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Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 8

Jul 272012

Since we had my niece and nephew this week, we waited until today to pick up our share in Mayfield. Although I did stop in Beachwood yesterday for yogurt and milk since we needed to replenish.

Here’s what I picked up:

Here’s what we were expecting to receive:

1 pint blueberries
6 ears sweet corn
3 lb. Yukon gold potatoes
1 bunch rainbow Swiss chard
1 bunch collard greens
2 ct. cucumbers
1 pint cherry tomatoes or approx. 1.5 lbs. heirloom tomatoes (about 3 depending on size)
1 package chicken bratwursts
1 lb. yellow wax beans
2 ct. green peppers
1 cantaloupe
1 package pork spare ribs
1 jar Pope’s BBQ sauce

It looks like we got regular slicing tomatoes and some cherry tomatoes. We were also shorted the BBQ sauce, but my husband was able to pick it up on his way home from work. So, it’s here, but missed its photo opportunity.

We’ll have the chicken brats for lunch or dinner on Sunday. We’ll either grill them or braise them in beer. The kids have really been enjoying the cucumbers for snacking.

I’ll be making some fajitas Sunday or Monday. I’ll use a couple of onions that I still have along with the collards or chard and peppers in them. The blueberries will be lucky to be around after breakfast tomorrow.

We never got around to our Ohio City pasta last week, so I’ll probably make the béchamel sauce this weekend and use the tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes will make good snacks for the guys of the house tomorrow.

The beans will make a great side dish in the next couple of days. We’ll probably cut the cantaloupe up this weekend and eat it, but I am interested in trying Jane Snow’s cantaloupe gelatin dessert recipe.

Both the corn on the cob and ribs are on tomorrow’s lunch menu. I think we’ll be grilling!

The potatoes will last a few days, and I don’t have an immediate plan for them. Either the collards or chard will go into our fajitas. The other will probably go into a quiche or just be sautéed for a side.

It’s been fun getting the large from our Fresh Fork CSA. But, on Friday evenings, our fridge is packed to the max. We have been trying to use local eggs, milk and yogurt. When we add that stuff to the contents of our bag, it makes for a well stocked kitchen. It also means that we don’t need the grocery store much and prioritize our meals to use up bulky items first. I can’t wait to see what we are getting next week.

U-Pick Tour–Voytko Farms–Auburn Township–blueberries

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Jul 192012

This morning, Sally and I headed to Voytko Farms for blueberry picking after we dropped Nick off at camp. The farm is easy to find and has a few signs along the way. Once in the barn, there’s a nice sign with information and usually an attendant around to help. This year, berries are $1.75 a pound.

We met up with our friend Shayna. Sally was super excited to see her. Soon, we had some berries in our buckets. No, Sally didn’t pick those, she just modeled with the bucket for the photo.

I had Shayna take a photo of me picking. This is a rare occurrence, since most of the time there aren’t other adults in the patch with us. We started to hear thunder and new it was going to rain. Once it started sprinkling, we headed to the barn. It was raining pretty hard buy the time we got back.

It was actually a welcome sight and I just hoped it was also raining in our garden. Chuck runs the farm and had a computer with internet access in the barn. He looked up the radar and said that there was no way the storm missed Mayfield Heights. I was a soaked but happy camper.

With the rain, we ended up picking for 45 minutes. I ended up with 2.5 pounds of berries and a nice outing with Sally and Shayna. Since the berries were wet, I laid them on a paper towel on a cookie sheet to dry them out a bit before I froze them.

The picking was outstanding and I’d definitely suggest checking out the farm. All of my berries came from just 2 bushes and I could have picked more.

Voytko Farms is located at 11391 Franks Road, Auburn Township, OH 44023

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 6

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Jul 132012

Due to some other plans today, we picked up our bag yesterday. The flexibility is awesome.

WOW, I need to get a better photo set up as I am having trouble fitting everything in one frame! This week’s bag is great. I’m still getting used to the vast amount of stuff in a large vs. the small that we subscribed to last year. I’d never go back to the small.

Here’s my attempt at a group shot.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive:

1 whole chicken
1 pint blueberries
1 head leaf lettuce
2 ct cucumbers
2-3 zucchini/squash
1 head red cabbage
About 3 tomatoes, depending on size
1 lb. apricots
1 bunch beets or 1 bunch carrots (rotating for the next two weeks, everyone will get each)
2 lbs. peaches
1 bunch green onions
1 lb. green beans
1 package of ravioli
1 bunch Swiss chard

Our chicken was partially thawed. I’m guessing that was due to the excessive heat yesterday. So, instead of putting it straight in the freezer, it’s thawing in our fridge. That made fitting everything in the fridge a bit challenging, but we managed. I’m hoping to cut it up and have Stephen grill it for dinner tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes. Usually, I roast them whole. I’m going to cut the onions up and freeze them.

