Geauga Family Farms Winter CSA–week 1

CSA 2 Responses »
Nov 052011
 

Today was our first pickup for our winter Geauga Family Farms CSA.  For the 6 week winter program, our pick up is on Saturday at St. Noel church in Willoughby.  For the most part, this works well for us although there is the occasional time when we have other plans on Saturday and would prefer not to bother.

Here’s a group shot of what we received:

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2 types of lettuce

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Sweet potatoes, green onions

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Lacinato blue kale, wheat bread

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Daikon radish, green bell pepper

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Cabbage, acorn squash

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We’ll enjoy the lettuce in salads this week.  We have some other salad greens as well and they will mix nicely together.  We can’t get enough sweet potatoes.  Lately, I’ve just been slicing and baking them.  We have been using the onions and pepper in unstuffed cabbage and will make that again this week.

By the way, I had no idea we had lacinato blue kale.  I was able to check with the farm reps and get a speedy reply!  I’ll probably cook it like my other greens.  I usually saute them with garlic, onions, peppers and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

The Daikon radish always stumps me.  We’ve made “chips” and soup before.  I’ll have to see what strikes me this week.

I was surprised that we didn’t get eggs.  I thought we were going to get a dozen eggs and a baked good each week.  I’m guessing that with the abundance of other items still available that we will get eggs some of the future weeks.  I’ve been enjoying the local eggs, but I wasn’t out yet.

It looks like a great week!

Fresh Fork Winter CSA–week 1

CSA 2 Responses »
Nov 032011
 

Today was the first winter pick up for our Fresh Fork CSA.  Generally, we’ll be picking up every other week, but the first few pick ups are off schedule due to the upcoming holidays.

We are still picking up at Beachwood High School on Thursdays.  The pick up times are a tighter with our pick up scheduled between 4PM and 6PM.  We still have the option of picking up in Cleveland Heights later if we ever get in a jam.

Thursday is our extra busy day since Nick has a swim lesson at 4:30PM.  It’s conveniently just down the street from Beachwood High School, so we just picked up our CSA on our way home.

For the winter CSA, there is not an option for small, large, vegetarian or vegan.  Everyone gets the same package.

Here’s what we were expecting this week:

  • 1 Boston Butt Roast, 5-6 lbs.
  • 1 bunch cylindra beets with tops
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 2-3 green peppers
  • 8 oz. mixed salad greens
  • 2 bulbs hardneck garlic
  • 2 ct. seasoned pizza dough balls
  • 8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese

Here’s a group shot:

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We had our choice between a boneless or bone-in roast.  We chose the bone-in.  It came frozen and will become pulled pork in a couple of weeks.  I saw an appetizer that used shredded pork in a wonton wrapper that I would like to try.  I just need to find whole wheat wrappers or make my own.

We haven’t had Harvard beets for a few weeks.  So, these will go into that dish.

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I’m thinking we might be having delicious pizza this week.  We got green peppers, spinach, fresh mozzarella, garlic (1 large bulb), and bread dough.  The spinach was a “veggie choice” selection.  Instead of the tomatoes, we got to pick between spinach, onions, potatoes or tomatoes.  I love the spinach!

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The mixed greens aren’t my favorite, but I know they are good for us.  They’ll go well with the pizza.  We haven’t had cauliflower lately and it’s a family favorite, so it will make a nice side dish over the next couple of days.

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Extra are still available at the back of the truck.  We picked up another yogurt ($5).  I haven’t decided how much we really use in a week, but it’s more than one.  Also, my banana bread recipe uses it and I feel like baking soon.  This winter, I want to try making my own yogurt, but I’m not sure we’ll ever get away from buying it.

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The winter CSA is a bit more low key than in the summer and we didn’t have any line when we arrived just before 5:30PM.  I hope that trend continues as it starts to snow soon!