Here’s what we received in our bag this week:

Here’s what we were expecting this week:

Winter Week 4:

• 1 smoked ham hock
• 2 lbs. black turtle beans
• 1 lb. kale
• 2 acorn squash
• 3 lbs. sweet potatoes
• Aprrox. 1 lb. onion
• 1 head broccoli (or 1 bag broccoli shoots…which are just smaller heads)
• 1 package chorizo or Italian sausage
• 1 bunch beets with tops
• 1 bag mixed salad or braising greens
• 1 stalk Brussels sprouts
• 1 quarter peck empire apples

I haven’t given much thought to how this week’s items would be used.  I’ll probabaly cut the sausage into pieces and bake it in the oven.  Although, a crock pot batch of Italian sausage with peppers and onions might be a great meal for a busy swim lesson night next week.  I’ll probably make soup with the ham hock.  I don’t feel the need to be extra creative in the kitchen since holiday time.  We haven’t even put our tree up yet.

Last time we got beans, I cooked them in the crock pot and then froze them in 1-2 cup portions.  That worked quite well and I haven’t had to buy canned black beans in ages.  We were out of apples, so these will go into oatmeal as early as tomorrow.

The sweet potatoes weren’t in the best shape, I’ll probably just make mashed potatoes with them.  Beets will go into Harvard beets.  It will be a smaller batch, but enough for one or two of us to have them for a side.

I haven’t stuffed acorn squash yet this winter.  I like to make a stuffing with squash, sausage, cheese and rice.  Yum!  The onions will get used in general cooking.

I can not get enough of the sprouts this year.  Love them!  This kale is some of the prettiest that I have seen all year.  I will probably make a quiche with it.

I never know what to do with these mixed greens.  They are bitter and tend to have lots of stems.  The broccoli on the other hand is always fabulous and will probably get cooked tomorrow.

It was nice to stock up on milk and yogurt at the truck.  Too bad I didn’t think to buy eggs.  There’s always next time!

Here’s what we were expecting this week:

Winter Week 1:

• 1 whole pasture raised chicken, approx. 5 lbs.
• 2 spaghetti squash (unless we have a few enormous ones)
• 1 half gallon apple cider
• 1 quarter peck Winesap apples
• 1 handful sweet peppers (all of them are sweet, even though some look hot)
• 1 bunch turnip greens
• 1 bunch kale
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 bunch beets with tops
• 1 stalk Brussels sprouts
• 1/2 lb. bag stir fry mix

And, it’s exactly what we received.

I was excited to see the Brussels sprouts.  I’ve been eyeing this recipe from my pal Katie.  I’m thawing my bacon for it now.  I have all of the other ingredients on hand.  We were out of eggs, so I was glad to get them in my bag this week.  I’ve made the butternut squash custard drink a couple of times now and don’t want to be out of eggs just in case I want to make it again.

These are the turnip greens.  We don’t get them too often.  My go to recipe for greens that I don’t know what to do with is quiche.  So, I’ll probably make one of them this week.  It will include some leftover chicken and turnip greens.  And, it’s another reason that I’m glad we got eggs this week (although I also have some eggs frozen that I could use).  I like cooking the whole chickens.  We had them a lot growing up, so they never intimidated me.  I like making stock and using all of the pieces.

The different colors of cauliflower have been fun.  I’ll make this as a side dish and maybe serve them mashed.  The stir fry mix will go into a stir fry.  Wasn’t that an original idea.  I may combine it with some spaghetti squash and serve it Asian style.

My family isn’t a big fan of the spaghetti squash with tomato squash.  I need to investigate some additional recipes for it.  The peppers will go into chili that I am making tomorrow.

I’ll probably just sauté the kale.  I don’t have anything specific in mind.  I’ll make Harvard beets and use the greens in some eggs this week.

Apples almost always go in oatmeal and for snacks.  These will be no exception.  I don’t like apple cider.  I may decide to try it again some day, but it always has given me a headache.  That being said, Stephen, Nick and Sally all like it so they will enjoy it this week.

So, our winter season is off and running.  Three weeks in a row and then we go to every other week until May.  I love the CSAs, but I am also looking forward to a break in the action so we can use some of our preserved food.  I also need to start cooking some of the lamb soon.

I’m starting to recognize the weather based on our bags.  It’s October and getting cooler.  We’re seeing more greens again and the start of more winterish crops like potatoes, rutabagas and cabbage.

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

• 1 head either savoy green cabbage or red cabbage (smaller heads)
• 1 bunch kale
• 1 to 2 rutabagas with tops, depending on size (some are rather large)
• 3# bag red Norland potatoes
• Approx. 1# onion
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 8 oz. piece goat gouda
• 1 lb. Spelt Flour and Rosemary Linguini
• 2# Roma tomatoes
• 1 bunch Swiss chard
• 1 package sirloin pork chops, approx. 1.5#
• 1 carving pumpkin or bag of corn chips

It’s definitely the end of tomato season.  These are the “good” side of these Romas.  I have a couple that aren’t going to be usable.  We’ll be making mashed rutabaga/potatoes or creamy soup with those ingredients.