I’m not sure about the red cabbage. I may use some of it in a slaw, but I need to do a bit more research. The cucumbers have been great for salads and snacking. I keep thinking about making some pickles, but they keep disappearing.

We’ll grill the zucchini with the chicken. The apricots almost didn’t make it through dinner. After packing lunches today, there’s one left.

The peaches have been great for snacking or in our oatmeal. These need another day or two to ripen. With our abundance of lettuce, the tomatoes will be great in the salads (for Nick and Stephen).

I made a simple white sauce to go with the spinach and garlic scape pasta last night. The pasta was on the strong side, but it was definitely tasty. You can’t really tell from this photo, but this is the biggest head of lettuce ever.

After going to the Beet class last week, I’m excited to make puree and freeze it for future pizza! These are the best beet greens that I’ve ever seen. I’m going to use them tomorrow so I can enjoy them. The four of us finished the blueberries this morning at breakfast. It’s a good thing that I picked 15 pounds for the freezer this week.

The green beans have been tasty this year. These will make a great side dish with one of our chicken meals. I’ll probably use the Swiss chard in some eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

This weekend is all about using up the bulk. Our fridge is overflowing with fresh goodness. Hopefully, by Sunday night, we’ll have it a bit more under control.

U-Pick Tour–Wintergreen Tree Farm–2012 blueberries take 2

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick No Responses »

Jul 122012

Yep, after our visit to Wintergreen Tree Farm on Tuesday, Sally and I headed back to Mantua today. Once we checked in, we headed to almost the last row of bushes. Then, we headed to the back of the row. At times, it was hard to get through the aisle. I knew if we kept going, the picking was going to be great. The berries did not let us down. Even though Sally can walk on her own, I don’t know if I can go blueberry picking without a stroller. It’s nice to have a place for all of our stuff.

Sally has been really enjoying my attention since Nick’s been at camp this week. I kept catching her eating blueberries out of the big bucket. My response was usually for her to pick her own if she was hungry.

Back at the shed, Hannah checked us out. We picked almost 9 pounds! I didn’t get a photo of our crop, but our buckets was just a couple of inches from the top. Again, I put them in containers and they went straight to our freezer.

I talk to Hannah about the crop. She guesses that there’s about 2 weeks of picking left. I’m hoping to take my niece and nephew when they come to town. It’s going to be tight. My niece really wants to go blueberry picking.

Sally posed with Hannah. It was a great day for picking!

U-Pick Tour–Wintergreen Tree Farm, Mantua Ohio–2012 blueberries

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick 1 Response »

Jul 112012

It’s blueberry time! Blueberry picking is one of my favorite u-pick crops. It’s not as easy to fill a pail like apples or peaches, but it’s so rewarding.

We really like Wintergreen Tree Farm for blueberries. Here’s a photo of one of the rows that we picked in yesterday. The bushes are tall enough that you aren’t even in full sun.

Since Nick is enjoying camp this week, Sally and I headed out to the farm. I wasn’t sure how it would be to have a toddler to entertain while I picked. She did great. It took her about 2 seconds to pick and eat a blueberry. I love the guilty look on her face. There’s a reason she’s in a purple shirt.

The bushes were loaded with blueberries. Picking was especially good yesterday. It was even better if you took time to walk to the back of the row and pick. It’s hard to walk by ripe berries, but it’s usually worth waiting for the superb picking. I generally will walk to the end of the row and then work my way back to the front. I start out meticulously picking and then as the little ones get tired, I do some picking, walking, picking, walking routine until we get back to the parking area.

Even though Sally can definitely walk, we took the stroller. I had planned to use it for gear and berries, but she actually sat in it off and on. It worked out just fine. Last year, the kids and I fell in love with Julie. She’s moved on from working at this farm and Hannah has taken over. She was nice enough to let me take a photo of her. She’s worked chestnuts and Christmas Trees here before, so she’s not new to the farm.

This is a photo of the little shed where you start and end picking. There’s a port-a-jon and two picnic tables. They also sell cold drinks at the shed. I ended up picking just over 7 pounds of berries. $11.50 was our total.

I put the berries into these containers, delivered one to a friend, one to the fridge and the rest to our freezer. Some people lay berries out on a cookie sheet to freeze first, but as long as the berries are dry, I just freeze them in the containers. If I start running out of containers, I’ll sometimes pour them into resealable plastic bags once they are frozen. That way, they don’t get squashed.

The photo on the right is to show the great color on the berries. We’re hoping to go picking a few more times this season. I haven’t decided if we’ll try any other farms this year.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 6

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Jul 102012

Today, we had pick up number 6 for our Geauga Family Farms CSA. The Whole Food pick up has been different this year. There’s not one person from Whole Foods manning the pick up. It’s more of a self serve in the back room and stop at the desk to check off your name. It’s fine in the back room, the kids and I miss seeing Andrew.

