Today was the 10th pick up for the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  This week’s share was similar to last week’s share.

Here’s what we received:

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Let’s take a closer look.

Cherry tomatoes, carrots

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Lettuce and more lettuce

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Watermelon, cantaloupe

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Green bell peppers, broccli

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Yellow squash, eggplant

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Cucumber, zucchini (yes it looks funny, but it is a variety of zucchini)

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HOT peppers, slicing tomatoes

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Peaches, green beans

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We got 3 different types of fruit.  That is pretty odd for our CSA, but we love fruit.  Most of the items this week will be easy to use.  The fruit will disappear in a couple of days.

One pepper and the cucumber will go into salad along with the lettuce.  We ate the broccoli for dinner tonight.  The beans will make a great side dish to our meal tomorrow.  Carrots, eggplant and squash feel like staples in our house, so we’ll be making a quiche or lasagna to use them up soon.

Then, there are the hot peppers.  If there is one item that I wish we didn’t get, it would be the hot peppers.  I just haven’t found a good use for them yet.  But, I am determined.  I’ll keep you all posted!

 

Last week, we took a vacation from our Fresh Fork CSA.  There is a generous vacation plan.  In a nutshell, you can miss up to 4 weeks as long as you give advance notice.  When you return, you can double up a week or place a la carte orders for the dollar value.

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:

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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!

 

Today was the 9th pick up for the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  It’s hard to believe that we are almost half way through the season.  Today’s bounty was heavy!  The season’s first watermelons have arrived.

Here’s a group photo of what we received:

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Let’s take a closer look.

Cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes

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Peaches, beets

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Green peppers, hot peppers

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Eggplant, yellow squash

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Cucumber, lettuce

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Lettuce, yellow wax beans

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Parsley, watermelon

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I think we have entered my favorite part of the season.  I love melons!  I was glad to see lettuce since we were almost out.  I’ve put my parsley in water.  I think some parsley potatoes or salad dressing may be in order.  The squash, cucumber and peppers will probably go into a wheat or rye berry cold salad for dinner tomorrow night.  We eat at Wade Oval near the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and it’s challenging to make cold CSA food.  I’m getting better as the season progresses.

I’m going to remove the skins from the peaches, slice and freeze them for oatmeal.  One of my favorite ways to have oatmeal is with peaches.  I’ll be sure to save a couple of peaches for Thursday.  I’m expecting basil in my CSA pick on Thursday and I want to try my version of this dressing recipe from The Chubby Cook. I’m going to make the same recipe, but use an extra peach.  I sampled it at Whole Foods on Sunday and it was tasty.

I haven’t found any great ways to use hot peppers since I don’t care for spicy dishes and I like the kids to be able to eat anything that I prepare.  Usually, they get chopped and frozen and I use them sparingly as I make taco meat, pulled pork and chili throughout the winter.

I usually make Harvard beets whenever we get beets.  At dinner tonight, my son was content to eat beets and watermelon for dinner.  That made me very happy!

All in all, it should be a great week!