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Fresh Fork Market 2012–Summer CSA–week 22

Nov 012012

Because of Sandy, our Trick or Treat was moved to tomorrow, so we decided to pick up our share today. I didn’t want to be in a rush to put it away, have dinner and have the kids ready. This is our last pick up for the summer season and also the coldest/wettest pick up. I planned a nice butternut squash soup for dinner from the freezer today. It’s a great day for soup.

Here’s a group shot of today’s pickup:

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

1 bunch carrots with tops
1 head jumbo white stem bok choy
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
1 head broccoli
1 butternut squash
2# turnips
1 bag salad mix, lettuce
2# bag of sauerkraut
1 quarter peck Empire apples
2 frozen pizza dough balls
1 package goat feta cheese
Baby Peppers (came in last week’s package)

The carrots will make a nice simple side dish. Everyone likes them in our house, so these won’t last long. The pork and beef is intended for meatloaf. Maybe Stephen will make his famous meatloaf this weekend. That would be delicious.

I’ve started looking at lamb recipes and found a Lamb and Feta Stuffed Cabbage recipe. I think the feta will go into that recipe soon.

We were almost out of apples again. Those will go into oatmeal. I can’t get enough winter squash. I’ll be roasting this along with pie pumpkins that I picked up today. Uses are endless.

For the first time, we received fresh sauerkraut. I’m excited to try it, but I am also glad that it will keep a while in the fridge, so there’s no hurry. This broccoli looks outstanding.

We’ll have it as a side along with pizza for dinner tomorrow. With Trick or Treat, we’ll need an easy to clean up meal. The lettuce will go into salads tomorrow or Saturday.

I’m not sure about the bok choy, but I am thinking a stir fry like we made with the Napa cabbage last week.

I don’t have any current plans for the turnips, but I am glad they will last a while. Maybe we’ll make soup later in the week.

I’ve enjoyed trying out the large package this year. I’d never go back to the small. I love the bag size for us. It worked really well. I’m not interested in the full access package. I like getting the variety in the large and then supplementing with extras as needed.

Hot Butternut Squash Custard Drink

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Oct 282012

It’s a chilly, rainy night here. According to the forecasters, we are in for a wet week since hurricane Sandy is 500 miles across and north east Ohio is in that zone. Stephen went out to run an errand, and I thought it was the perfect time to try this recipe.

I adapted it from Heavenly Homemakers.

Hot Butternut Squash Custard Drink

3 cups Snowville Creamery whole milk
4 egg yolks, preferably from local eggs
1/3 cup real maple syrup, local
1 cup pureed roasted butternut squash
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
generous 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon double strength vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, egg yolks, maple syrup, squash, arrowroot powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture begins to thicken.

Remove from heat and add vanilla. Whisk until combined. Pour into mugs and serve warm. Serves 4.

We have turned into milk snobs. We love Snowville Creamery milk. It’s just good. I’m sure you could make this with any milk you’d like. You’ll want whole milk (or a mix of other milk and cream). I planned ahead and made pancakes with egg whites yesterday. I saved the yolks for this recipe. That was a good plan. Alternatively, I would use the egg whites left over in French toast or a yolkless omelet the next day. I buy a gallon of local maple syrup each season. I supplement with more if needed depending on our usage that year.

A week or two ago, I roasted 9 butternut squash in the oven and froze the puree in 2 cup portions. I used 1 cup in the pancakes yesterday and saved the rest for this recipe. We did have a few spots in the finished drink where the squash wasn’t 100% smooth. I’d probably figure out a way to double check it next time. I’m thinking that I could blend it in the Vitamix or food processor a little longer to ensure smoothness. I’m sure the pumpkin version is tasty as well, but we happen to have lots of butternut squash on hand.

I bought arrowroot powder at Penzeys a while back, so I had it on hand. Cornstarch should work as well, but I didn’t try it with that.

We grate our nutmeg as needed, so I always approximate the measurement on the high side. We generally like the dishes that we make with extra cinnamon, vanilla (hence the double strength) and generous nutmeg.

I liked that it wasn’t heavy and was sweet without being “sickening sweet”. It was a nice treat. I wouldn’t make it everyday, mostly because of the “whisking constantly” step, which took a while. Stephen and I enjoyed a couch date this evening as we enjoyed the drinks.. We resisted the second serving and put some in the fridge. I’ll be anxious to see how it reheats tomorrow.

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 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.

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.

Geauga Family Farms–Winter CSA week 5

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Dec 102011

The kids and Stephen went up to St. Noel’s today to pick up week 5 of our Geauga Family Farms CSA. Next week is the last pickup for the winter share. Today’s pickup was particularly great.

