Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA – week 3

CSA 1 Response »
Jun 232012
 

Normally, I would have picked up our large CSA yesterday in Mayfield.  But, I’m on vacation.  After a few days in Baltimore and Dover, we are all checked in at our beach house.  My friend Kelly was kind enough to send me a photo of the large share.  It looks amazing and I’m sad to miss it.  But, I’m super happy that Fresh Fork has an awesome vacation policy.

 

Here’s the artistic photo from Kelly:

 

 

Here’s the list of contents that Fresh Fork sent us earlier in the week.  Squash was subbed for the napa cabbage.

 

Small CSA Share

  • 1 package boneless loin chops, 2 per pack
  • 2 lbs spelt berries
  • 1 bunch spinach
  • 1 head white stem bok choy
  • 1 dozen eggs
  • 1 bunch swiss chard or 1 head baby bok choy (depending on route)
  • 1 bunch beets with tops
  • 1 lb snow peas
  • 1 head chinese napa cabbage

 

Large CSA Share Small contents above plus:

  • 1 bunch carrots
  • 1 lb shelled peas
  • 1 head leaf lettuce
  • 1 extra bunch spinach
  • 2 bunches red bulb green onions

 

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get some pork chops when I return.  It’s one of the best Fresh Fork items that we’ll get all summer.  If I was in town, I’d be trying out the dry container on my new Vitamix.  I like spelt berries, but I’m really anxious to try out making flour.  For now, I’m going to try my best to eat some good local food while I’m on vacation.  I visited a local market yesterday and have 2 Farmers’ markets on the schedule for the week.

 

 

 

Fresh Fork Market 2012 Summer CSA–week 2

CSA 3 Responses »
Jun 152012
 

Today, we had our second pick up at the new Mayfield location.  Dan and Kyle were pretty busy when we arrived, so we didn’t get a chance to talk to them.  Everything looked like it was running smoothly.  I’m still getting used to reading the rest of the share list.  Since this is our first time with a large, I keep forgetting to read past the “small CSA share” list.

 

Small CSA Share

  • 2# black turtle beans
  • 1 bag corn chips
  • 1 # chorizo sausage
  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 1 head red leaf lettuce
  • 1 head either baby bok choy or 1 bunch swiss chard (depends on stop)
  • 1 head jumbo white stem bok choy
  • 1.5# red slicing tomatoes (approximately 3 tomatoes)
  • 1 lb. snow peas

Large CSA Share Small contents above plus:

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1 bunch red kale
  • 1 lb. snow peas
  • 2 ct. zucchini
  • 1 package chicken brats

It’s hard to get a shot that shows all of the items in a large:

IMG_2090

I’m getting ready to leave on vacation, so I’ll be prepping the lettuce for my husband to eat in salads.  I’ll be cooking the cauliflower for a side dish tomorrow and/or for Stephen to eat while the kids and I are gone.

IMG_2091IMG_2092

I’m going to make soup or a stir fry with the bok choy.  I’ll use some of the peas and onions in that dish.

IMG_2105IMG_2093IMG_2103IMG_2102

I put the meats in the freezer.  I’ll probably cook up the chorizo tomorrow.  I will probably make a cold salad with quinoa, chorizo, onions, cilantro, lime, etc.  We’ll pack some for the road this weekend and leave the rest for Stephen to enjoy.  The brats will magically disappear while I’m away with the kids or we’ll enjoy them in July.  The last time I made the brats, I simmered them in beer on the stove.  They were quite tasty.

IMG_2094IMG_2095

I still had a couple of zucchini in the fridge, so I am making my fritters with them tomorrow.

IMG_2097IMG_2098

I’m soaking the beans tonight so I can cook them tomorrow.  I’ll use some of them and the cilantro in the quinoa salad and freezer the rest.

IMG_2099IMG_2101

I haven’t decided on the kale yet.  I just got a kale recipes book in the mail today, so maybe I’ll be inspired to cook something new with it.  The beets were subbed for some of the peas.  They are getting added to a few I have in the fridge for a pickled beets recipe that looked promising.  I hope to make them tomorrow.

