CSA Week 18

It looks like this is the third-to-last CSA box for the season. I’m sad because we’ll soon miss seeing our Amish friends each week, and we won’t be getting fresh produce regularly. But – most of all – I’m sad because this means pleasant weather is just about over. But for three more weeks at least, we’ll ignore the impending winter and enjoy all the beautiful colors and flavors that have been developing since spring.

This week’s box includes:

• a loaf of freshly-baked bread (it was still warm in the bag when we got home)
• a yellow onion
• a pumpkin
• four bell peppers: two red, two green
• six large red potatoes
• a jar of pickles
• a quart of cherry tomatoes
• a dozen ears of corn
• one large and one small eggplant

We have *ahem* already eaten our half of the bread. DH and the girls polished it off and I was lucky to get half a slice. Our portion of the cherry tomatoes are about wiped out, too. They are sweet as candy and S5 is eating them as such.

CSA Weeks 16 and 17

Ooops, I did it again. Forgot to post the CSA box from last week.

Week 16 (9/17) included the following:

• bunch of beets (1.5#)
• 2 eggplants (aubergines) (1.5#)
• a yellow onion (1#)
• a red onion (8 oz)
• 3 medium tomatoes (1.5#)
• 5 small peppers (1#)
• 4 red peppers (1.5#)
• a dozen eggs
• 6 oatmeal raisin cookies
• a dozen ears of corn

This week’s box had quite a variety of items:

• a dozen ears of corn
• 4 large carrots (1#)
• 5 frying peppers (1# 4oz)
• a half-pint of pickle relish
• 3 potatoes (1# 12oz)
• 3 hot cherry peppers (8 oz)
• 1 large red pepper (10 oz)
• 1 yellow pepper (6 oz)
• a large yellow onion (1#)
• a red onion (12 oz)
• a bag of lettuce
• 4 cookies

CSA Weeks 14 and 15

Ooops, I forgot to post my CSA report last week. Well, better late than never, mom always used to say.

Last week’s box:

It contained

• a very large white watermelon
• a very large butternut squash
• two pints of cherry tomatoes
• five orange tomatoes
• a bunch of beets
• an eggplant
• several different types of chard
• celery
• two very cute, very tasty little melons

This week’s box is full of late-harvest goodies:

We received:

• A dozen ears of corn
• Two red onions
• One yellow onion
• A half pint of hot pepper butter
• a medium pumpkin
• Celeriac (celery root)
• Two gargantuan carrots
• One green, one yellow and one red pepper

CSA Week 13

Most of the other CSA subscribers pick up their weekly produce boxes at the Millers’ farm, the nice folks who organized our CSA. I normally pick up our CSA box directly at the growers’ farm, since I live closer to them. Last week’s potluck must have thrown a wrench in the works, because somehow my box accidentally got shipped up to the Millers. Mr. Byler was very apologetic, and put together another box for me while I waited.

Rachel, Mr. Byler’s wife, usually puts the boxes together. Each week we receive a half-bushel box which is solidly full, but never overflowing. I think Mr. Byler felt a bit embarassed about sending my box on with the others, because he not only filled my box so full that the flaps were stuck open, but he also gave me a bag with 14 ears of corn in it.

The peppers are definitely in season. This week’s box has several different varieties, and they’re all turning red, which I think is the best stage. I like bell peppers with some color in them.

The box for Week 13 has:

• a quart (2 #) of green beans
• a pint (12 oz) of cherry tomatoes
• 4 tomatoes (2 pounds)
• 4 “tomato peppers” (1 pound)
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 red pepper
• 4 banana peppers (1 pound)
• 3 cubanelle-esque peppers (1 pound)
• 1 small hot pepper
• 14 ears of corn
• and 2 of the biggest onions I’ve ever seen

See what I mean? This onion weighs 2 1/2 pounds. That’s just crazy.

I have already sliced a tomato and made a sandwich of it on homemade sourdough bread, which deserves a post – and I even took pictures for one.  Give me a day or so and I’ll tell you all about that, plus making a delicious plum brandy.

Harvest time in the midwest US  is a glorious thing.

CSA Week 12 and Potluck Picnic

The Millers, who are the very nice organic livestock farmers we’ve enjoyed buying meat from for several years now, are the ones who organized our CSA. This week, instead of picking up our CSA boxes at the growers’ farm, we went up to the Millers’ to get them and to meet the growers and other CSA participants at a potluck. Everyone brought something to share, and we had a very lovely evening getting to know each other and talk about our CSA participation.