We ate the cauliflower for dinner with the pasta.  It was tasty.  It had one bad spot so I wanted to wash, cook and eat it quickly.

I’m a little behind on cooking our cabbage.  This will be a 2 head consumption week!

I’ll chop and add the onion to the “unstuffed cabbage recipe I hope to put in the crockpot tomorrow.  The small sweet peppers were a nice surprise.  I might stuff them with the red pepper Havarti from last week and roast them in the oven.

We had a choice between pumpkins and chips.  We took the chips since we already have a pumpkin.  If I could find some mild black bean and corn salsa from Blaze, we’d be all set.  The pork will probably get baked for a meal this weekend.

I’m not sure what to use the Gouda for.  It’s probably going to be enjoyed in its own so we can taste the flavors.  I don’t think I’ve ever had goat Gouda before.  We also have more greens this week.  Swiss chard and kale.  I’m pretty sure the Swiss chard will go into the Andouille sausage/sweet potato dish similar to what we made last week.

I haven’t decided on a use for the kale yet.  We may have another quiche in the cue for this week.  That’s one of my go to dishes when I don’t know what to do with a green.

It’s hard to believe that next week is the last week for summer.  I’m glad there no break before the winter CSA starts!  I’m also starting to think about getting a turkey.  We don’t host Thanksgiving at our house, but last year I bought a package anyway since we like many of the ingredients.  It was just a bit too much food at our house all at once.  If I buy a turkey, I’d cut it up and freezer the parts and probably also make some turkey sausage.  I need to decide soon.  Turkey deliveries are three and a half weeks away.

Don’t get me wrong, I love most of the items on the list.  But, many of them are either things we’ve been getting all summer or items that are just starting to appear.  The only item that would have been new and fun would have been the mini Mira sweet corn.  Maybe I’ll get lucky and still be able to obtain some of it.

I hope everyone enjoys their share this week.  I’m hoping for lots of winter squash in the upcoming weeks.

Here’s what the large share is scheduled to receive this week:

• 1 whole pasture raised chicken
• 3 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 bunch kale or 1 pint mixed color baby sweet peppers
• 2 ct. eggplant (1 if they are really large)
• 2 ct. red bell peppers
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• 1-2 onions, depending on size
• 1 lb. dragon-tongue beans
• 2 ct. zucchini
• 6 ears mini Mira sweet corn
• 3 lbs. sweet potatoes
• 1-2 leeks
• A handful Poblano peppers

Enjoy the change from summer to winter this weekend.

It’s still tough to get a large in one photo.  This one is missing the cherry tomatoes, but they wouldn’t have fit anyway.

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

• 1 bag of oats, 1.5 lbs.
• 1 bunch red Russian kale
• Either 1 bag (approx. 1 lb.) mixed sweet and hot baby peppers or 2 ct. zucchini/squash
• 1 lb. beans
• 1 bunch French Breakfast radishes
• 1 pint blackberries or 1 cantaloupe
• 1-2 Candy onions, depending on size
• 2 green peppers
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 package (1.25 lbs.) green onion bratwursts, made from Berkshire pork
• 1 piece grass-fed Swiss cheese from Heritage Grass Farms (12 oz.)
• 2.5 lbs. San Marzano Roma tomatoes
• 1 bunch carrots with tops
• 1-2 cucumbers depending on size

I’m probably going to make some sort of kale sausage ragout from the newsletter with the leek, brats, zucchini, garlic, kale and tomatoes.  Some of these ingredients we just picked up and others I have left in my fridge.  I have some beans ready to go in the freezer and will pull them out tonight.

Carrots and beans will make good side dishes to go with our brats.  I’ll probably pickle the radishes.

I’m going to chop and freeze some peppers and dehydrate some of the others.  The plums were a nice surprise, I’m sure they’ll disappear quickly.

The cherry tomatoes will be weekend snacking for Stephen and Nick.

I will probably use the cheese with a quiche.  I have some eggs to use soon.  We eat oats everyday for breakfast, so these will disappear quickly.

I’ll probably make a few more pickles with the cucumbers since we are short on lettuce.

The photo doesn’t do the cantaloupe justice.  It’s the size of a watermelon!

All in all, it’s another great week with Fresh Fork.  We love not going to the grocery store much.  Our list for our last trip to Heinen’s was yellow bananas, buns for brats and a cookie treat for the kids.  I can’t wait to see what’s in the bag next week!

