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:

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

zucchini, cucumbers

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sugar snap peas, candy onion

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small head of cauliflower, blueberries

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tomato, kohlrabi

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lettuce, cabbage

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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

CSA No Responses »
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:

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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!

Fresh Fork CSA–week 9

CSA No Responses »
Jul 282011
 

Today was week number 9 for our Fresh Fork CSA.  Robert who works at the truck was back today.  He seems to be going better.  It was nice and smooth to have him in his usual position.  There was only one person ahead of us and everything was smooth at pick up.

As usual, we received our list of contents on Tuesday.  It’s nice to know what we have to work with between our CSAs by Tuesday night.

Here’s what we were expecting:

Small CSA:

  • 1 package Mild Italian Sausage links, 4 to a pack
  • 1.5 lbs apricots
  • 1.5 lbs Red Haven peaches
  • 1 dozen pasture raised chicken eggs
  • 6 ears Mira 301 Super Sweet corn
  • 1 candy onion
  • 1 head leaf lettuce
  • 1 lb green beans
  • 1 bunch kale, either Curly or Black Tuscan

Here’s a group shot:

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Apparently, the Italian sausage is really good.  I don’t think we’ve had it yet.  Always happy to see peaches.

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We still have onions to chop and freeze and the corn is already gone.

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We were almost out of lettuce, so I see a couple of salads in our future.  I don’t think I’ve ever had fresh apricots and certainly not local ones.  I’m looking forward to having one at breakfast.

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Curly kale might make for another batch of kale chips,  The last batch was ok, but I’ve read a few other variations lately and may have to experiment again this weekend.  I’m in love with local eggs and just used our last two yesterday, so these were especially nice to get.

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Everyone in our house likes green beans.

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In addition to our small, we purchased 2 packages of chicken brats.  These were $7 each.  They were amazing when we had them in our box a few weeks back.  We’re having company next weekend and I stuck these in the freezer for grilling.  We also paid for our cream cheese ($5) that we picked up 2 weeks ago.

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I’m happy that we had a week off of squash and tomatoes.  I still have some to use up from our Tuesday CSA pickup.  Next week we are “on vacation” from Fresh Fork and I hope that gives us a little extra time to regroup and make sure we are caught up in the fridge.

Fresh Fork CSA–week 8

CSA 2 Responses »
Jul 212011
 

Today was the 8th pick up for the Fresh Fork CSA.  There was a line at the truck today.  Usually, it just takes a couple of minutes to pick up our goods.  It was so hot, but the kids were troopers.  We missed Robert at the truck today.  Usually, we check in with him.  Apparently, he got hurt as they were getting ready to come to the stop.  We sure hope he’s ok and hopefully, we’ll see him next week.  It’s always much smoother with the regular crew in their spots.

Usually, we get a list of what to expect at our pick up on Tuesday.  This week it came on Wednesday.  This was due to changes that had to occur due to the storms.  I live in Mayfield Heights and we didn’t really have much in the way of rain Monday, but south of here was hit really hard.  It is devastating to farmers to have too much or too little rain.

Here’s what we were expecting today.

Small CSA:

  • 1 bunch multi-color Swiss chard
  • 1 pint maple syrup
  • 1 package boneless pork chops, approximately 1 lb. each package
  • 1 quarter peck Lodi apples (5-6 apples)
  • Approx. 1.5 lbs. cling peaches
  • 1 candy onion
  • 1 bunch mustard greens
  • 1 pound beans, either green, purple, dragon tongue, or yellow
  • 2 slicing cucumbers

Here’s what we received:

The Lodi apples look great.  They are the first apples of the season in our area.  The maple syrup leaked and created a sticky mess.

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These are the mustard greens.  I don’t think I ever had them before.

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Dragon beans – another new item for us!

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So, our list was dead on this week and our only surprise was that we didn’t get to see Mr. Robert (that’s what Nick calls the guy at the truck).  We also didn’t pay for the cream cheese yet, but I’ll get a price this week.  This is our first week without squash or tomatoes.  It’s fine by us as we enjoy the variety.

Most of these items will be easy for us to use.  I’ll probably start with the Swiss chard since we got it in both of our CSAs this week, so it’s taking up room in our fridge!  Friday and Saturday are about using up the perishables and bulk so we can be more organized the rest of the week.