The potluck was really fun. The Amish women brought an amazing selection of homebaked breads, butter, jams, cookies, and brownies. There was a creamy bean casserole, a fresh pasta salad, homemade noodles, and “beet chili”- basically beet preserves, which tasted a heck of a lot like strawberry jam. (Delicious on homemade bread, let me tell you!) The Millers made brisket, so soft you didn’t even need a knife, and it fell right off your fork so you really didn’t need one of those, either. I brought potato salad made with my own blue potatoes and a few jars of jam and apple butter from last season. Someone else made a purple-cabbage salad and decorated it with nasturtium flowers (the girls thought that was fantastic, since we also put our nasturtiums in salads). I think there were other dishes, too, but that’s what I can remember at the moment.

We introduced ourselves and, over plates of great food, talked for about participating in a CSA, both from the consumer perspective (someone said it would be very helpful if the more “mysterious” vegetables might be labeled, so the less-herbivoracious among us knew what they were) as well as from the growers’ angle (the late tomato blight is really hitting them hard and they’ve had to resort to using some non-organic fungicides to protect their farms from this devastating disease). It was really nice to meet some of the other consumers and share recipes and food ideas, too.

Many folks in the CSA joined because they felt it was a more economical way to get organic produce. While a share was not inexpensive ($500 for the 25-odd week season), it probably is a considerable savings if I tried buying each item separately in the organic section of my supermarket. There is the reality that I would probably NOT buy things like kale or broccoli, so getting them in my weekly box isn’t really a savings since I wouldn’t buy them anyway. But getting things like kale and broccoli and unusual varieties of other vegetables is part of the fun of a CSA, so I’m not complaining.

And, of course, we picked up our boxes.

This week there were:

• a large bunch of very large carrots (about 2 pounds total)
• four medium red tomatoes
• a pint of cherry tomatoes
• a quart of peaches
• a quart of green beans
• three green bell peppers
• a pair of eggplants

I’m not a big connoisseur of eggplant, but am excited to try it. Perhaps breaded and fried. The carrots look fabulous and will likely go in soup. S5 will demolish the cherry tomatoes, and both girls will take care of our share of the peaches.

CSA Week 11

Here we are with another fabulous box of fresh, local organic produce.

Included are:

• A very large onion (used to make spanish rice tonight)
• two round zucchini squash
• five six (we found one under the van) hot-ish peppers
• two bell peppers
• a bunch of beets
• a pint of blackberries
• nearly two pounds of beans
• a canteloupe melon

CSA Week 10, And A Recipe To Boot

Here is this week’s box:

It included

• An enormous cucumber
• a medium sized zucchini
• celery
• some green onions
• a head of cabbage
• five potatoes
• a bit of broccoli
• some flowers (we think they are zinnias)

Last night I made a beef stir-fry for dinner and used up most of the onions, the beans, some of the zucchini, and the rest of the green pepper from last week. I will share the recipe because it is not only tasty, but ridiculously easy.

Let me say that what follows here is not an authentic stir-fry recipe. Or let me say that any resemblance to authentic stir-fry recipes, living or dead, is completely unintentional. This is how I clean out my refrigerator and come up with a quick dinner at the same time.

I should also mention that we buy our beef by the half. If you imagine a brown paper grocery bag, and then imagine six of them filled to bursting, that is about how much beef you get out of a half. (Many folks prefer to buy a quarter, since this is an awful, awful lot of beef.) About two or three of those bags contain ground beef, which comes in handy in the winter time as a filler for other casserole dishes and soups. But we also get a lot of steaks. And while I like the taste of steak now and again, I personally can’t sit down to a slab of meat and just dig in. Even my husband, who has been called “Beef Boy” in the past, can only eat so much steak.

This thing about the steaks is important because you should know that I probably would not go out and buy a steak to make stir fry with. But if you have a steak in your larder and cannot bear the thought of just frying it up and carving it, or maybe you have just one or two steaks and several people who want to eat, this is a nice way to spread the love.

First off, get out your meat ingredients. They need to be sliced and then marinated for about an hour. You can also use tofu in place of the meat (so they say), or I’ve used julienned pork chops or chicken pieces as well. Sometimes both.

For the marinade, you’ll need soy sauce, mirin (sweetened sake) OR you can use a tsp of honey plus some white wine vinegar or rice vinegar; I also use red pepper flakes and a tablespoon or so of oil. My favorite oil is sesame or walnut, but you can also use a mild olive or even a vegetable oil. You only need a tablespoon, so just use what you have. The point of this recipe is to use things up, not to add rarely-used items to the pantry. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a proportion that is about four parts soy sauce to one part mirin/vinegar and one part oil. Put the meat in a bowl and cover it with the marinade, tossing to coat all the pieces. There should be just enough to coat everything. It should not be swimming in marinade. For two steaks, I generally use about 1/4 cup soy sauce (or less) plus a tablespoon each of mirin and a tablespoon or maybe even two teaspoons of oil.