Here’s what we received this week:

cherry tomatoes, blueberries

tomato, squash (yellow squash and zucchini)

cucumber, onion

lettuce, cauliflower

green beans, basil

Stephen and Nick will probably eat all of the cherry tomatoes tomorrow. I’m glad that’s one item that I never have to worry about. We are also going to get some out of our garden this year. We’re psyched about that. The blueberries made me smile. I picked 7 pounds of blueberries today, so this container doesn’t seem like much to me. I froze most of what I picked already. These will be used on cereal at breakfast or snacks tomorrow. Nick is in camp this week and has to pack a snack and lunch. I’ve been trying to give him as many good local items as possible.

I’m going to try squash chips with the squash this week. I’ve read a few recipes on line and will create my own version of them. I hope that I can get enough moisture out of them to make them crunchy. The tomato and lettuce will go in salads. The cucumber will be chopped up for snacks.

We have quite a bit of onion at the moment. I’ll try to make fajitas this week. We still have pepper strips frozen that need used up anyway. I’m in the mood for homemade whole wheat tortillas so that will work out well.

We’ll have the cauliflower as a side dish one day this week. We had the beans with dinner tonight. They were absolutely delicious and there’s just enough left to put a few in Stephen’s lunch tomorrow.

The basil looks a bit tired, but I’m sure it will be tasty. I’m going to make a vinaigrette dressing with it.

I haven’t really tried many actual recipes lately. I’m planning to carve out some more time for cooking in the next couple of weeks. I feel like I’m still adjusting from being away on vacation. I’m already looking forward to next week’s share.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 5

CSA 1 Response »

Jul 032012

Today was the 5th pickup for the Geauga Family Farms CSA. I feel so out of the loop after being on vacation for 2 weeks. We got back Sunday night, but I still am in that not quite back to reality phase. The Whole Foods pickup has been different every week. I hope we get some consistency soon. I really miss Andrew manning the table.

Here’s what we received this week:

I think it’s a pretty easy identification week, but just in case I’ll list them.

zucchini, cucumbers

sugar snap peas, candy onion

small head of cauliflower, blueberries

tomato, kohlrabi

lettuce, cabbage

I was quite excited to pick up our share today. We picked up a few things at the store yesterday since our fridge was bare from being gone 2 weeks, but for the most part, we were still lacking in produce.

The last couple zucchini were shredded and put in the freezer. I’m going to make squash fritters tomorrow so these don’t fall victim to the freezer later in the week. The cucumber, tomato and lettuce will go into salad with tomorrow’s grilling. I’ll probably have Stephen grill the kohlrabi, too. The kids will snack on the peas. The blueberries will go on cereal for breakfast. I now have two head of cauliflower since I bought one yesterday. One head will just be steamed and served plain. I’m thinking of making a au gratin dish with the other.

I have a cole slaw recipe that I love that involves cabbage, apple, pineapple juice, onion, raisins, blue cheese and a simple dressing. I’m going to look for it since I don’t think I could quite make it from memory. It’s a great summer dish and I think I have all of the ingredients on hand. Once I find the recipe, I’ll try to get my version in a post soon. We’re sure to see cabbage again.

My goal is to use 100% of this share up before I pick up our other one on Friday.

Fresh Fork CSA–week 10 and 11

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Aug 112011

Last week, we took a vacation from our Fresh Fork CSA. There is a generous vacation plan. In a nutshell, you can miss up to 4 weeks as long as you give advance notice. When you return, you can double up a week or place a la carte orders for the dollar value.

Here’s what we would have received last week:

Small CSA:

1 lb mild Italian sausage, ground
8 oz grassfed Gouda cheese from Mayfield Road Creamery
1 bunch of leeks
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Approx a quart of hot hungarian peppers (6-8)
2 Patty Pan Squash
1.5 lbs slicing tomatoes
1 pint blueberries
1.5 lb peaches

In my opinion, it wasn’t a bad week to miss. We love the sausage and cheese, but can easily get that on a special order or buy it from the back of the truck. This time of year, we get tons of tomatoes, and our freezer is well stocked with blueberries. I picked up some local peaches at Whole Foods over the weekend. I have a hard time using hot peppers. I’ve successfully used leeks before, but I’m fine without them. I really liked the Patty Pan squash a couple of weeks ago. It made the best veggie lasagna.