Here’s what we were expecting this week:

• 1 whole cantaloupe
• Either 1 pint mixed color cherry tomatoes or approx. 1.5 lbs. heirloom tomatoes
• 2 ct. zucchini/squash
• 2 ct. eggplant
• 1 bulb garlic
• 1 large candy onion
• 2 oz. basil
• 1 bunch curly kale
• Approx. 1.5 lbs. slicing tomatoes
• 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (ground)
• 1 pint blackberries or approx. 1.5 lbs. peaches
• 1 small yellow watermelon
• 1 lb. yellow wax beans or green filet beans
• 1 lb. grass-fed ground beef
• 1 head lettuce
• 1 bunch radishes
• 1-2 cucumbers depending on size

These melons are really small.  I think I’ll call them personal size.  We’ll eat them quickly.

The guys of the house will snack on the cherry tomatoes.  The rest are going into some salsa (hopefully tonight).

We’ll eat the lettuce in salad and use the basil for some dressing.   I need to pick up some more balsamic vinegar, but we’ll make due until then.

I haven’t decided on a dish for the kale yet.  It may just get sautéed.  The cucumbers will be great for salads and snacking.

I have lots of garlic frozen from last year.  I’ll have to remember to use it more often.  We had the onion with our dinner tonight.

I’m not a huge fan of ratatouille, so we’ll probably make a veggie lasagna this week and use the eggplant.  I’m hoping to try a bread and butter zucchini pickle recipe with the zucchini (and a few others we have).

We’ll have the blackberries for breakfast tomorrow.  Our fridge is too full to keep them around.  We’ll either roast or pickle the radishes.

The beans will be a side dish for Sunday.  I put the Italian sausage and ground beef in the freezer.

I really need to get some preserving done, my fridge is over flowing.  A little canning and freezing and we’ll be all set.  It’s easy for us to use our items when we eat at home, but we’ve had a strange schedule lately and we’re a bit behind on consumption.

Here’s the list of items for the week:

• 1 quart of yogurt
• 1 pt of black raspberries
• Assorted tree fruit
• 1 package Italian Sausage links, 1.25 lbs.
• 2 ct zucchini
• 1 bunch radishes
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• 1 bunch kale
• 1 head kohlrabi
• 1 red bulb onion
• 1.5 lbs hoop house tomatoes
• 2 ct cucumbers
• 1 head broccoli or cauliflower, whichever comes in
• 1 jar strawberry balsamic sauce made from leftover week 1 strawberries

The highlights were the fruit.  She received apricots, plums as an add on, raspberries, and Clark Pope Catering’s Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Sauce.  Kelly mentioned that the plum were like heaven in a paper bag.  Even though I wasn’t here last week, I was able to get a bottle of the sauce.  I’m excited to try it out.

Now onto this week’s bag!

It was 95 degrees when we picked up our bag.  This has been one hot day!  I was glad to quickly get everything home and unloaded.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive:

• 1 whole chicken or pork roast
• 1 bunch beets
• 2 bulb onions
• 1 bunch carrots or 1 head kohlrabi
• Approx. 2# tomatoes
• 1 baby bok choy
• 2 lbs. peaches
• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 lb. garlic scape and black pepper linguini
• 2 lbs. apricots
• 2 ct. cucumbers
• 2 ct. zucchini

We love the spinach.  It’s quite versatile.  We already used some in our white sauce tonight.  I’m not a big tomato person.  I think they are “guishy”.  I’m such a texture eater.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever like them.  Some other Fresh Fork CSA folks were talking about having a tomato tasting party.  I might be swayed to participate if that were to occur.  For now, these will be eaten by Stephen and Nick or I’ll use them in sauce.

I have a total of 4 zucchini and I am making fritters for lunch tomorrow.  I’m not sure why we got extra cucumbers, but they are great for snacking and salads.  Since we don’t have any lettuce at the moment, I suspect these will become snacks for the weekend.  I may try my hand at a quick relish.

Some of the onion will go into our pulled pork and coleslaw recipes.  The rest will be chopped and frozen for future use.  We ate almost all of the carrots at dinner.  The leftover ones will be gone at lunch tomorrow.

Our apricots aren’t going to last long.  They are very ripe.  I’m thinking of making smoothies with them tomorrow since it’s going to be another scorcher.  I contemplated an apricot dessert, but I’m not sure I want to turn on the oven.  Maybe, I’ll get creative.  We’ve been enjoying peaches in our oatmeal each morning.  With 4 of us, these won’t last long.

Bok choy always stumps me.  I just don’t have a great go to recipe for it.  It usually just ends up in a stir fry for Stephen.  I’m going to make pulled pork with the roast tomorrow.  I am going to put the crock pot in the basement so our whole house doesn’t heat up while it cooks.

