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:

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

zucchini, cucumbers

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sugar snap peas, candy onion

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small head of cauliflower, blueberries

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tomato, kohlrabi

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lettuce, cabbage

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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.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Today was our 5th pick up for the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  I think we have entered the heart of the growing season.  Based on what we received today, it looks like the crops are doing well despite such a wet spring.

Here’s what we received in our family share (not pictured are raspberries):

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Let’s take a closer look.

Red raspberries, green leaf lettuce

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Red leaf lettuce, large onion

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Yellow squash, zucchini

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Tomatoes, broccoli

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Pickling cucumbers, beets

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Green onions, kohlrabi

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Potatoes, sugar snap peas

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Cucumbers

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This looks like a pretty easy week to use everything.  I may freeze the onions, but I suspect everything else will be used as we prepare meals this week.

 

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.

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Everything was well marked and it was easy to find.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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