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Geauga Family Farms–summer week 9

Jul 312012

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:

onions, lettuce

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

slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes

peaches, blackberries

watermelon

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.

Geauga Family Farms–summer week 8

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Jul 242012

Today, I took 4 kids with me to pick up the Geauga Family Farms CSA at Whole Foods. Since my niece and nephew are here, we had two extra with us. It was not our smoothest pick up because Aunt Lyn / mommy camp is really wearing out the kids. Everyone was tired and grumpy.

Here’s what we received in our single share:

lettuce, patty pan squash

green pepper, onion

cherry tomatoes, potatoes

green beans, fennel

I was quite happy to see lettuce in the share this week. We’ve been out since Saturday. We’ll roast the patty pan squash and stuff it for lunch one day soon. I like to use some sausage, rice or egg and veggies in a stuffing.

The green pepper will go into our salad and also be used for snacking. I’m going to probably just chop up the onion and freeze it. The cherry tomatoes will go to lunch with Stephen the next couple of days. I’ll probably make some mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner tomorrow.

In 4 years of doing different CSA programs, I received fennel for the first time today. I’m anxious to read a little about it and pick out a good recipe or two. I’m hoping that I can find something with ingredients that I already have on hand so I can use it tomorrow!

Other than the fennel, this is a pretty straight forward week. I’m hoping for fruit next week!

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 7

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Jul 172012

It’s week 7 of our Geauga Family Farms CSA. We made our pick up at Whole Foods and headed home as quickly as possible since it’s 97 degrees outside.

Here’s what we received in our small share this week:

tomatoes, pickling cucumbers

onions, cucumbers

zucchini, cherry tomatoes

beets, lettuce

green beans

I think we’ve passed the heavy greens part of the season with all of the heat lately. I suspect, we’ll see more greens when the weather cools toward the end of the CSA season. The tomatoes will be great for salads. Stephen and Nick like them. Sally and I do not. If anyone has any tips on learning to like the texture of tomatoes, please let me know.

I’m going to make refrigerator pickles with both types of cucumbers this week. I need to slice the onion for a cabbage dish that I am going to make. I used the reserved onions in tonight’s dinner, so I need to replenish. I had some squash grilled at an event this past weekend, so I decided to just make zucchini straight up tonight. I’m not sure what I don’t eat it like that more often. This week’s zucchini will be eaten with minimal preparation.

I’m going to venture out of my comfort zone on the beets and try to use one raw on some salad. I may also use some on a quesadilla of sorts. I’ll let you know how it turns out. The beet greens weren’t worth keeping this week.

The lettuce will go to salad and the beans will be a great side dish in the next day or two. I was sad that we didn’t receive any fruit this week. I was expecting blueberries. The ones we received the last couple of weeks were so good. I have plans to go picking on Thursday, so I’ll be able to replenish our supply then.

With all of my preparations over the weekend, I feel very caught up in the kitchen and ready to tackle this week’s share.

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 6

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Jul 132012

Due to some other plans today, we picked up our bag yesterday. The flexibility is awesome.

WOW, I need to get a better photo set up as I am having trouble fitting everything in one frame! This week’s bag is great. I’m still getting used to the vast amount of stuff in a large vs. the small that we subscribed to last year. I’d never go back to the small.

Here’s my attempt at a group shot.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive:

1 whole chicken
1 pint blueberries
1 head leaf lettuce
2 ct cucumbers
2-3 zucchini/squash
1 head red cabbage
About 3 tomatoes, depending on size
1 lb. apricots
1 bunch beets or 1 bunch carrots (rotating for the next two weeks, everyone will get each)
2 lbs. peaches
1 bunch green onions
1 lb. green beans
1 package of ravioli
1 bunch Swiss chard

Our chicken was partially thawed. I’m guessing that was due to the excessive heat yesterday. So, instead of putting it straight in the freezer, it’s thawing in our fridge. That made fitting everything in the fridge a bit challenging, but we managed. I’m hoping to cut it up and have Stephen grill it for dinner tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes. Usually, I roast them whole. I’m going to cut the onions up and freeze them.

I’m not sure about the red cabbage. I may use some of it in a slaw, but I need to do a bit more research. The cucumbers have been great for salads and snacking. I keep thinking about making some pickles, but they keep disappearing.

We’ll grill the zucchini with the chicken. The apricots almost didn’t make it through dinner. After packing lunches today, there’s one left.

The peaches have been great for snacking or in our oatmeal. These need another day or two to ripen. With our abundance of lettuce, the tomatoes will be great in the salads (for Nick and Stephen).

I made a simple white sauce to go with the spinach and garlic scape pasta last night. The pasta was on the strong side, but it was definitely tasty. You can’t really tell from this photo, but this is the biggest head of lettuce ever.