We’re going to grill the beets this week.  We have a kohlrabi to use as well.  We didn’t get our pasta when we picked up our bag.  Since I was out anyway, I stopped back to get it on our way home from the spray ground.  It went straight to boiling water for dinner and had already missed it’s photo opportunity.

I’m not going to say that every CSA week is easy, but I like feeling like I finally have the hang of it.  I’m looking forward to eating fresh and local this weekend.

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

• 1 Grassfed beef steak
• 1 pt. concord grape jelly
• 1 12oz piece Swiss cheese
• 2 lbs. spelt flour
• 3 lbs. red potatoes
• 1 lb. spinach pasta
• 1 bunch kale or mustard greens
• 1 bag mixed salad greens
• 1/4 lb. ramps

Here’s a group shot:

Grape jelly is probably my favorite flavor in the jelly/jam category.  I hope to hoard most of this for myself and use it on French toast and PP&J sandwiches.  I’m going to try and make homemade tortillas with the spelt flour.  My recipe works well with whole wheat flour, so I thought I’d try the spelt.

We’ll probably just make mashed potatoes this week.  Unless my new slicer comes in, then I might try out some microwavable potato chips.  I tossed the pasta into the freezer.  It will make for a nice quick meal when we need it this week.

I’ve never met a local, grass-fed cheese that I didn’t like.  I suspect this new Swiss will be great.  So far, Swiss is the only cheese that Sally won’t eat.  Maybe this variety will change her mind.  I think the kale will go into a casserole dish that I’m still dreaming up in my head.

The steak is frozen, so I put it in the freezer.  When we get another stretch of warm weather, we’ll grill it for dinner one night.  The winter greens aren’t my favorite, but I’m going to try to make a chopped salad out of them.  I’m not a big fan of the texture of the stems, but a chopped version in a roll up is sounding good to me.

The final item this week is ramps.  In a nutshell, ramps grow wild this time of year and are similar to a leek.  I’ll use them as an onion type of ingredient with fried potatoes or soup this week.

I bought a couple of extras this week as well.  At $5 a piece, I picked up 3 yogurts and one Krispie Treat Granola.  I can’t seem to keep the yogurt in stock at our house.  One of the Heinen’s stores near me carries it, but I like to buy it from Fresh Fork whenever possible.  These 3 containers probably won’t last until the next pick up.

I’m starting to get excited for the summer CSA.  Only 2 more months away.

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

• 1 pack pork loin chops
• 1 bag corn crackers
• 2 lb. black turtle beans
• 1 pint salsa
• 1 bag mixed salad greens
• 1 pint sorghum syrup
• 1 dozen eggs
• 1 lb. assorted sausage
• 1 lb. sweet corn
• 1 lb. kale, bunched

Here’s a group shot:

We’ll use the beans in a combination of a Mexican casserole and also black bean burgers.  The ground pork will also go in our casserole.

The pork chops are the best.  We’ll probably just season them and bake them in the oven.  The corn was frozen last summer and it’s been delicious.  We’ll add it to our Mexican dish or use it as a side.

The sorghum syrup was a head scratcher last year.  We ended up using it in a bbq glaze type of sauce that we put over ham loaf.  It was delicious.  I have no idea how we made the sauce, so we’ll be experimenting once again.  I’m thinking of using it as the main sweetener in some homemade sauce.  So far, tomato sauce, vinegar, spices, onion, peppers and syrup come to mind.  I’m not a huge fan of this type of greens, but we do our best to eat it in salads.

I’ll be putting the kale and salsa in our casserole as well.

Everyone in our house loves these chips.  If they don’t get eaten first, they’d be a nice addition to our Mexican meal.  Eggs are so easy for us to use.  I just saw a recipe for some muffin casserole bites that are egg based.  I think I’ll try it this week.

We picked up a few extras as well.  Krispie treat granola ($5) and 2 yogurts ($5 each).

I’m excited for this week because I can do just a little cooking and have several meals.  Sometimes I like being a lazy cook.

First off, here is the group shot. I’ll bet we could measure how big the week’s harvest is by how high we have to hold the camera to take this picture. The camera was pretty close to the ceiling today.

“I’m ready for my closeup,” cried the kale, and I was happy to oblige.

Red Russian kale, bok choy

Garlic, sweet potatoes

Apples (mixed varieties), carrots

Parsley (mix of flat leaf and curly), green beans

Red leaf lettuce, onions

Bell peppers, little peppers (I don’t know yet if they are hot)

Eggplant, yellow squash

Tomatoes

Using this up with Lyn away is going to be a challenge. My cooking skills have rusted a bit in recent years, with the grill more my specialty than the stove is. The parsley says “tabouli”, which could use some tomato and onion as well. The kale and bok choy I will saute, with some balsamic vinegar for the kale and some sesame oil for the bok choy. We will surely have some delicious salads as well.

Thanks for visiting! Lyn will be back tomorrow.