CSA - 2013 Season - Week 14

This week, Brad took M to the market while S stayed here for a nap and I got some much needed housework done.  Though if you were to drop in for a visit, you'd probably be surprised that any cleaning had taken place because it still looks like we were recently robbed.  Good grief.  It never ends.  Anyway, the boys had a nice time at the farmers market, bringing home quite an abundant share for the week.  I think this year has been our best year yet in terms of quantity of veggies.  Here's the list for the week:

• 1/2 dozen eggs
• 3 green peppers (10 oz)
• 1 kabocha squash (3 lb) (I thought it was a hubbard squash, but when I looked it up to check the spelling, I discovered I might be wrong.  The one we got fits the description and matches the picture of the kabocha squash.  So, who knows.)
• 4 Chinese eggplant (1 lb, 6 oz)
• 3 tomatoes (1 lb)
• 1 lb green beans
• 5 ear of corn (4.25 lb)

Week 14

CSA - 2013 Season - Week 13

Lucky number 13!  This week was a very heavy week!  Yesterday the farm posted on Facebook the fact that hot dogs would be available for sale at the market this weekend.  I decided to give them a go.  Haven't tried them yet - we're thinking tomorrow for lunch - but they look delicious.  I flew solo with the boys for the pick-up today, so we didn't do much else aside from picking up our veggies.  On the way to the market, I did promise Michael that if there were any watermelons at the booth next to the one we were headed for, I'd pick one up for snack.  When we were there a couple of weeks ago, the pile was heaping with beautiful watermelons of varying sizes.  We haven't had any at the house for a few weeks, so I figured it wouldn't hurt.  However, part of the reason our bundles were so heavy was because we had a 6 pound watermelon from our farm already.  So now, we have 2 six pound watermelons.  Anyway, here are the pictures and the list:

 Week 13

Seeds!

1 - six pound watermelon (The boys actually ate half of the melon before I could weigh it, so this number is just an approximation.)

1lb heirloom tomatoes

9oz green beans

1 - 10oz bunch kale

2 - green peppers (10oz)

4 - ears of corn (3lb)

1 - 11oz patty pan squash

1/2 dozen eggs

I was super excited to cut the watermelon open and see seeds inside.  Really, when was the last time you saw a watermelon with seeds in it.  So much prettier than the seedless kind!  I chose not to take this opportunity to introduce the boys to the game of spitting seeds at one another; we were dining indoors, and there'll be plenty of time to learn that in years to come.  

  

CSA - 2013 Season - Weeks 11 and 12

Week 11

Week 11 - I took the boys as Brad had an early wedding.  We scored a prime parking spot right behind our farm's booth!  Our loot this week included:

•  1/2 dozen eggs
• 2 lbs heirloom tomatoes
• 10 oz green beans
• 2 green peppers (1/2 lb)
• 1 zucchini (5 oz)
• 2 yellow squash (1 lb)
• 1 garlic (1.5 oz)
• 6 ear of corn (3.5 lb)

The corn this year has been out of this world!  The boys LOVE it!  We ate that as a side with a few meals during the week.  The green beans were gone by Saturday night.  The boys ate half with their lunches, and I finished the rest with dinner.  The zucchini found its way into a batch of pasta sauce with venison.  And the yellow squash was used for a delicious batch of stuffed squash.  The peppers were sliced up for my sandwiches this week. 

Week 12

Week 12 - After Brad let me sleep until 7:48 - both boys awoke at 6:15 - he, along with his dad, took the boys up to the market so I could make the house look a little less like the place where tidiness goes to die.  

Week 12

 I'm not sure what I did with the pictures, but trying to make them larger just makes them messy and pixelated.  So, you'll have to take my word for it that everything is simply beautiful.






This week we have:

• 2 patty pan squash (15 oz)
• 10 apples (1.75 lb)
• 4 green peppers (15 oz)
• 1 zucchini (9 oz)
• 1 summer squash (6 oz)
• 3 heads lettuce (11 oz)
• 5 heirloom tomatoes (2 lb)
• 6 ear of corn (5 lb 10 oz)
• 1/2 dozen eggs

CSA - 2013 Season - Weeks 7, 8, 9, 10

Ok, so time got away from me.  Here's the round-up for the last four weeks.  Somehow, I don't have a picture for week 8, though I swear I remember arranging everything and taking one.  Oh well, water under the bridge.  Here we go.

Week 7 we took home 1 bunch (13 oz) onions, 4 ears (2 lb, 5 oz) corn, 3 (1 lb, 7 oz) cucumbers, 1 bulb (2 oz) garlic, 1 bag (1 lb) tomatoes,  4 (3 lb) summer squash, and half a dozen eggs.

