CSA Basket

Not the best photo, but the batteries in my camera are dead so I took a picture with my phone. This week's basket included lettuce mix, various squashes, some peppers, onion, green beans yellow beans, broccoli, cabbage and some greens that I already have in the sink to be washed,. 

I was happy to see that broccoli!

Have a great weekend!

CSA Box

It has been a little cooler here these past few days, I am seeing pumpkins and mums at the Farmer's Markets, and I am seeing Pumpkin Spiced coffee everywhere! I know that fall is coming and it is my favorite time of the year. With the coming of fall, I also realize that my CSA season will be ending soon. It has been a great season and I will be a little sad when it ends. 

This week we received green beans, basil, tomatoes, apples, summer squash, onion, red onion, potatoes, tender greens, purple hull peas, bell peppers and a patty pan squash.

What dill you miss most about summer produce coming to end? Tomatoes would top my list, tomatoes and peaches. And strawberries and other fruits. I do miss all those things when they aren't in season, but hopefully I have preserved enough of the summer's bounty to last me through the winter months.

Have a great weekend!

CSA Basket

The CSA season is still growing strong here, but I know it will be ending in the coming weeks and that makes me a little sad, I have enjoyed chatting with the other people at the pick up and of course have enjoyed eating all this yummy and super fresh food. Changing CSAs this year was a great decision for me, and I will continue with this farm next year. 

This week's box contained tomatoes, lettuce, okra, onion, green beans, squash, potatoes, a cantaloupe and for the first time, some apples. 

As far as my own gardening, I still  have some green beans growing on one of my plants, the others are done I think. I picked a HUGE bowl of cherry tomatoes the other day. Those plants really did well this year. I have several more green ones so I should have tomatoes over the next couple of weeks. 

Since Kip built my raised bed for my birthday, I have been able to grow more things here in my yard. I have really enjoyed watching everything grow too. My garden bed is at the end of my patio where I have a table and some chairs. I enjoy sitting out there in the mornings, enjoying a cup of coffee, looking at the changes in my plants and watching the birds fly in and out at the bird feeders.

I am going to get the bed cleaned out as soon as everything is done and I will be planting some cooler weather crops in the next week or so. After those are harvested, I am not sure if I will plant a cover crop or if I will be "trench composting" to prepare it for next season. Both are doable in a raised bed, but I haven't decided which method I will be using.

Have a great weekend!

Grape Vines, Memories and my Weekly CSA Box

For the past two weeks in my CSA box I have received some concord grapes. There are many foods that just taste like summer to me. Ice cold watermelon takes me back to my grandparents front yard under the big tree, a perfectly ripe peach or nectarine reminds me of my Dad, pulling out his pocket knife cutting off pieces to share with me. I could go on and on describing the taste of summer and the memories that are tied to those foods.

 Nothing however takes me back to my childhood summers quicker than a perfectly ripe, perfectly purple, concord grape. 

My Great-Grandmother had a grape vine and grew these at her house. My Uncle parked his boat beside that vine and my sister and I spend hours playing in that boat every summer reaching over the side of the boat and eating grapes. The vine grew up and over a post for easier picking and my sister and I spent a lot of time playing under there too, eating grapes and enjoying the shade provided by the vine.

Even though the vine was at my Great Grandmother's house and I shared grapes with many family members, and watched my Mom make grape jelly with those grapes, that taste reminds me of my sister more than anyone else.

A couple of years ago, my sister had gotten a cutting off of the vine and planted it at her house. Last year she had a great crop and I was in town when they were ready to be picked. It was fun picking grapes with her and her son, picking grapes off a vine that dates back to our childhood and probably even before our lives even had even begun. I don't know when the vine was originally planted.

Do you have any food memories that say summer to you?

On to the CSA box! This week we received corn, tomatoes, mini peppers, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, some cilantro, an onion and more of those delicious grapes. We also got a watermelon that I forgot to include in the picture.

I have said it before, but I am so glad with my choice of CSA providers. I love the variety of foods and everything has been so tasty. One thing that I have especially enjoyed is that occasionally we get a bag with some things grouped together to make something specific. This week it was a "salsa" kit and we have everything in there to make a batch of salsa. I am a huge fan of cilantro and like lots of it in my salsa.

Have a great weekend!