Here’s a group shot of what we received:

Let’s take a closer look:

Butternut squash, sweet potatoes

Eggs (Yeah!), garlic

Broccoli, carrots

Red cabbage, beets

Two kinds of lettuce

Wheat bread

We have quite a few squash right now. I will be baking most of them tomorrow and making squash puree for the freezer. We also have quite a few sweet potatoes. The kids really like the baked sweet potato slices, so we’ll be making them again soon.

Eggs we use in everyday cooking and they are always welcome. We have quite a bit of garlic frozen, but this is our only fresh piece. I’ll be putting it in chili this week.

The broccoli and carrots both went into Shepherd’s pie tonight. It was delicious. I used local butter, potatoes, ground beef, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

I don’t have any immediate plans for the cabbage, but something will come to me soon. The beets will be combined with some others in the fridge for Harvard beets.

We had some of the lettuce in salad today and will probably use the rest in a day or two. The wheat bread is almost 1/2 gone. It made nice peanut butter and apple butter toast for snacks today.

I’ll be sad to see this CSA end next week.

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 4

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Dec 032011

Today was the 4th pick up for the winter Geauga Family Farms CSA. Stephen took the kids for the pick up while I made a quick Kohl’s trip. We met up back at home where I quickly photographed before we headed to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Ironically, I had a class about sustainable eating and supporting the local food movement!

Here’s a group shot of what we received:

Let’s take a closer look:

Leaf lettuce, apples

Loaf of pumpkin bread, potatoes

Butternut squash, red leaf lettuce

Bok choy, collard greens

Beets

Aside for some mandarin oranges from yesterday’s Whole Food sale, a few potatoes and a couple of onions, we were out of everything fresh. So, today’s pick up was welcome in our fridge.

Both of the lettuces will go into salad. I’m thinking of using some leftover chorizo and beans and making some type of Mexican inspired salad. The apples will go into oatmeal. When we have apples available, we use them in our oatmeal. The rest of the time we use frozen or home-canned fruit.

Half of the pumpkin bread is already gone. It’s extremely good. We’ll have the potatoes as part of dinner one night this week. Since butternut squash is one that can be peeled, I’ll probably roast it in chunks with cinnamon, pepper and olive oil.

I’ve been making Asian bok choy for Stephen with garlic and sesame oil. He seems to like it and it gives him an Asian dish. Sesame is not really my thing.

I haven’t decided on a collards dish yet. We’ve tried several. It’s still hit or miss on whether we like the end product. Clearly, I need a consistent go to recipe for them.

We haven’t made Harvard beets lately, so I’ll be making them this week.

Originally, we were supposed to get eggs each week. They have new chickens and the production has not been as anticipated. I was surprised that we didn’t get them this week since we didn’t have a pick up last week. But, I have more than a dozen left from our other CSA, so we aren’t out yet.

We also placed an add on order for a half gallon of local maple syrup ($25). I’ve been reading up on making maple coated pecans and some eggnog type of beverages that used maple instead of sugar, so I thought we should stock up. It’s hard to believe that new maple syrup will be available in less than 4 months.

It’s nice to be stocked back up on fresh items. It’s hard to believe that there is only 2 weeks left of this short winter CSA.

Fresh Fork CSA–week 22–The Final 2011 Summer Week

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Oct 282011

Yesterday, we picked up week 22 of the summer Fresh Fork CSA. It was the last pick up. I’m glad that the winter CSA starts next week. We received a few higher dollar items, so we didn’t have as many different things. That was fine with me.

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

Small CSA:

1 pack of Berkshire pork chops, center cut and boneless. Approx. 1 to 1.25 lbs.
1 quart farmstead yogurt
8 oz. aged cheddar cheese, pepper Havarti ,or Havarti cheese
1 head Napa cabbage
1 quarter peck Jonagold apples
1 bag of mixed salad/braising greens
2 count butternut squash

Here’s a group shot:

The Berkshire pork chops are one of our favorite items from Fresh Fork. We’ll bake them in the oven with spices and apples for a yummy dinner.

I’ve only had Napa cabbage one other time. I’m not sure what fate it will have. Spaghetti squash was substituted for the butternut squash. I was hoping for butternut. We like spaghetti squash ok, but it’s not our favorite and it’s less versatile.

The mixed green will probably go into salad. If not, we can sauté them. We were out of yogurt and there wasn’t any on the truck last week, so we were happy to see it expected this week.

Cheese is always a bit hit in our house. This is aged cheddar and we can’t wait to try it.

We picked up an extra yogurt ($5) and a bag of honey puffed spelt ($3) while we were there.

I’m excited to have a slower week in terms of items that have to be used right away. I’m recovering from a badly bruised knee and a little less kitchen time will be a good thing for a few days.

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