After going to the Beet class last week, I’m excited to make puree and freeze it for future pizza! These are the best beet greens that I’ve ever seen. I’m going to use them tomorrow so I can enjoy them. The four of us finished the blueberries this morning at breakfast. It’s a good thing that I picked 15 pounds for the freezer this week.

The green beans have been tasty this year. These will make a great side dish with one of our chicken meals. I’ll probably use the Swiss chard in some eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

This weekend is all about using up the bulk. Our fridge is overflowing with fresh goodness. Hopefully, by Sunday night, we’ll have it a bit more under control.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 6

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Jul 102012

Today, we had pick up number 6 for our Geauga Family Farms CSA. The Whole Food pick up has been different this year. There’s not one person from Whole Foods manning the pick up. It’s more of a self serve in the back room and stop at the desk to check off your name. It’s fine in the back room, the kids and I miss seeing Andrew.

Here’s what we received this week:

cherry tomatoes, blueberries

tomato, squash (yellow squash and zucchini)

cucumber, onion

lettuce, cauliflower

green beans, basil

Stephen and Nick will probably eat all of the cherry tomatoes tomorrow. I’m glad that’s one item that I never have to worry about. We are also going to get some out of our garden this year. We’re psyched about that. The blueberries made me smile. I picked 7 pounds of blueberries today, so this container doesn’t seem like much to me. I froze most of what I picked already. These will be used on cereal at breakfast or snacks tomorrow. Nick is in camp this week and has to pack a snack and lunch. I’ve been trying to give him as many good local items as possible.

I’m going to try squash chips with the squash this week. I’ve read a few recipes on line and will create my own version of them. I hope that I can get enough moisture out of them to make them crunchy. The tomato and lettuce will go in salads. The cucumber will be chopped up for snacks.

We have quite a bit of onion at the moment. I’ll try to make fajitas this week. We still have pepper strips frozen that need used up anyway. I’m in the mood for homemade whole wheat tortillas so that will work out well.

We’ll have the cauliflower as a side dish one day this week. We had the beans with dinner tonight. They were absolutely delicious and there’s just enough left to put a few in Stephen’s lunch tomorrow.

The basil looks a bit tired, but I’m sure it will be tasty. I’m going to make a vinaigrette dressing with it.

I haven’t really tried many actual recipes lately. I’m planning to carve out some more time for cooking in the next couple of weeks. I feel like I’m still adjusting from being away on vacation. I’m already looking forward to next week’s share.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 5

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Jul 032012

Today was the 5th pickup for the Geauga Family Farms CSA. I feel so out of the loop after being on vacation for 2 weeks. We got back Sunday night, but I still am in that not quite back to reality phase. The Whole Foods pickup has been different every week. I hope we get some consistency soon. I really miss Andrew manning the table.

Here’s what we received this week:

I think it’s a pretty easy identification week, but just in case I’ll list them.

zucchini, cucumbers

sugar snap peas, candy onion

small head of cauliflower, blueberries

tomato, kohlrabi

lettuce, cabbage

I was quite excited to pick up our share today. We picked up a few things at the store yesterday since our fridge was bare from being gone 2 weeks, but for the most part, we were still lacking in produce.

The last couple zucchini were shredded and put in the freezer. I’m going to make squash fritters tomorrow so these don’t fall victim to the freezer later in the week. The cucumber, tomato and lettuce will go into salad with tomorrow’s grilling. I’ll probably have Stephen grill the kohlrabi, too. The kids will snack on the peas. The blueberries will go on cereal for breakfast. I now have two head of cauliflower since I bought one yesterday. One head will just be steamed and served plain. I’m thinking of making a au gratin dish with the other.

I have a cole slaw recipe that I love that involves cabbage, apple, pineapple juice, onion, raisins, blue cheese and a simple dressing. I’m going to look for it since I don’t think I could quite make it from memory. It’s a great summer dish and I think I have all of the ingredients on hand. Once I find the recipe, I’ll try to get my version in a post soon. We’re sure to see cabbage again.

My goal is to use 100% of this share up before I pick up our other one on Friday.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 2

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Jun 122012

Today, we picked up our second week of our Geauga Family Farms CSA. The table at Whole Foods wasn’t manned today, but we didn’t have any trouble getting our bag or extras and checking off our name at the customer service desk.

This time of year, the shares are a bit light since the growing season is just getting started. I think it works out well because it give people time to get used to the process and figure out their greens.

Here’s a group shot of this week’s share:

Lettuce, Swiss chard

Tomatoes (slicing), beets

Bunching onions, rhubarb

I’m going out of town this weekend and I’ll be gone for two weeks. My husband is picking up the share next week, so I want as much of this week’s share to be used before I leave. Since I have a crazy week ahead, my plan will include some preserving.

The lettuce will get used in salad. We try to have lots of salads this time of year. The Swiss chard will get added to some ground sausage with peppers and onions and put on tortillas for dinner tomorrow. Nick and Stephen like tomatoes. They’ll just eat them or have them on their salads. If they decide they don’t want them, I’ll pop them in the freezer.

