Next week will be our last pick up.  The summer season has flown by.

Here’s what we received today:

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apples, butternut squash

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huge kohlrabi, garlic

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bell peppers, broccoli

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lettuce

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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.

 

Our CSA pick up was smooth today.

Here’s what we received:

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Red Russian kale, romaine lettuce

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Garlic, bell peppers

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Apples, butternut squash

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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.

 

The customer service booth was gone today when we arrived at Whole Foods.  I guess that aren’t quite done with the remodel.  Our sign out sheet for the CSA was easy to find, so the pick up was smooth.

Here’s what we received today:

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Eggplant, green beans

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Leaf lettuce, tomato

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Bell peppers, PIE PUMPKIN!!!

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Apples, basil

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I’m going to roast the eggplant as a side dish.  I’ll do it when I cook the pie pumpkin.  We ate the green beans for dinner tonight.  I’ll be using the bell peppers in fajitas tomorrow night.  Some of the basil will go into salad dressing and the rest I’m going to puree with olive oil and freeze.

The lettuce will make great salads.  We were almost out.  I picked tomatoes at the garden today and this one will get combined with those for the freezer.

Between the apples and pie pumpkin – I’m in heaven this week.

 

Two crabby kids and I picked up our CSA today.  Nick just started preschool and has a shortened schedule for the first few days.  Nick’s so excited that he’s exhausted and Sally didn’t have a nap.  It was a rough day.  Surprising, our pick up was smooth, but I knew better than to shop for anything at Whole Foods today.

Here’s what we received:

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apples, green beans

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bell peppers, onions

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cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes

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yellow squash, bok choy

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leaf lettuce

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I’m so happy to see apples.  We love apples in our house and I’ve been waiting for them to start showing up.  Most of the local PYO is sparse this year.  We’ll be enjoying them in oatmeal this week.  The green beans will be a side dish for a meal tomorrow or Thursday.

I’m done with tomatoes, peppers and onions.  We planted a community garden this year and our tomatoes are out of control – and I don’t like tomatoes.  Actually, we’re ok on peppers since I didn’t pick them this year.  We’ll be chopping and freezing them along with the onions.  I love having local ones available throughout the winter.  I’m mostly just freezing tomatoes right now.  We have tons of sauce and I’m not sure what we’ll need next.  I did make some great enchilada sauce this week.  I don’t think I’ll ever buy store bought again.

One lonely squash will just get eaten in a stir fry with the bok choy and maybe some garlic and onion.  Bok choy isn’t my favorite, but luckily Stephen likes the Asian flavors.

We’ll use the lettuce in salad.  We might even have BLTs this week with some local bacon.  I think everyone would like them as long as we hold the T for Sally and I.

I’m hoping for fewer tomatoes next week.

 

We picked up on share in the rain today.  It was pouring as we went into Whole Foods.  Luckily, it had calmed down a bit when we were leaving.  The store was in much better shape than last week, but they still have some work to be done.  I picked up some blue cheese, grass fed beef and sandwich buns.  I wasn’t sure what we’d have with the burgers until we picked up our share.

Here’s what we received:

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sweet snacking peppers, lettuce

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corn, green beans

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zucchini, bell peppers

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cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes

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eggplant

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So, we ended up having the corn and green beans with dinner.  They were easy to fix and are bulky in the fridge.

I’ll be making chili this week.  The peppers and slicing tomatoes will go into it.  The lettuce and snacking peppers will make a nice salad.  My husband and son will eat the cherry tomatoes. I have a recipe for pancakes that uses zucchini, so I’m going try it out with the squash.

It really comes down to the eggplant.  Last time I had eggplant, I cooked it with onion, olive oil and some garlic until it was mushy and made a dip.  I intend to use it as a layer in lasagna, but that hasn’t happened yet.  It’s currently frozen in my freezer.

I’m ready for tomato season to end and I’m missing fruit.  I’m happy with our share, but I am excited for winter squash and apple seasons to begin.

 

We picked up our share at Whole Foods today.  Turns out they are in the middle of a remodel of the whole store.  It was a mess.  Usually, I can easily pick up two or three things to round out our needs, but not today.  There were several things on my list that weren’t worth hunting down.  I’m hoping that we get fruit in our bags again soon.  I know apples were hit hard this year, but I still hope we see some soon.

Here’s a shot of what we received this week:

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Mixed cherry tomatoes, onions

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Lettuce, mixed bell peppers

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Green beans, yummy orange snacking peppers

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Slicing tomatoes, patty pan squash

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Beets with lovely green tops

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With the holiday weekend approaching and Nick starting preschool soon, we are taking a trip this weekend.  So, all of our food needs to be packed, preserved or eaten.  We used two peppers, one tomato and one onion in tonight’s dinner.  I sautéed them to go with some Italian sausages that I had thawed today.  The other pepper was rotten and needed to be pitched.  I haven’t received anything bad in a while, but it happens occasionally.

