Fresh Fork CSA–week 20 (double up!)

CSA No Responses »
Oct 132011
 

Today, we picked up week 20 our of Fresh Fork CSA.  Unlike last week, we had a great pick up.  Both kids were in a good mood.  The weather was great and everything was smooth.  To make up for one of our vacation weeks, we did a double up this week.  Basically, we picked up 2 small shares this week.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive this week (times two):

Small CSA:

  • 1 lb. ground veal
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes
  • 1 large head of cabbage
  • 1 bunch collard greens
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 2 ct. bell peppers
  • 2 ct. eggplant

Here’s a group shot (of one set, you can imagine it double):

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Since we have 4 eggplant, I am planning a vegetable lasagna with mostly eggplant and whole wheat noodles.  We haven’t had much cauliflower this year.  We’ll be making a cauliflower au gratin dish that uses parmesan cheese and bread crumbs for a crumbly topping over the steamed cauliflower.

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Both heads of cabbage are huge!  We’ll be making stuffed cabbage of some sort.  Usually, I end up making unstuffed cabbage since I’m not that great of actually making the rolls.  We’ll also probably make some cabbage soup and some coleslaw.  Last week, I made collard wraps with our collards.  They turned out pretty good so maybe I’ll make them again and change up the filling.  These collards and cabbage look especially good and fresh.

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We put some bell pepper in our cabbage dish and freeze the rest.  We also have 2 packages of ground pork and veal.  I think Stephen is going to make meatloaf and the rest of the meat will go in our cabbage dish.

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We also purchased 2 of the yogurts.  We still had $1.50 to use from our week 17 vacation and we were out of yogurt, so I picked up two and paid the $8.50 balance.

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I was disappointed that we didn’t get grape tomatoes in either share.  I thought I saw some at the truck, but the weeks are starting to run together.  I’ve emailed Fresh Fork about them.

We did sign up for the winter CSA and also for a Thanksgiving share.  We’ll have plenty of good eats on the horizon after the summer season ends in two weeks.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–week 17

CSA No Responses »
Oct 042011
 

We picked up week 17 of our Geauga Family Farms CSA today.  Andrew was on vacation, so we were greeted by Sarah.  The set up was a little different, but the pick up was smooth.  We have a nice routine.  We go into the store, get a cart, stop by for a sample of pineapple, buy anything we need (usually yogurt, cheese, bananas or the like), use a reusable bag, get two wooden nickels, let the kids color, get our veggies, and then leave.  It works for us and both Nick and Sally look forward to our CSA pickup at “The Little Whole Foods”.

Today’s box was lighter than the last few.  We didn’t have any melon or squash.  Here’s a group shot:

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You might be wondering about the dark wooden background.  We didn’t get a new table.  But, our kitchen table where I usually take the photos looks like this.

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I picked up 2 bushels of pears from Eddy’s on Monday. They aren’t quite ripe enough to can. So, our table was out of commission. Nick and Sally had a picnic breakfast today. Nick wants to have one everyday. I don’t think that will happen. They ate raisins, graham crackers and pears. By lunch time, I had put away enough stuff from our vacations that they used the dining room table.  Since that space was clean, I used it to take the CSA photos today also.

Let’s take a closer look at the veggies.

Collards, leaf lettuce

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Romaine, bell peppers

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Tomatoes, garlic

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Poblano peppers, onions

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Apples, green beans

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Sweet potatoes

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I was in Hawaii two weeks ago and I was also out of town most of this past week.  I’m feeling a bit out of the loop on the CSA.  I am glad that this is an easier week.  I’m going to make some stuffed collard wraps with the collards.  The lettuce, bell peppers and probably tomatoes will go in salads.  If we don’t use the tomatoes up, I’ll freeze them.  I have some others frozen and will make sauce or chili with them soon.   I have Stayman (tart) apples from Delaware to use up and will mix these apples with them for sauce.  The green beans will be an easy side dish.  I’ll probably freeze the onions, other peppers and garlic.  For the sweet potatoes, I’ll probably slice them for sweet potato fries.  Everyone in my house likes them and with the cooler temperatures, the oven sounds more appealing these days.