Now for this week:

Small CSA:

1 4-oz. package goat chevre cheese from Lucky Penny Farm
1 watermelon or 1 pint of blackberries
6 ears corn
1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes (multi-color)
2 ct. zucchini (dark green, light green, or golden…we have a good mix this week)
2 ct. yellow summer squash
Approx. 1.5 lbs red slicing tomatoes
Quarter-lb. basil
2 green bell peppers
1 large black opal eggplant
1 large candy onion

Here’s a group shot:

We bought 3 watermelons on sale this past Sunday. We also got a watermelon on Tuesday in our CSA pick up. We’ve eaten almost 2 watermelons so far. We may end up freezing some for a watermelon frosty or two.

I think I’m going to use the tomatoes (along with the ones from Tuesday) and make some sauce to use in some eggplant/squash lasagna. I think we have everything we need except cottage cheese.

I love the color on the golden zucchini. I’m not sure I’ve ever had this variety. I’m excited to try it.

I saw a recipe for corn fritters this week. I think I’m going to combine that idea with my squash fritter recipe for a new fritter this week.

I’m sure the Cheve cheese will be tasty. We enjoyed the corn for dinner.

Usually, I end up freezing herbs like basil. But, this week I wished I had some fresh more than once. I currently have it in water on our kitchen table and I’m hoping it lasts for Peach Vinaigrette salad dressing and Lemon Basil Egg Salad. I’m hoping to make both this week.

Due to more company next week, we have week 12 as a vacation day. Then, I need to figure out the best way to spend our credits. They are worth the full value for 4 weeks.

Meanwhile, our fridge is well stocked and we have plenty of watermelon!

U-Pick Wintergreen Tree Farm–Mantua (take 4)–more blueberries!

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick No Responses »

Jul 272011

Yesterday, we returned to Wintergreen Tree Farm for the 4th and probably final time for blueberries this season. Even though my freezers are bursting with blueberries, I can’t seem to get enough of them.

We ended up staying there for 3 hours. This was the longest that the kids had lasted for picking anything all year.

They started out playing on the blanket (after eating a few blueberries).

After they got bored with the blanket, they walked around, picked a few berries and hung out. For a few minutes, I thought I was going to get tired before them. I knew I had picked a lot of berries when I needed to use one of their buckets for the rest of the berries. The picking was pretty good, but a good picking day is a mix of weather, farm, cost, drive, amount of fruit available, temperament of the kids, etc. Yesterday was definitely one of the best days yet!

Back at the shed, we talked to Julie for a few minutes. Sometimes, she balances these wooden sticks while she is working at the shed. She let Nick and Sally play with them. I was glad they didn’t hit each other, but we had a couple of close calls.

Julie took a picture of us together. It’s nice to remember to get group photos.

We ended up with 12.6 pounds of blueberries for $18.95 ($1.50 per pound). It was the most we had picked in one day all season. We’ve had blueberries, blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, and blueberry oatmeal. I’m glad that we’ll have some in the freezer to enjoy for a few months.

Blueberry season is winding down. We ended up picking 7 times at 4 different farms. We kept going back to Wintergreen and are already excited to see what chestnuts are all about later in the year. Meanwhile, blackberries are next and should be ready for picking next week.

U-Pick Tour–Secor Nursery, Perry Ohio–raspberries

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick No Responses »

Jul 222011

Yesterday, we returned to Secor Nursery to pick blueberries. We first visited Secor back on June 21st to pick strawberries. Now that we are getting more familiar with farms and their locations, I have realized that there are at least 3 U-pick farms within 5 miles of each other in the Perry area.

Nick, Sally and I had made plans to meet up with our new friends Paula and her daughter. They are also in the Fresh Fork CSA and I met Paula through my CSA blogging. I quickly figured out that we had a lot in common (couponer, 3 year old and CSA) and we decided to meet up for picking.

Here’s a photo of me with all 3 kids. It was a really hot day, but the sky was extremely blue.

When we arrived about 8:15 AM, we found out that U-pick was closed for blueberries. I know we should always call ahead, but I was surprised that they were closed to allow for more ripening so soon after opening this week. We like to get to the farms when they open, so I should get in the habit of calling the day before the check on crops. They were going to let us pick anyway, but we opted for raspberries.

We got lost trying to find the raspberries and called the market from the field. I’m pretty good with directions, but had no idea where east was from where we were standing. One of the farmers came out in a truck and pointed us in the right direction.

I had never picked raspberries before. They have prickles, but it wasn’t too bad. They are pretty easy to pick, but they are also highly perishable and pretty expensive. Some we just ate plain and the rest I put in the freezer for ice cream, raspberry lemonade or other treats later. When later season berries come into season, we’ll probably splurge and pick for jam.

I ended up spending $8.52 on these raspberries. They were $3.89 per pound, so I ended up with 2.19 pounds. I was debating cucumbers from the market and Paula was buying some, so we split a basket of them. I think they were seconds and 10 were $2. Paula gave me half and told me my money wasn’t any good with her. Thanks Paula!

It was a great, hot outing with new friends and I have a feeling we’ll be meeting up with them again soon.

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