I’m going to just freeze the slicing tomatoes.  The cherry tomatoes will be good snacking for Stephen and Nick.  We’ll have salad using the lettuce for the next couple of days.  The snacking peppers probably will be eaten tomorrow.  They look delicious.  The green beans will make a nice side dish for lunch tomorrow.  I have some beets in the fridge already, and I’m expecting some more tomorrow.  I suspect they’ll all be made into Harvard beets tomorrow night.  Efficiency this week is especially important.  I’ll cook the greens with some eggs for breakfast or lunch tomorrow or Thursday.  I’ll probably just shred and freeze the squash.

I’m feeling lazy in the cooking department.  Some weeks, there is just too much going on to cook lots of recipes.  Lately, dinners have been quickly thrown together without much of a plan.  I am looking forward to more of a routine in upcoming weeks and the opportunity to spend a bit more quality time in the kitchen.

 

Is local melon season really over already?  The share seemed so light this week without a tasty watermelon.  Maybe we’ll get lucky and see one more next week.  The week’s share is full of tasty looking items.

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Peppers, green beans

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Zucchini, onions

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Cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes

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Sweet corn, green pepper

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Lettuce

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I took a dehydrating class last night.  I’m hoping to try out my new skills with the peppers and slicing tomatoes.  We’ll have the corn and beans for dinner.  This lettuce will go into salads for Stephen.  It’s not my favorite variety (leathery romaine), but it won’t go to waste.  I’ll pair it with some feta and cherry tomatoes an add a bit of basil balsamic vinaigrette.  I currently have a mound of onions that need chopped and froze so these will get added to that project.  I was hoping for zucchini since I found a recipe for cornbread that uses it.  I think I’ll be making it this week.

I’m glad I get a small share early in the week.  It tends to pair well with my large share that I get on Fridays.  It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over.

 

Hi, everyone! Husband Stephen here with a guest post. Tomato season is upon us, we’re still in melon and corn season (yum!), and there’s pretty much produce everywhere this time of year. It’s great!

Here is what we received in this week’s Geauga Family Farms CSA small share.

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First up are the tomatoes, in regular size and cherry. In fact, some of these cherry tomatoes are so small that they may count as the “grape” variety.

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Next, some onions and a bell pepper. The onions are strong. I could smell them as soon as I opened the bag.

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Corn and cabbage…

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And finally, a head of lettuce and a medium watermelon.

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The forecast is for a break from this unusually cool August now that these peppers have arrived to heat things up…

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I love this time of year!

 

My day started by leaving at 6AM to take the kids to Niagara Falls.  My mom came with us and we met up with friends.  It was a great day.  My pick up for the CSA was smooth, but 2 1/2 hours later than normal.  My photos are a bit dark and I’m glad that I found a bit of time for this post tonight.

Here’s what we picked up today:

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cantaloupe, watermelon

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bell pepper, corn

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onions, banana peppers

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tomatoes, cherry tomatoes

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lettuce

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We love local melon season.  We will be cutting these melons up as soon as possible so we can enjoy them.  I also have a recipe from Jane Snow for cantaloupe gelatin that I am excited to try.  If it works out, I’ll share more about it soon.

Our green pepper, lettuce and tomatoes will go into salad.  The rest of the tomatoes will be snacks or frozen.  I found a recipe for tomato jelly that I’m going to try soon.  The onion and banana peppers will be chopped and frozen.  We’ll have the sweet corn with dinner tomorrow.

This is a pretty easy week.  It’s a good thing for us, since it’s a super busy week in our household.

 

The kids and I had a crazy busy day today.  So, when Sally was still sleeping at 4:30PM, I called Stephen and asked him to pick up our share.  I should send him more often!  He came home with 3 fruits.  We like to eat our veggies, but LOVE to eat fruit.

Here’s a shot of what we picked up today:

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onions, lettuce

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bell peppers (one in our share and one gifted from another member)

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slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes

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peaches, blackberries

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watermelon

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Since we picked 60 pounds of peaches on Sunday, I’m in clean the kitchen and canning mode.  So, this needs to be an easy CSA week.  The peppers, onions and slicing tomatoes are going to be frozen.  The blackberries will be great with breakfast tomorrow.  The lettuce will go into a salad with a cucumber from last weekend.  We’ll eat the peaches in oatmeal as they ripen.  The watermelon can get in melon line.  We have a cantaloupe cut up in the fridge, plus two other melons that we picked up over the weekend.  Since everyone in our house loves melon season, we’ll have no problem consuming it.  We made two quiches today and have some local pasta in the freezer.  We’ll be having easy to throw together meals the next few days.