Week 8 - again, sorry, no picture - our share included 1 bag (10 oz) tomatoes, 1 bunch (13 oz) fennel, 1 bag (4 oz) salad greens, 1 bulb (2 oz) garlic, 4 (1.5 lb) squash, 4 ears (2 lb, 10 oz) corn, and half a dozen eggs.

Last week, Week 9, we brought home 7 ears (3 lb) corn, 1 bunch (2 oz) basil, 1 bag (6 oz) kale, 12 oz cherry tomatoes, 1 bulb (2 oz) garlic, 1 white onion (6 oz), 1 yellow onion (5 oz), 4 yellow squash (1.5 lb), 2 cucumbers (1.25 lb).  We usually have a half dozen eggs, too, but we forgot to grab them this week.  

And that brings us to this week.  Week 10.  Today we had 4 ear of corn, 1 cantaloupe (2.5 lb), 1 eggplant (1 lb), 2 lb heirloom tomatoes, 2 oz basil, 2 lb summer squash, and 2 heads of lettuce (5 oz).  We did remember to grab the eggs this week :)  Some of the goodies aren't in the picture because they had been eaten before I was able to set everything up for the photo.  

We've mostly been using our veggies as sides.  Some things have been included on pizzas or pastas, but everything works beautifully on its own, too.  We are so lucky to have this opportunity each year!  

2013 - CSA Season - Week 6

I headed to the farmers market alone this weekend; company was in town, so Brad and the boys visited while I made the very quiet, solo drive to the park.

This week we brought home:
1/2 dozen eggs
2 summer squash (1.25lb)
2 zucchini (1.5lb)
4 English cucumbers (1lb, 6oz)
1 bunch small red onions (.5lb)
2 bulbs garlic (6oz)
6 ears corn (3lb)
1 bag salad mix (.5lb)

We are always grateful for our farmers, but especially the last few weeks.  I'm assuming those fields aren't air conditioned.

I've been listening to Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss, and it makes me even more grateful that we are able to serve our children the quality of foods grown at Simmons Farm.  

What have we been using our veggies for?  Well, Brad made a pesto with the kale from last week.  He topped a chicken pizza with the pesto and some scapes.  We had some of the scapes grilled with burgers one night.  We also enjoyed our first corn of the season; that was steamed on the grill, too.  The boys have been learning to enjoy sauteed squash with some of their dinners.  They'll usually eat it fresh from the pan, but aren't huge fans when it's warmed up an served as leftovers.  I also added a couple of zucchini to a venison lasagna I made for our neighbor.  He brings us fish and venison every now and then, and earlier in the year I used some of the ground meat to make a lasagna as a thank you.  He is headed out on a fishing boat for a few days and asked if I would make another pan to share with his fishing buddies, as he had really enjoyed the first pan but his wife won't cook with venison.  Of course I said I'd do it.  We're promised some fresh fish upon his return - eager to see what they catch.


Have a great week!

2013 - CSA Season - Week 5

What a great day for the farmers market!  Not too hot, not too sunny, no rain, no puddles from earlier rain.  But alas, heading there on my own with both boys, we were all business.  First stop, Seven Stars for a loaf of bread.  Next, we headed to the Simmons Farm booth to pick up our CSA share for the week.  Michael was charged with carrying the bag that held both bunches of kale.  Much to my delight and surprise, he kept taking pieces of the kale and happily munching on it.  Now I've just got to get him to eat it when I include it in a dinner dish.  After picking up our veggies it was over to the Daniele Foods table to pick up one of the meats we're planning to feature on a ploughman's platter for dinner tomorrow night.  Finally, we headed to a food booth set up by India restaurant.  As I mentioned, I was on my own with the boys today and that included both lunch and dinner, so I decided to give myself a break and get them a prepared lunch.  I ordered the chicken tikka masala, a vegetable samosa, and a piece of garlic naan.  We headed home, washed up, and sat down to a lovely and exciting lunch!  Both boys eagerly tried their delicious lunches, but slowed down when they realized, after a few bites, that there was a bit of a spicy finish at the end of each bite.  I have to applaud their efforts; I think they really did like the flavor, but the pepper at the end was just too much for them.  (Rest assured, I chose items I figured would not be spicy.  Additionally, before I served the boys, I took a few bites myself.  The spicy-ness was so mild that I wasn't entirely sure they'd even notice.  I did not intentionally serve them dinner that was too spicy for babies to eat.)  They eventually gave up and switched to fruit then headed, not quite so eagerly in for naps.