CSA Basket

Good Morning! In my CSA share this week, I received some grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, a couple of jalapeno peppers, potatoes, purple hull peas, a long yellow pepper, squash and some beautiful  corn. I am still very happy with the decision I made in changing CSAs. Everything has been so good and I love the variety of foods that I am getting. I am not overrun with any one particular vegetable and it is  easier to incorporate all the veggies into my meal plan without feeling like we are eating the same thing every day.

I have had a pretty busy summer! I thought once my job ended that I would be sitting home bored all day but that hasn't been the case at all. The timing really worked out for me and has  allowed me to get to all of the canning projects I have wanted to do. My shelves are getting stocked for the winter and that makes me really happy. 

Have a great weekend!

CSA Basket

This week's CSA basket included potatoes, squash, a couple of different kinds of zucchini, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, two different bell peppers, and CORN! I like all of these things, but the corn was especially exciting for me. Kip and I both really like it cooked on the grill. I shuck and clean it, rub on some butter and some chili lime seasoning***, wrap it in foil and throw on the grill and it is delicious.

I think I have said it almost every week, but I am so happy with this new CSA. I love the variety of foods that we get each week and everything has been so tasty. Everything tastes as good as it looks too.

I have a few extra zucchini. so I think I am going to make some Zucchini bead today. I will probably go ahead and shred some of what I have and freeze it in two cup portions so that it is ready to go when I am ready to make it again.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July celebration. It was wet here, so we cooked indoors and went to my SIL's house and had a great time over there. Everyone kind of pitches in and brings a couple of different dishes and we are usually over there for a while, eating, visiting, playing cards or other games, watching movies, and eating again!

***the chili lime seasoning I like the best is a Chili-Lime Rub that I order from Pampered Chef. I don't know what made me sprinkle over my corn one day, but I did and we both love it.

CSA Basket and an Update on the Raised Bed

This week's CSA basket included a kohlrabi, a head of purple cabbage, squash, zucchini, some beets, onion, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, red potatoes and regular potatoes.

I am loving all of the tomatoes and cucumbers that I have been getting. Everything has been very good, but I tomatoes and cucumbers are some of my favorite things to eat in the summer. I eat them plain, or love to slice them together and add just a bit of ranch dressing and some pepper.

The kohlrabi is new to me, I have never used it or eaten it before. Getting new things has been one of my favorite things about being a part of a CSA. Anytime I have gotten something that I wasn't familiar with or had never cooked before, all I have to do is ask and can get some suggestions. I love it that the person bringing us our shares always has ideas, but if there are other people there art the pickup time, they are usually quick to offer additional ideas too.

Last week I blogged about how we built and set up my new raised bed garden. This past weekend, my Dad came up for a visit and added this fencing to use as a trellis to the back of the bed. I have green beans and cucumbers planted on the back row and this will allow them to grow up onto the fence instead of just growing out. This is how he grows his cucumbers in his garden and I wanted something similar. I can't wait until it is covered!

Here is my Dad attaching some zip ties for extra support:

And here is a shot of the growth so far:

CSA Share

This is my CSA box for this week. I was so excited to see more peas, they were so good last week. And I really got excited when I got down into the box and saw the cucumbers. Nothing in the store can touch a home grown tomato or a cucumber. This week's box contained salad greens, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, lots of squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peas, and zucchini. 

We have already gotten a couple of tomatoes over the past couple of weeks and to me, a ripe, home grown tomato is the sign of summer and all the delicious things that can be found in abundance from local gardens. That first tomato though, there is nothing like it. I made Greek Chicken, pitas and hummus for dinner one night last week. I had my pita stuffed with some chicken and hummus, and lettuce and tomato from the CSA. Biting into that tomato, the flavor of summer just danced on my tongue. 

Have a great weekend!

CSA Basket June 6

Thursdays are my CSA pickup days and this is what I got in this week's basket: summer squash, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, two heads of lettuce, mesclun salad mix, onions, and peas. I love strawberries and the ones that I have gotten in this basket have been so tasty, but I think I was even more excited about the peas! I don't think I have ever had fresh peas before, at least I know that I have never cooked them before. I love peas though and did decide to grow some this year. 

We have already eaten some of the lettuce and tomatoes with last night's dinner. Since Thursdays are CSA pickup days I get home a little later than normal so I have been making Thursdays "sandwich night". It just makes it a little easier on me to make a quick dinner. Last night we had roast beef sandwiches on onion rolls and then I had some white cheddar cheese, made some horseradish mayo and lettuce and tomato from my basket.