To use the beets, I’ll probably make Harvard beets. Everyone likes them and I haven’t looked up pickling yet. I am pretty sure I want to pickle beets this year – especially if our garden beets take off.

Some of the onions will get used in the dish for tomorrow’s dinner. The rest I will just chop and freeze to get them out of the way. We don’t use many raw onions here, so freezing them works well.

I have a small bag of rhubarb in the freezer. I’m going to add this rhubarb to the freezer as well. I saw several recipes that look appealing. Here are some ideas:

http://www.simplebites.net/salute-spring-ten-ways-to-enjoy-rhubarb-compote/

http://nourishedkitchen.com/strawberry-rhubarb-compote-with-honey-custard/

http://fooddoodles.com/2011/06/09/rhubarb-compote/

I’ll most like be making compote and I’ll probably mix in some strawberries or blueberries depending on what’s in our freezer when I get around to it.

I love the freshness that we picked up in our bag. Everything looks great.

Geauga Family Farms CSA–summer week 1

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Jun 052012

Today was our first pickup for our Geauga Family Farms CSA for the summer 2012 season. We are getting the single share this year and our pick up is on Tuesday afternoon at the Whole Foods in Woodmere on Chagrin.

We arrived around 4PM and everything was very organized and well labeled. Nick checked in with April at the table. I really like the addition of the signage this year.

Here’s what we were treated with this week:

Green onions, broccoli

Beets, curly kale

Lettuce, strawberries

We’ll use some onions in our quiche muffins this week. The rest I will chop and freeze for later. Most of the time we use onions in cooking, so having them in the freezer works great for us. The broccoli will make a quick side dish one evening this week. Lately, the kids have been fighting over broccoli. Unless we decide to grill, I’ll probably make Harvard beets with the beets. The greens are also edible, so I’ll be sautéing them with some garlic scapes. The kale will either be made into kale chips (haven’t mastered them yet) or used in our quiche filling. The lettuce will go into salads. We actually didn’t open the strawberries on the way home. Since we still have some, we’re going to make strawberry lemonade spritzers with them. I picked up sparkling water.

It looks like we are off to a great start for the season!

Geauga Family Farms–Winter CSA week 6

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Dec 172011

It’s hard to believe that this was the last Geauga Family Farms CSA pick up for the winter. Once again, Stephen and the kids went to St. Noel to pick up our share. I had a scheduled hike that began at 10AM in Ashtabula County.

Here’s a group shot of what we received:

Let’s take a closer look:

Wheat bread (not 100%), Swiss chard

Radishes, very large sweet potato

Lettuce, spinach

Cabbage, turnip

Beets

We were getting pretty low on produce. Before this pick up we had a small head of cabbage and a little bit of lettuce left. Most of these items are quite welcome in our fridge.

We’ve had many meals out this week, but I’m happy to say that after tonight, I don’t have any meals planned out this entire week. Eating at home will make it very easy to use our veggies.

I’ll probably make unstuffed cabbage again. It’s easy and freezes well. Stephen sliced the bread so we could freeze it. I’ll make Harvard beets again. It’s an easy recipe and everyone likes them.

I never know what to do with the turnip, but last time I made some turnip and potato soup that turned out well, so I am guessing that will make an encore appearance.

The spinach will get used in a pasta dish or quiche this week. We’ve been cooking the chard with some onion, spice and Balsamic vinegar.

I’m looking forward to cooking a few local fresh meals at home.

Geauga Family Farms–Winter CSA week 5

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Dec 102011

The kids and Stephen went up to St. Noel’s today to pick up week 5 of our Geauga Family Farms CSA. Next week is the last pickup for the winter share. Today’s pickup was particularly great.

Here’s a group shot of what we received:

Let’s take a closer look:

Butternut squash, sweet potatoes

Eggs (Yeah!), garlic

Broccoli, carrots

Red cabbage, beets

Two kinds of lettuce

Wheat bread

We have quite a few squash right now. I will be baking most of them tomorrow and making squash puree for the freezer. We also have quite a few sweet potatoes. The kids really like the baked sweet potato slices, so we’ll be making them again soon.

Eggs we use in everyday cooking and they are always welcome. We have quite a bit of garlic frozen, but this is our only fresh piece. I’ll be putting it in chili this week.

The broccoli and carrots both went into Shepherd’s pie tonight. It was delicious. I used local butter, potatoes, ground beef, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

I don’t have any immediate plans for the cabbage, but something will come to me soon. The beets will be combined with some others in the fridge for Harvard beets.

We had some of the lettuce in salad today and will probably use the rest in a day or two. The wheat bread is almost 1/2 gone. It made nice peanut butter and apple butter toast for snacks today.

I’ll be sad to see this CSA end next week.

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