Fresh Fork CSA » Life Lyn Style

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 8

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 7

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Jul 202012

We picked up our bag in Beachwood yesterday. Some weeks, it’s just more convenient for us. I love the colors in this week’s bag.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive:

1 dozen pasture raised chicken eggs
1 piece Havarti from Mayfield Road Creamery (8 oz.)
2 ct. zucchini or squash
1 bunch carrots or 1 bunch beets (switching from last week)
1 lb. whole wheat linguini
6 ears sweet corn
1 lb green beans
1-2 bulb onions depending on size
1 lb. apricots
2 lbs. peaches
Approx. 1.5 lbs. tomatoes
1 pint mixed color cherry tomatoes
1 pint blueberries

We were missing our blueberries. I’m hoping to stop by Mayfield today and pick them up. We are a bit overstocked on eggs at the moment. My niece and nephew are coming next week and they love eggs, so I think it will all even out. I packed some of the tomatoes in Stephen’s lunch this morning. I doubt any will be left by tomorrow.

I’m actually keeping up with onions. These are the only two that we have in our fridge. I’m guessing they will just be used in regular cooking this week. I’m hoping to grill zucchini for dinner tomorrow.

These tomatoes will probably be made into tomato béchamel sauce for our pasta. It’s convenient that we received carrots this week too.

Peaches and apricots disappear around here quickly. Nick likes to do a magic trick where the apricot turns into a pit. If there are any left tomorrow, we’ll grill some with our zucchini.

Everyone in our house loves cheese, so there’s never a need to figure out a plan. The pasta will be an easy meal for lunch on Sunday with the sauce.

The beans will make a good side dish for dinner tonight, along with the corn.

I’ve also been buying yogurt and milk from the truck. Between the CSA and the extras, our fridge is packed today. It sure beats shopping at the grocery store.

Fresh Fork Winter CSA–week 10

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Mar 012012

Today was a crazy day. We ran errands before our trip the gym. Then, we had an indoor picnic before heading home. Sally napped for a short time. Nick napped for a short time after I decided that driving them around in the car was my best bet for some quiet time. Then, it was off to swimming. While Nick took his lesson, Sally and I swam. By the time we made it to pick up our CSA, I was pretty done. I was glad that they weren’t busy and we were able to do a rare drive thru pick up. Thanks to Eric and Robert for having bags all ready to go. It was great with the tired kids!

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

1 pork roast
1 half pint raspberry jalapeno jam
1/2 lb. mixed salad greens
1 pt. pickled banana peppers, hot or medium
Frozen fruit (cantaloupe or watermelon, great for smoothies)
1 head cabbage
2 lbs. turnips
1 lb. cracked black pepper linguini
quarter peck Fuji apples

Here’s a group shot:

Apples are always welcome for snacking and oatmeal. I’ll probably do the roast in a crockpot recipe this week. I’m trying to use the crock pot more so we can enjoy dinner without last minute prep and cooking. It really helps with the dishes if we only have to do the ones we used to actually eat after dinner time.

I’m at a loss with the peppers. We don’t really eat much hot food. These are supposed to be mild so maybe they will appear in some fajitas or chili soon. I’m hoping the jam is more sweet than hot and that the jalapeno adds more flavor than bite. I’ll have to let you know.

The greens are pretty standard. They aren’t really my favorite this time of year. The frozen fruit will be lucky to be in our freezer by this time tomorrow. The kids are excited about smoothies.

The Fresh Fork CSA staff has been giving us lots of ideas for the turnips. I haven’t decided which recipe to go with, but I want to use them tomorrow or Saturday. I popped the pasta in the freezer. It will make a quick meal one day this week.

I’ve been making unstuffed cabbage with much of our cabbage this winter. It’s easy and I can make it in the crockpot. I suspect that will appear on our table this week.

Even with the drive thru pickup, we still had our $3.50 ready just in case Robert had some corn chips. Everyone was hungry after swimming and these kept everyone entertained for the drive home.

I really like the variety of staple and storage items that we get to try out during the winter CSA, but I’m glad it’s March. I hope the spring weather treats the farmers well. I’m really getting in the mood for summer fresh produce.

Fresh Fork Winter CSA–week 8

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Feb 022012

Today was our week 8 pick up for our Fresh Fork CSA. We got there about 5PM and didn’t have any wait at all. It’s nice when the kids can just run around for a minute or two.