It’s hard to believe that it’s October already!  I’m excited for the upcoming winter CSA season.

Geauga Family Farms–week 15

CSA No Responses »
Sep 202011
 

Hi, there! My role here at Life Lyn Style is usually limited to the background, but with Lyn enjoying herself in a tropical paradise, it is up to me (her loving husband) to share what we found in our Geauga Family Farms CSA today. The harvest season is upon us, with the bountiful crop we found in the box today.

First off, here is the group shot. I’ll bet we could measure how big the week’s harvest is by how high we have to hold the camera to take this picture. The camera was pretty close to the ceiling today.

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“I’m ready for my closeup,” cried the kale, and I was happy to oblige.

Red Russian kale, bok choy

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Garlic, sweet potatoes

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Apples (mixed varieties), carrots

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Parsley (mix of flat leaf and curly), green beans

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Red leaf lettuce, onions

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Bell peppers, little peppers (I don’t know yet if they are hot)

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Eggplant, yellow squash

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Tomatoes

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Using this up with Lyn away is going to be a challenge. My cooking skills have rusted a bit in recent years, with the grill more my specialty than the stove is. The parsley says “tabouli”, which could use some tomato and onion as well. The kale and bok choy I will saute, with some balsamic vinegar for the kale and some sesame oil for the bok choy. We will surely have some delicious salads as well.

Thanks for visiting! Lyn will be back tomorrow.

Fresh Fork CSA–week 16

CSA, Uncategorized No Responses »
Sep 152011
 

Today, we once again headed to Beachwood High School to pick up our Fresh Fork CSA share.

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

Small CSA:

  • 1 pint mixed color cherry tomatoes
  • 1 package chicken sausage (4 links, 1.25 lbs.)
  • 1 dz. pastured chicken eggs
  • 1 bunch carrots with tops
  • 1 bunch turnip greens
  • 2 ct. green bell peppers
  • 2 ct. poblano chili peppers
  • 1.5 lbs. Stanley plums
  • Either 1 hd. broccoli or 1 stalk of celery

Here’s a group shot of share:

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We were down to 1 egg in our fridge, so we were glad to see these.  We went plum picking this week and the plum-apple sauce turned out great, so I am making another batch.

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We were gifted a bunch of peppers this week, so I am chopping and freezing away.

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The chicken sausage went straight to the freezer.  Trevor included several ideas for the turnip greens in the newsletter.  Basically, I’ll make them like my Swiss chard and they should be tasty.  I’ll probably have them for lunch tomorrow since they are taking up room in the fridge.

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The broccoli looks delicious.  Nick and Sally and I will enjoy it with dinner tomorrow.  We got Heirloom tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes.  I got a couple of extra since mine were bad last week.  I’m going to clean/chop and freeze them with some other tomatoes for a later sauce.

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My kids couldn’t get enough carrots last week, so they eat these at lunch for a couple of days.  I’m not sure they will even last through 2 meals.

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Since I am on vacation next week and the week after, I spent a few of my credit dollars today.  I put them on my account and it will be a wash over time.  I picked up yogurt ($5), corn chips (2 @ $3.50) and a Camembert cheese ($8).  So, I “spent” $20.

I bought yogurt at the grocery store earlier this week since we were out.  I screwed up and bought vanilla.  Yuck, it’s full of sugar and I can’t use it for cooking.  I really like my newly found whole wheat dough recipe and it calls for yogurt.  I like to keep the ingredients on hand.  I was super excited to see the corn chips back.  The truck hasn’t had them for sale lately.  They are the best corn chips I’ve ever had.  One bag was opened in the car.  I bought 2 bags so there would still be some with Stephen gets back from his trip.

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Today and tomorrow I am preserving food and packing for my trip.  I’m trying to avoid too much last minute craziness on Sunday.

