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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Today’s box was overflowing!

Here’s what we received:

Let’s take a closer look.

Green beans, watermelon (hmmm.. these photos are not to scale)

Lettuce, eggplant

Cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes

Peaches, bell peppers

Cantaloupe, dozen sweet corn

Hot peppers, patty pan squash

We got 3 fruits again this week.  In our house that is a good thing.  I actually used frozen peaches in today’s oatmeal, so I am excited for the peaches.  We have lots of melon since we got extras in our other CSA on Thursday, but we are eating it at a good clip so I don’t think we’ll have a problem.  Our biggest challenge is having to take the seeds out of the watermelon for our 22 month old daughter.

We ate 1/2 the corn for dinner tonight and we are getting another 1/2 dozen on Thursday.  I’ll probably cook and take the rest of this batch off of the cobs for a wheat berry, corn, bean salad of sorts.  We need to pack dinner for our Wednesday outing at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

I’m going to chop and freeze the peppers.  I’m assuming the non-bell peppers are hot.  They seem to always be hot and I’m not taking chances with them.  The bell peppers will go into tomato sauce.  I’ll save the hot ones for chili and salsa.

I just read a blog post about mini lasagnas that were made in muffin tins.  I may use the eggplant and squash for my own version of that.

The remaining few items will easily be eaten as part of our meals.  We need to stay on top of our game this week since we have several meals planned out over the holiday weekend.  Friday, I need to blanch/chop/freeze anything that we haven’t used so we don’t have waste.

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

Small CSA:

• 1 yellow doll watermelon
• 2 ct. eggplant, some mixed colors may be included
• 1 quart hot Hungarian peppers
• 1 lb. clover honey
• 1 medium cantaloupe
• Approx. 1 lb. heirloom tomatoes (about 1 large or 2 small)
• 2 summer squash
• 1 pint mixed baby sweet peppers
• Quarter Peck Golden Supreme apples (about 5 to 6 apples, very crisp, yellow apple)
• Approx. 1 lb. slicing tomatoes

Here’s a group shot:

I’m going to make my favorite cole slaw recipe and it uses a couple of apples.  The rest will probably go into my oatmeal and/or be made into a quick applesauce for the kids.  We also got eggplant on Tuesday, so I think I’ll be making a veggie lasagna tomorrow.

I’m not sure about the squash.  If it doesn’t end up in the lasagna, we’ll probably grill it.  All of the tomatoes are going into sauce since I have a stock of them from Tuesday’s CSA as well.

The sweet peppers will get added to my sauce.  I’m never sure what to do with the hot ones.  I don’t like to make things that aren’t kid friendly (and Lyn friendly).

I don’t cook with refined sugar, so we use lots of honey.  I’m excited to try the clover honey that we received.

Yum!  We are certainly enjoying our local melon this year.  I’m curious to try the watermelon since it’s “yellow” and I’m not sure what to expect.

In addition to our share above, we had $25 to spend on items from the on-line store since we were on a planned vacation a couple of weeks back.  I decided on lettuce ($2.75), 2 cantaloupes ($3.60 ea.), 2 packages of Chorizo sausage ($12.40) and 2 quarts of yogurt ($9.90).  The total was $28.65, so I paid Robert $3.65 at the truck.

It was fun to stock up on Chorizo and yogurt since we were out of both.  Neither of my CSAs received lettuce this week, so I was glad to have it as well.  I love the vacation flexibility with Fresh Fork!

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:

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.

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.

I love the color on the golden zucchini.  I’m not sure I’ve ever had this variety.  I’m excited to try it.

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.

I’m sure the Cheve cheese will be tasty.  We enjoyed the corn for dinner.

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.

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!

Here’s what we received today:

Let’s take a closer look.

Tomatoes, beets

Lettuce, kohlrabi

Swiss chard, onion

Green beans, cherry tomatoes

Radishes, cucumbers

Yellow squash, patty pan squash (Most of the patty pan squash that I have seen before is more flat and scalloped, but I am pretty sure this is patty pan squash.)

Zucchini, honey (add on order)

New this year, we can place orders though the website for some additional items.  There are things available like honey, maple syrup, eggs, etc.  I ordered some honey for this week.  We didn’t really need honey at the moment, but I wanted to try out the ordering system.  Pay with paypal and pick up with the share.  It was easy!

I’m still thinking about the bounty that we received and haven’t made any specific plans for it, but we’ll be busy eating our veggies this week for sure!