Here’s what we were expecting this week:

1 stewing chicken, approximately 2.5 lbs.
1 bag dried egg noodles
1 pint fig vinegar roasted cherry tomatoes
1 lb. egg linguini
1 lb. bacon
1 bag spinach or mixed greens
1 8-oz. piece of cheese
1 dozen eggs
2 lbs. cornmeal
1 quarter peck apples
3 lbs. sweet potatoes (please keep refrigerated)

Here’s a group shot:

We were notified early today that there wasn’t going to be spinach. The yield wasn’t as the farmer had hoped.

I was glad to see apples today. We love having them in our oatmeal. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked a stewing chicken. From reading, it sounds like it will make great stock. I have some carrots and celery in the fridge to add to it. I’ll probably also add the noodles.

We had our choice of beer or cheddar cheese. I chose beer cheese since it sounded more fun.

Our kids call the Ohio City linguini “spider web pasta”. It’s always welcome in our house in any flavor. Maybe we’ll top it with the roasted cherry tomatoes for dinner one night.

I don’t feel like we use a ton of eggs in our house, but we always seem to use them up. Baked oatmeal, muffins, pancakes, and such all use an egg or two at a time and it adds ups. I’ve been leaving the bacon frozen and cutting it across the width for smaller pieces of bacon as flavoring in dishes. It works well since I don’t need to thaw all of it at once and it last longer for us.

I’m hoping to have the sweet potato / chorizo type of hash that Stephen made for us before using the potatoes. I think we have all of the ingredients in house. Our kids eat corn muffins like they are going out of style. I also want to try some pancakes made out of corn meal soon.

We also picked up a bag of corn chips ($3.5) from the back of the truck.

All in all, this is a pretty easy week. I’m glad to have a chance to use up more from our freezer stash. We have two small freezers in the basement and one needs to be defrosted soon. I’m hoping to tackle that in the next 2-3 weeks.

Fresh Fork Winter CSA–week 1

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Nov 032011

Today was the first winter pick up for our Fresh Fork CSA. Generally, we’ll be picking up every other week, but the first few pick ups are off schedule due to the upcoming holidays.

We are still picking up at Beachwood High School on Thursdays. The pick up times are a tighter with our pick up scheduled between 4PM and 6PM. We still have the option of picking up in Cleveland Heights later if we ever get in a jam.

Thursday is our extra busy day since Nick has a swim lesson at 4:30PM. It’s conveniently just down the street from Beachwood High School, so we just picked up our CSA on our way home.

For the winter CSA, there is not an option for small, large, vegetarian or vegan. Everyone gets the same package.

Here’s what we were expecting this week:

1 Boston Butt Roast, 5-6 lbs.
1 bunch cylindra beets with tops
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 head cauliflower
2-3 green peppers
8 oz. mixed salad greens
2 bulbs hardneck garlic
2 ct. seasoned pizza dough balls
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese

Here’s a group shot:

We had our choice between a boneless or bone-in roast. We chose the bone-in. It came frozen and will become pulled pork in a couple of weeks. I saw an appetizer that used shredded pork in a wonton wrapper that I would like to try. I just need to find whole wheat wrappers or make my own.

We haven’t had Harvard beets for a few weeks. So, these will go into that dish.

I’m thinking we might be having delicious pizza this week. We got green peppers, spinach, fresh mozzarella, garlic (1 large bulb), and bread dough. The spinach was a “veggie choice” selection. Instead of the tomatoes, we got to pick between spinach, onions, potatoes or tomatoes. I love the spinach!

The mixed greens aren’t my favorite, but I know they are good for us. They’ll go well with the pizza. We haven’t had cauliflower lately and it’s a family favorite, so it will make a nice side dish over the next couple of days.

Extra are still available at the back of the truck. We picked up another yogurt ($5). I haven’t decided how much we really use in a week, but it’s more than one. Also, my banana bread recipe uses it and I feel like baking soon. This winter, I want to try making my own yogurt, but I’m not sure we’ll ever get away from buying it.

The winter CSA is a bit more low key than in the summer and we didn’t have any line when we arrived just before 5:30PM. I hope that trend continues as it starts to snow soon!

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