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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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”.

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 8

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 1

CSA 1 Response »
Jun 082012
 

Today was the first of our 22 weekly pickups for our Fresh Fork CSA.  We decided to switch from Beachwood to Mayfield for our location this year.  Mayfield is a new site for pick up and it’s close to our house.  We were glad there was also some shade for the stop.

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This year, we upgraded from the small to the large share.   This is what we were expecting today:

Small CSA Share

  • 1 whole chicken, approx. 5 – 6 lbs.
  • 1 head kohlrabi
  • 1 bunch collard greens
  • 1 quart strawberries
  • 1 bunch red Russian kale
  • 1 bunch garlic scapes
  • 1 head green leaf lettuce
  • 1 bunch radishes
  • 1 quarter lb. bag pea tendrils

Large CSA Share Small contents above plus:

  • 2 bunches spinach
  • 1 lb. shelled peas
  • 1 head broccoli
  • 1 lb. sweet pea and black pepper linguini from Ohio City Pasta

Here’s a group shot of the items:

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Our quart of strawberries was full when Dan gave them to us.  The kids ate some in the parking lot before we left for home.  The rest of the berries will be gone by the end of the night.    We received zucchini instead of broccoli.  I’ll probably use the squash in my squash fritter recipe.  Everyone here likes them.  The squash will be fine for a few days in the fridge, so those will probably make an appearance at lunch Monday or Tuesday.

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This time of year, I use garlic scapes every chance I get.  I chop them and use them in salads, casseroles, when sautéing greens, etc..  They keep well so, I don’t have to freeze them often.  We haven’t had an Ohio City Pasta that we didn’t like.  I’m sure this sweet pea and pepper variety will be no exception.  I’ll probably make a béchamel sauce for it.  I tend to like most of the pasta with a white sauce instead of red.

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I’ll use some spinach with our pasta.  I like to wilt it just a bit in the pasta water and then serve it together.  Sometimes I also chop it and add it to the sauce first.  It will depend on my mood.  Our chicken is thawing in the fridge.  I’ll probably cook it for lunch Sunday or dinner on Monday.  Once cooked, we get a couple of meals out of it.  The rest of the weeks bag will complement our chicken nicely.  I’ll also make stock with the bones.  I love not having to buy chicken stock.

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One kohlrabi isn’t really too much.  I’m either going to fix it for myself for lunch one day or roast it with some beets and radishes if we grill a meal in the next few days.  I haven’t mastered kale yet.  We’ve had it several ways, but I don’t have a favorite way to prepare it.  I’ll probably just sauté this with garlic scapes and olive oil and serve it with a splash of lemon.

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I need to verify what type of peas these are.  If they are sugar snap, the kids will devour them quickly.  If the are snow peas, we’ll cook them for a side dish this weekend.  I’m thinking about steaming the collards and letting the leaves cool and then using them for wraps instead of tortilla.  I have some taco flavored meet and peppers left over and I think it would make a good filling.

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We’ll probably roast a few radishes, use a few in salad and maybe try the newsletter recipe that uses them.  Pea tendrils was a brand new item to me this week.  I’ve heard that they are good in salads or sautéed.  There’s aren’t really very many, so I don’t think I’m going to cook them.  I’d thinking of just using them in a salad.

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In addition to our bag, I also picked up a couple of extras.  We were out of eggs, so I picked up a dozen.  I also decided to pick up a half gallon of milk.  I’m hoping to switch to local milk 100% of the time soon.

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It’s going to be a great week in the kitchen.

Fresh Fork CSA–week 20 (double up!)

CSA No Responses »
Oct 132011
 

Today, we picked up week 20 our of Fresh Fork CSA.  Unlike last week, we had a great pick up.  Both kids were in a good mood.  The weather was great and everything was smooth.  To make up for one of our vacation weeks, we did a double up this week.  Basically, we picked up 2 small shares this week.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive this week (times two):

Small CSA:

  • 1 lb. ground veal
  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes
  • 1 large head of cabbage
  • 1 bunch collard greens
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 2 ct. bell peppers
  • 2 ct. eggplant

Here’s a group shot (of one set, you can imagine it double):

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Since we have 4 eggplant, I am planning a vegetable lasagna with mostly eggplant and whole wheat noodles.  We haven’t had much cauliflower this year.  We’ll be making a cauliflower au gratin dish that uses parmesan cheese and bread crumbs for a crumbly topping over the steamed cauliflower.

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Both heads of cabbage are huge!  We’ll be making stuffed cabbage of some sort.  Usually, I end up making unstuffed cabbage since I’m not that great of actually making the rolls.  We’ll also probably make some cabbage soup and some coleslaw.  Last week, I made collard wraps with our collards.  They turned out pretty good so maybe I’ll make them again and change up the filling.  These collards and cabbage look especially good and fresh.

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We put some bell pepper in our cabbage dish and freeze the rest.  We also have 2 packages of ground pork and veal.  I think Stephen is going to make meatloaf and the rest of the meat will go in our cabbage dish.

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We also purchased 2 of the yogurts.  We still had $1.50 to use from our week 17 vacation and we were out of yogurt, so I picked up two and paid the $8.50 balance.

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I was disappointed that we didn’t get grape tomatoes in either share.  I thought I saw some at the truck, but the weeks are starting to run together.  I’ve emailed Fresh Fork about them.

We did sign up for the winter CSA and also for a Thanksgiving share.  We’ll have plenty of good eats on the horizon after the summer season ends in two weeks.

Geauga Family Farms–week 4

CSA No Responses »
Jul 052011
 

Today was our 4th pick up for the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  As usual, our pick up items were a surprise.  I was happy that we received lettuce since we were out.  Between our two CSAs we are getting tons of lettuce and not letting it go to waste.  The bounty did not disappoint and we received two types of lettuce.

They are taking applications for partial season shares that will start in a couple of weeks.  If you are interested in getting a CSA, let me know and I can send you the application.

Here’s what we received in our family share:

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Let’s take a closer look.

One large onion with greens, bunch of radishes.

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green onions, cherry tomatoes

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tomato, yellow squash

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zucchini, rhubarb

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kohlrabi, collard greens

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2 types of lettuce

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beets, snow peas (eat whole in the pod, usually used in stir fry recipes)

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We did well with our shares last week.  I can say that I had summer squash fritters 3 times for lunch and I’ll probably be having more of them this week.  Today, before I picked up our GFF share, I only had some cabbage and cucumber left from last week’s shares.

This week, I’ll be making a tofu stir fry to use the peas along with some of the cabbage from my other share last week.  We’ll probably try roasting the kohlrabi, radishes and beets this time.  I’ll have to think about the collards.  I’m guessing I’ll probably sauté them for lunch one day.  I froze some rhubarb last week, so I’ll add this to that bag.  I think I’ll end up making a rhubarb dessert soon.  The cherry tomatoes are already half gone thanks to Stephen and Nick.

It should be a great week!