And now here's our list - better late than never:

5 English cucumbers (1.5 pounds)

2 pickling cucumbers (.5 pounds)

3 zucchini (1 pound)

3 summer squash (1 pound)

2 bunches of scallions (1 pound)

2 bunches of kale (1 pound)

1 bag salad greens (6 ounces)

1/2 dozen eggs

Just a little FYI to clear up any confusion, I have been working on writing this post all week.  So when I talk about the good weather, I'm talking about Saturday, July 13.  When I say "tomorrow night" I mean Sunday the 14th.  Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow to share our bounty for week 6 and let you know what we ended up doing with our share this week.  

2013 - CSA Season - Week 4

Week 4 already!  Where does the time go?

This week's take-home:

1/2 dozen eggs
2 squash (12 oz)
1 head green leaf lettuce (4 oz)
2 small heads read leaf lettuce (5 oz)
scapes (6 oz)
2 bunches scallions (12 oz)
snap peas (12 oz)
1 bunch kale (8 oz)

While we were at the farmer's market, we also picked up a pint of cherries, a loaf of sourdough, and a package of salame milano.  Additionally, the boys shared a coconut orange creamsicle from PVD Pops.  Such a refreshing treat on this oppressively disgusting day.

On a related note, I took the boys to Stop & Shop yesterday to buy some popsicles and was dismayed to discover that not a single variety was available that did not have high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup.  Not that I could find anyway.  I told the boys we'd have to make our own when we got home and picked up some strawberries and bananas to puree and pour into the molds Nana gave them.  When we got home, M emphatically exclaimed to Brad, "We didn't get popsicles 'cause they only had corn syrup!"  That's my boy!

Have a good week!

2013 - CSA Season - Week 3

Let's see...Last week's veggies and eggs are all gone.  All except the kale.  That's destined for the freezer after it's been chopped and blanched.  Saving it to use in soup later in the year.  Didn't do anything too fancy with anything.  Just enjoyed some nice fresh organic veggies with our meals.

So, this week, we brought home 5 pickling cukes (1 lb), 10 oz shelling peas, 6 oz garlic scapes, 4 beets with greens (12 oz),  3 kohlrabi (1.5 lb), and half a dozen eggs.  I'm especially excited about the garlic scapes!  In fact, I was just lamenting that we hadn't had any this year.  I thought I remembered having them early in the year over the last few years, but am grateful that I remembered incorrectly!  The kohlrabi does not thrill me; it's just one of those things that I try every year in hopes that I'll like it, but it doesn't work.  So we'll probably roast it and serve it as a side with some nice fish.

Have a great week!

2013 - CSA Season - Week 2

So, this week, we brought home 8 oz shelling peas, 1/2 dozen eggs, 6 oz bunch radishes, 12 oz bunch kale, 8 oz bunch Swiss chard, and 8 oz salad greens.  

 We did very well using all our veggies last week.  With the spinach, Brad made chicken Florentine served with a side salad using the mixed greens.  The snap peas were sauteed and served as a side dish on another night.  We used the eggs for breakfast and for a chef salad.  We tried out a new recipe to see if we couldn't convince ourselves to enjoy kale, and low and behold, it worked!  We served it with it with a side salad.  The dish is pictured below.  

At the end of the week all that remained was the bunch of radishes.  I'm thinking we might try pickling or making a relish with them.  

Here's to another great week of local, organic produce!

2013 - CSA Season - Week 1

Yesterday marked the first pick-up for our third season of CSA with Simmons Organic Farm of Middletown.  As you may recall, our first season of CSA was with another farm and was, shall we say, a less than ideal experience.  The Simmons Family has redeemed the CSA experience for us.  We signed up for a couple's share and added half a dozen eggs.  The season lasts for 22 weeks.  Here's what the first week provided:

5 oz. mixed salad greens
8 oz. bagged spinach
8 oz. snap peas
6 oz. bunch of kale
6 oz. bunch radishes
9 oz. bunch Swiss Chard
1/2 dozen eggs

Everything is organic, including the eggs. 

My summer mini-project is to photograph and catalog what we bring home each week.  Ideally, I'd like to make a list of the supermarket price of everything and compare it with what we pay for the season.  I know that it's a great value because of all the benefits of eating locally produced, organic food - even aside from the nutritional standpoint, but I'm really interested to see how it all adds up financially.  It would be really helpful to be able to give someone actual numbers when they ask about what we get compared to what we pay.  I'm fairly certain we pay about 2/3 of what we would pay at the grocery store.  We'll see how it goes.  I'd also like to post how we use some of the trickier vegetables.  By tricky, I mean the ones we don't really like (ahem, kale).  

Happy eating!