IMG_2107IMG_2104

We often buy these corn chips as extras, so they will disappear quickly.

IMG_2106

Once again, the truck didn’t have any of our favorite yogurt with them, but I was able to pick up some of our favorite granola and milk while we were at our stop.

I’m glad to be going on vacation, but I hate that I’ll miss all of the fun CSA contents for the next two weeks.

Geauga Family Farms–week 4

CSA No Responses »
Jul 052011
 

Today was our 4th pick up for the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  As usual, our pick up items were a surprise.  I was happy that we received lettuce since we were out.  Between our two CSAs we are getting tons of lettuce and not letting it go to waste.  The bounty did not disappoint and we received two types of lettuce.

They are taking applications for partial season shares that will start in a couple of weeks.  If you are interested in getting a CSA, let me know and I can send you the application.

Here’s what we received in our family share:

IMG_2695

Let’s take a closer look.

One large onion with greens, bunch of radishes.

IMG_2677IMG_2678

green onions, cherry tomatoes

IMG_2679IMG_2680

tomato, yellow squash

IMG_2681IMG_2682

zucchini, rhubarb

IMG_2683IMG_2686

kohlrabi, collard greens

IMG_2687IMG_2688

2 types of lettuce

IMG_2691IMG_2692

beets, snow peas (eat whole in the pod, usually used in stir fry recipes)

IMG_2689IMG_2693

We did well with our shares last week.  I can say that I had summer squash fritters 3 times for lunch and I’ll probably be having more of them this week.  Today, before I picked up our GFF share, I only had some cabbage and cucumber left from last week’s shares.

This week, I’ll be making a tofu stir fry to use the peas along with some of the cabbage from my other share last week.  We’ll probably try roasting the kohlrabi, radishes and beets this time.  I’ll have to think about the collards.  I’m guessing I’ll probably sauté them for lunch one day.  I froze some rhubarb last week, so I’ll add this to that bag.  I think I’ll end up making a rhubarb dessert soon.  The cherry tomatoes are already half gone thanks to Stephen and Nick.

It should be a great week!

U-Pick Tour– Boughton Farm, Akron Ohio

Adventures with Nick and Sally, U-Pick No Responses »
Jun 162011
 

Today, the kids and I traveled to Boughton Farm in Akron, Ohio.  From our house in Mayfield Heights, it’s about 45 minutes away.  It’s also close to Earth Fare grocery store and a Great Harvest bakery.  So, we were able to run errands after our picking.

The U-Pick at Broughton opened at 7 AM.  We arrived about 9:15 AM.  They have a barn set up for U-Pick information, containers, and pricing.  Looks like you can also pick pre-picked items there as well.

IMG_2135IMG_2136

Everything was well marked and it was easy to find.

IMG_2137IMG_2138

Nick loved sitting on this bench.  Inside the barn, a white board shows what’s available and the costs.  We were happily surprised that peas were available for U-Pick.  Strawberries were $1.10 a pounds and all varieties of peas were $.90 a pound.

IMG_2139IMG_2141

On our way to the back of the barn to pick peas, we saw this tractor.  Nick was very excited since we were able o take the tractor ride to the strawberry field.  He also liked the peas sign.

IMG_2142IMG_2143

Sally enjoyed the stroller for a bit before wanting to run around.

IMG_2144

This was not a good year for peas, but we still had fun picking them.  The strawberries at this farm are never sprayed.  The set up is a bit different because you can pick where ever you want.  Other places usually assign you a spot or row.  I’m not sure which I prefer.  They had a port-a-jon available which is always nice with the kids.

We ended up paying $2.77.  That was for about 2.5 pounds of strawberries, .5 pound of snow peas, .5 pound of sugar snap peas, and a small handful of English shelling peas.  I thought it was the best deal yet.  Boughton offers other U-Picks and we’ll be heading back there again soon.

IMG_2150IMG_2152

IMG_2153IMG_2154