Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 10

CSA No Responses »
Aug 102012
 

We picked up our bag at Mayfield this week.  It was the heaviest bag ever.  I had to split it into two bags to carry it to the car.

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

  • 1 dz. eggs
  • 1 piece gouda cheese
  • A handful of hot Hungarian peppers
  • Approx. 2 to 3 green peppers, depending on size
  • 1 head cabbage (most will be green)
  • Either 1 pint mixed color cherry tomatoes or about 1.5 lbs. heirloom tomatoes
  • 1 lb. green filet beans
  • 2 ct. cucumbers
  • 1 pint blackberries or approx. 1.5 lbs. peaches
  • 1.5 lbs. spelt berries
  • 1 bunch beets
  • 1 lb. chorizo
  • 1 head broccoli
  • 2 ct. patty pan squash
  • 6 ears sweet corn

I’m going to be preserving peppers and squash tonight.  We have enough of both to can or freeze.  I’m also going to make a small batch of pickles with my cucumbers since I have a few.

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We ate the sweet corn for dinner.  This is one of the weeks when dinner was determined bulkiness.

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We’ll be having beans with lunch tomorrow.  I’m not sure about the tomatoes, but they might just get pureed and frozen for later.

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The cheese will keep a few days.  The peaches won’t be ready to eat for a couple of days, but will go great in our oatmeal.

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The carrots will make a side dish for dinner tomorrow.  These peppers are hot and that is my least favorite Fresh Fork item.  I’ll probably just freeze them for chili this winter.

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We have an abundance of eggs and I’m going to make some custard tomorrow.  I’m also going to hard boil some to have for snacks.  The chorizo was partially thawed, so it will become part of lunch tomorrow.

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The spelt berries are in the pantry.  The beets will get used tomorrow.  I’ll probably make Harvard beets again.  It’s a household favorite.

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The cauliflower was dinner.  I made it “mac and cheese” style.  I used the cauliflower (received instead of broccoli) as the pasta and made a white cheese sauce that used Mayfield Road creamery Smoked Gouda.  It was delicious.  I don’t have plans for the cabbage yet.

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I’m leaving town on Sunday and will be back late on Wednesday.  I should have taken a vacation week with Fresh Fork, but I wasn’t really thinking.  I’m going to prepare and preserve as much as possible before I leave.  My goal is for Stephen to have food for while the kids and I are gone, but not be overwhelmed when he tries to find something in the fridge.  I did sign up for vacation next week.  That will give me a few days of recovery when I get back.  Our freezer is pretty full right now.  I just need a couple of days to make some jam and get a bit organized.  I’m hoping to make time for that next weekend.

Fresh Fork Winter CSA–week 9

CSA No Responses »
Feb 162012
 

We had a productive day today.  The kids and I went to story time at the library, cleaned two bathrooms, did the dishes, did 2 loads of laundry, went to the gas station, the post office and two stores.  All of this occurred before lunch!  After nap time, we took Nick to his swim lesson and then picked up our Fresh Fork CSA (where I put the cold items in a cooler with ice) before returning to the J so I could take a class.  Whew!  No wonder I’m tired.

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

  • 1 whole pasture raised chicken
  • 1 pint frozen raspberries
  • 1 quart farmstead yogurt
  • 1 8-oz. piece gouda cheese
  • 1 1lb bag of granola, either Krispy treat or spelt granola (vegan)
  • 3 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
  • 1 bag mixed salad greens
  • 1 quarter peck gold rush apples
  • 1 package tofu

Here’s a group shot:

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The chicken is in the freezer.   I had just cooked our last chicken this week and we still have stock in the fridge.  We’ll probably cook it soon since it takes up quite a bit of room.  The greens look really good this week, so some more salad will be in the mix.

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I am always glad to see yogurt.  We’ve been buying this brand at Heinen’s whenever there isn’t any on the truck.  I love that my kids eat plain yogurt with a bit of homemade honey sweetened jam.  We’ll use the apples in our oatmeal for breakfasts.  We were down to our last one today.

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My kids were happily surprised to see “more raspberries”.  We haven’t been getting them in our CSA, but we have been eating frozen ones from our summer picking for the past few days at home.  They have been very popular, so I don’t expect these to last long.  There was a problem with a truck this week, so we were given a choice of waiting until the next pick up for the Yukon gold potatoes or taking sweet potatoes.  We love sweet potatoes and already had some white potatoes at home, so we opted for the sweet potatoes.

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All of the local cheese we have received has been great.  Gouda is one of our favorites.  The tofu is a new product for the CSA.  I’ve poled several people and everyone describes it differently.  The best description that I have heard so far is that it’s really firm, but crumbly.  I plan to freeze it and make tofu sausage crumble with it.  I also heard that I need to freeze it for two weeks.  So, that’s what I’m going to try.

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The granola is one of my favorites.  I bought an extra bag for $5 because it’s so good.

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All in all, we have another great batch of local goods to work with.  I’m going to do some meal planning in the next day or two so we can use our pantry staples and new products for some tasty dishes.

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!