Geauga Family Farms–week 14

CSA 1 Response »
Sep 132011
 

Today, we went to the “little” Whole Foods and picked up our Geauga Family Farms CSA.  The kids totally know our routine.  We usually need to buy something.  Today, we bought yogurt.  At the checkout, Nick and Sally each get a wooden nickel to donate to a charity since we bring a bag.  They love putting a nickel in the slot to pick their charity.  Then, they go straight to the CSA area which also is the children’s coloring area.  They are also very interested in whatever we get in our box.

Here’s what we received today:

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Let’s take a closer look.  I couldn’t really fit everything in the photo.

Green beans, sweet corn

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Potatoes, apples (Honeygold variety)

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Bell peppers, dill

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Poblano peppers, zucchini

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Onions, hot peppers

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Leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce

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Eggplant, basil

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Tomatoes

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I’m leaving for Hawaii on Monday, so this week is all about food preservation.  I’m cooking some meals for my family to enjoy while I am gone, but most of that work is done or planned.  In addition to my trip, my husband is out of town tomorrow through Friday.

I’m going to blanch and freeze the green beans.  I have others to freeze as well, so it’s worth the effort.

I plan to have some corn with the kids tomorrow and freeze the rest.  There’s only 6 ears so that should be simple.

Unless I get ambitious, I’m going to store the potatoes.  A few of the apples are already mixed in with the sauce that I was making tonight.  The rest will be going into apple-plum sauce tomorrow.  We picked plums yesterday, so I need to make something with them.

I’ll going to make fajitas and use some peppers and onions this week.  I’ll freeze the rest.

I’m going to make some basil/olive oil cubes for the freezer with the basil.  It will be handy for winter soup and tomato sauce dishes.

I already froze the tomatoes.  I just washed them, cored, and quartered them.  I’ll make a saucy dish with them in a couple of week.

The lettuce will get eaten in salads.  I’ll either blanch and freezer the eggplant or make mini eggplant pizzas.  It all depends on the rest of the items are going.

I’ll need to research the dill.  Usually, I use it in pickles, but I don’t have any cucumbers.

It’s going to be a busy week here.  I have a to do list that’s a mile long before my trip.

Geauga Family Farms–week 12

CSA 3 Responses »
Aug 302011
 

Pick up #12 for the Geauga Family Farms CSA was today.  We pick up at our local Whole Foods.  Nick calls it the little Whole Foods because it’s so much smaller than the Cedar Location and doesn’t have a waterfall.

Today’s box was overflowing!

Here’s what we received:

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Let’s take a closer look.

Green beans, watermelon (hmmm.. these photos are not to scale)

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Lettuce, eggplant

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Cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes

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Peaches, bell peppers

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Cantaloupe, dozen sweet corn

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Hot peppers, patty pan squash

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We got 3 fruits again this week.  In our house that is a good thing.  I actually used frozen peaches in today’s oatmeal, so I am excited for the peaches.  We have lots of melon since we got extras in our other CSA on Thursday, but we are eating it at a good clip so I don’t think we’ll have a problem.  Our biggest challenge is having to take the seeds out of the watermelon for our 22 month old daughter.

We ate 1/2 the corn for dinner tonight and we are getting another 1/2 dozen on Thursday.  I’ll probably cook and take the rest of this batch off of the cobs for a wheat berry, corn, bean salad of sorts.  We need to pack dinner for our Wednesday outing at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

I’m going to chop and freeze the peppers.  I’m assuming the non-bell peppers are hot.  They seem to always be hot and I’m not taking chances with them.  The bell peppers will go into tomato sauce.  I’ll save the hot ones for chili and salsa.

I just read a blog post about mini lasagnas that were made in muffin tins.  I may use the eggplant and squash for my own version of that.

The remaining few items will easily be eaten as part of our meals.  We need to stay on top of our game this week since we have several meals planned out over the holiday weekend.  Friday, I need to blanch/chop/freeze anything that we haven’t used so we don’t have waste.

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