The squash and the onions will probably end up in tonight's fried rice dinner, the strawberries will be eaten as snacks and with breakfast and the lettuce will make some fine salads. I am not sure about the peas yet, I haven't decided if some of them will also be in the fried rice or if I am just going to have a big bowl of peas for lunch today!

I think this is the fourth week of pick-ups with the new CSA and I have to say, I have been very happy with everything I have gotten. Switching farms wasn't a decision that I made lightly, but I really do think this was the best decision for us. The variety seems to be greater already and I am happy that this farm also included fruit in their baskets. 

Have a great weekend!

CSA Basket and a recipe

In this week's basket, we received two kinds of lettuce, some mint, a bag of spinach leaves, onions, strawberries and kale. I know I will be making a strawberry spinach salad this week, these strawberries are delicious.  I had planned on buying eggs when I picked up my share this week, but I forgot to take cash with me so I will have to wait until next week to get my fresh eggs. 

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Dressing:

2 tablespoons of poppy seeds

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar (or white vinegar)

1 tablespoon minced onion

1/4 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together. I usually add everything to a mason jar then add a lid and shake it to mix it all together. It is easy to pour and then store in the fridge. 

Salad:

10 - 12 ounces fresh spinach leaves torn into pieces

1 quart of strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Combine all the salad ingredients into a bowl. You can pour the dressing over the entire salad and serve or let each person add their own at the table. I normally make extra salad for our lunches the next day so I don't usually dress the entire salad because it tends to not be as good the next day. If we have people over and know that it will probably be eaten, I do go ahead and dress the entire salad.

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First CSA basket of the Season!

This is my third year of begin part of a CSA***. I changed farms this year and was very excited for our first pick up this year. This week the basket contained: a head of Cherokee Red lettuce, a head of Jericho Lettuce, a head of bok choy, strawberries, lemon balm, onions, maple syrup, along with a letter from the farmer. I sampled a little bit of everything except the lemon balm. I could not be happier the the appearance or the taste of the items in my basket.

I love to make stir fry and I know that is where the bok choy and some of the onions will be used. Most of the time when I make a stir fry I leave them vegetarian and serve with some rice and maybe some hot and sour soup. I think they make a great dinner choice towards the end of the week when I have a hodge podge of leftovers in the fridge. Here is the recipe for my basic stir fry:

Stir Fry

1-2 cups of chopped bok choy or chinese cabbage

1 cup small broccoli florets

1/2 cup onions

1 small zucchini, cubed

1 small squash, cubed

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Heat oil in a large pan, and then add onions. Cook the onions for just a couple of minutes and then add the rest of the vegetables and cook until vegetables are tender crisp. 

Really you can add almost anything else to the pot that you like. Depending on that I have on hand, I like to add peas, some water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, some chicken or pork, or anything else that sounds good that night. 

***If you aren't familiar with a CSA: A CSA (consumer supported agriculture) works when a farmer offers a number of "shares" of his produce. The shares range from 1/2 a bushel to a full bushel  of various items. The customer pays a portion or the full amount prior to the season starting to help offset the costs of seeds, greenhouse supplies, repairs to equipment and other farm related expenses in exchange for a weekly share of the farmers produce. The farmer has money upfront to offset his planting costs and knows that he has a market for that amount of produce. The produce that is in each weeks basket changes to reflect what is in season at that time and tend to be pretty generous. Often there will also be additional items that can be purchased at the CSA pickup site such as eggs. Both of the CSAs have provided newsletters, emails or have a Facebook group where they will also share recipes, which is great when you have something in your basket that you aren't that familiar with. Like lemon balm! Lemon balm added to a simple syrup makes an awesome sweetener for iced tea.

In my experience I have found the CSA to be a positive thing. I think my food dollars go a little bit further, especially since I try to buy organic produce. I love the variety of food that I get. I know its fresh since it is picked the morning of the day that I get it, it is local and I am eating what is in season. The flavor of the foods cannot be beat. Even now that I am growing some of my own food, I appreciate the having access to things that I do not grow.

After two years with one farm, I did decide to make a change this year for many reasons. It wasn't a decision I made lightly but I think I made a good choice for our food dollars. One of the reasons I wanted to switch was that this one includes some fruit in their baskets. The pickup is also more convenient for me. There were other reasons too, and I think I will be very happy with this CSA.