabbage from our other CSA and I like a coleslaw recipe that uses apples. I already had the dressing ingredients, raisins and almonds that I needed for the recipe. The rest of the apples will be eaten as snacks or my oatmeal. The red peppers were used in tonight’s pasta dish.

The tomatoes look terrible. Two of them are moldy and I’ll ask for replacements next week. I’m not sure if these are heirloom, slicing or what. Either way, two of them are bad tomatoes.

The object of the game this week is to stay ahead. I’m leaving for vacation on the 19th and need to focus more on packing and prepping the household and less on veggies and the CSAs. But, I still want to do my best not to waste anything.

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