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.

IMG_3318IMG_3319

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

IMG_3323IMG_3322

IMG_3324IMG_3325

Dragon beans – another new item for us!

IMG_3326IMG_3328

IMG_3329

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.

 

Today was the 7th pick up for the Fresh Fork CSA.  It’s hard to believe we’re 1/3 through the season already.  As far as CSAs go, we’ve been receiving many familiar and easy to use items this year.  Here’s the list of what we were expecting today.

Small CSA:

  • 1 lb green beans
  • 1 bunch cilantro (last week we substituted green onions, this week it will be cilantro)
  • 2 ct zucchini
  • 2 ct squash
  • 1 whole pasture raised chicken
  • 1 head leaf lettuce
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • Approx 1.5 lbs cling peaches
  • Approx 1.5 lbs slicing tomatoes

Here’s what we received:

IMG_3174IMG_3170

IMG_3172IMG_3175

IMG_3179IMG_3186

IMG_3183IMG_3185

IMG_3181

There was a problem with the chicken order this week.  Apparently, they don’t fair well with thunderstorms.  One of the farms lost a bunch of them this week.  So, we had the option of a whole chicken or a roast.  We had a chicken thawing in the fridge already, so we opted for the roast.  Also, last week, we were shorted our zucchini, so we have 4 this week to make up for it.

The pint of blueberries seems really small to us.  Lately, we’ve been picking them by the quart or even gallon.  Everyone in our house loves blueberries, so these will probably make it until breakfast tomorrow before they are gone.

I read a recipe for zucchini pizza dough the other day. I’m going to try it out this weekend. I’ll write it up if it turns out well.

We picked up a container of local cream cheese while we were at the truck.  I don’t know how much it is, but I’ll let you know when I pay for it next week.  It was offered as part of the large package this week and will be for sale regularly when we pick up.  Robert wasn’t sure of the price, so we’ll settle up next week.

IMG_3178