Geauga Family Farms CSA–week 18

CSA No Responses »
Oct 112011
 

Today, we picked up week 18 of our Geauga Family Farms CSA.  That means there are 2 weeks left.  Everyone is a bit off since the season started late due to all of the early rain.  Andrew was back and seemed surprised that everyone missed him.

Here’s a group shot of what we received today.

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Garlic, tomatoes

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Apples, green beans

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Turnips (mostly greens), lettuce

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Broccoli, green pepper

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Parsley, butternut squash

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Sweet potatoes

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This will be a very easy week for us to use up our items.  My husband like tabouli, so we will be making a batch of that using mint from our garden along with the parsley and tomatoes from today’s pick up.

The sweet potatoes will combine with a couple we have left from previous weeks for a batch of baked sweet potato slices.  We like to peel and slice the potato, drizzle with olive oil and use Ozark seasoning and cinnamon.  Nick and Sally like to eat them with ketchup.

We already ate the broccoli for dinner tonight.  The green beans will be an easy side dish for lunch tomorrow or dinner on Thursday.  I plan to make soup with the turnips and greens along with some potatoes and kohlrabi that we already have on hand.  We’ve accumulated some garlic lately and I think I’m going to chop and freeze it.  The apples have been going great in my oatmeal.

I haven’t decided on a specific dish for the butternut squash.  But it’s second only to acorn in my book, so we’ll have no problem eating it.

I love this time of year.  The hearty dishes make for excellent comfort food.

Fresh Fork CSA–week 19

CSA No Responses »
Oct 062011
 

Today, we picked up week 19 of our Fresh Fork CSA.  It was our worst pickup of the season.  Nick, Sally and I had spent a good chunk of the day in Akron.  Both kids feel asleep on our way from Akron to Beachwood High School.  Sally woke up about 15 minutes from the pick up and would not stop crying.  Nick was fast asleep even through the crying and was still sleeping when we arrived at the school.  He would have been very upset if he couldn’t say Hi to Mr. Robert at the truck, so I woke him up.  (Last time I didn’t wake him up for something, he cried for 2 hours).  He was fine when I first woke him up, but then he started crying.  Sally cried the whole time we were there too.  Robert brought out bag over to the car to help us out, but I still took the time to get the kids out because they wanted to say hi and I wanted to buy extras with our vacation credits.  We ended up cutting out losses at one bag of corn chips for $3.50 and decided to settle up next week.

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Here’s the list of what we were expecting:

Small CSA:

  • 1 half gallon apple cider
  • 1/2 lb. leaf spinach
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard
  • 1 bunch leeks
  • 1 head broccoli
  • 4 oz. piece brie
  • 1 head kohlrabi
  • 2 ct. winter squash
  • Quarter peck pears (4-5 depending on size)

Here’s a group shot:

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I love winter squash.  Spaghetti squash is not my favorite, but we’ll cook it and eat it with pasta sauce this week.  My husband already opened the cider.  I’m sure it will disappear easily.

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This is the biggest kohlrabi that I ever saw.  The leaves are edible and in great shape, so I’ll probably make a au gratin dish with it.  The broccoli looks tasty and will make an easy side dish in the next day or two.

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My friend Chaya mentioned honey mustard roasted leeks.  We didn’t get very many, but I still might try fixing them roasted style.  We have Swiss chard from both CSAs this week, so I’ll cook it together with some sausage for a meal this weekend.

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I’m still working through the 2 bushels of pears that I picked up this week.  This won’t be ready to eat for a few days and I’m ok with that.  We’ll enjoy them early next week.  The spinach and brie cheese will go into a tasty pasta dish.

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Dare I say that I think I’m starting to get the hang of these CSAs.  It’s a good thing because I just signed us up for both winter ones.

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 10

CSA No Responses »
Aug 162011
 

Today was the 10th pick up for the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  This week’s share was similar to last week’s share.

Here’s what we received:

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Let’s take a closer look.

Cherry tomatoes, carrots

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Lettuce and more lettuce

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Watermelon, cantaloupe

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Green bell peppers, broccli

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Yellow squash, eggplant

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Cucumber, zucchini (yes it looks funny, but it is a variety of zucchini)

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HOT peppers, slicing tomatoes

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Peaches, green beans

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We got 3 different types of fruit.  That is pretty odd for our CSA, but we love fruit.  Most of the items this week will be easy to use.  The fruit will disappear in a couple of days.

One pepper and the cucumber will go into salad along with the lettuce.  We ate the broccoli for dinner tonight.  The beans will make a great side dish to our meal tomorrow.  Carrots, eggplant and squash feel like staples in our house, so we’ll be making a quiche or lasagna to use them up soon.

Then, there are the hot peppers.  If there is one item that I wish we didn’t get, it would be the hot peppers.  I just haven’t found a good use for them yet.  But, I am determined.  I’ll keep you all posted!

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.

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