Next, while the meat/protein is marinating, make a pot of rice. I use a rice cooker (since it’s brainless) but just work with whatever you have. Make whatever kind of rice you think you’d like to eat with your stir fry: brown, white, whatever. I find that wild rice and risottos are not so good with stir frys, but what do I know?

Now it’s time to get the vegetables ready. This is a very flexible recipe. It’s one of those clear-out-the-crisper-drawer kind of efforts (my favorite kind!) In addition to one or two steaks, our family likes to add some carrots, peppers, onions, peas, beans, and whatever else is hanging around that looks like it needs to be fried up and eaten. Last night we had some leftover corn-on-the-cob that I scraped off and put into the bowl, along with some cherry tomatoes. The only important thing is that you arrange your vegetables so that the ones that need longer cook times (peppers, carrots) go in the pan first, while things that just need a quick swish in the hot pan (tomatoes, green onion tops, already-cooked things) go in last. I use a large cutting board and scrape things into the pan in order. You can also use small bowls or whatever system works for your kitchen’s layout.

Heat up the pan – or, if you’re really fancy (I am not), your wok. Add a few tablespoons of quality oil. Sesame oil is good for high heat stir frying. Walnut oil also works. Olive oil is also fine (but not EVOO, that is best for uncooked dishes or low heat). Let the oil get hot (practically smoking) and then add the meat. Make sure you’ve got everything that needs fried right at the ready, because this part goes pretty fast.

Put the meat pieces in first. For thinly (1/4″) sliced steak, I usually cook the pieces for about 2-4 minutes TOTAL. As soon as they are colored on all sides take them out of the pan, for goodness sake. Even if you like your meat medium, or well done, do not let them hang out all day to turn into leather. The meat will continue cooking once the outside is seared, so you really want to get them out of there right away. Some pieces will cook faster than others, so you have to watch each piece and take it out when it’s ready. Chicken might take a minute or two longer. You can always add them back to the pan if you need to.

Toss in the vegetables once the meat has started cooking. Add the ones that need to cook longer first. Peppers, zucchini and carrots can practically go in with the meat. You’ll have to sort of wing it based on what you’re cooking. Remember, though, that the point is not to make the vegetables mushy. You’re just trying to get them slightly soft. If they were crunchy when they went into the pan, they should still be slighly crunchy when they come out.

Any extra liquid that’s in the bowl can also go into the pan. It makes a good sauce. Once everything is cooked, put the meat and veggies into a clean bowl and serve along with the rice. Enjoy!

CSA Week 9

Today is CSA day again, friends. The season has really gotten underway, with the first of the regular sized tomatoes and peppers making their debut. It’s been a strange summer so far, with a very wet June but a very cool July. As such, our farmers are worried about late season blight hitting their crops. It’s so strange for me to think about this through their eyes. If my home garden gets hit by blight, I’m out some time and effort and about $3.27 for seeds. Then I’ll probably pay a few cents more for my tomatoes at the store. But our farmers are Amish, and they live off of what they grow. If blight hits their crops, they won’t be eating any tomatoes this winter. And that would be a shame.

I still have my half of the summer squash from last week, but (aside from the kale, which I shamelessly composted) we managed to use up everything else. This week’s box is exciting:

You probably can’t see the giant zucchini hiding behind the scale in that picture. A friend of DH’s sent it home with him yesterday. This means I have something in the neighborhood of 4 pounds of zucchini to do something with. I put some in our pasta last week, which was devious and surprisingly good; some of it is frozen, but the rest? I may be making an awful, awful lot of zucchini bread this weekend.

I’m not complaining, however.

CSA Thursday

Today was CSA day, which meant we got to pick up another box of produce from our Amish farmers and figure out what the heck to do with all the vegetables before they go bad.

This week’s box included:

• a cucumber (which we chose from the farm stand since Mrs. B forgot to put one in the box)
• a round squash which is supposed to be similar to zucchini in flavor
• about a pound of kale
• a very large head of lettuce
• the biggest white onion I’ve ever seen
• two yellow peppers, possibly hot
• a small bunch of broccoli
• a jar of sweet pickles

I really enjoy getting the CSA box each week.  Of course it’s local food, and organic, and outrageously good compared to what’s in the grocery store.  But there’s also the challenge of figuring out how to cook and use up what we receive in each box.

My friend and I are sharing the boxes, and we usually split everything quite literally in half.  This week I traded her my share of the broccoli (not a fan) for her half of the onion (she still has quite a bit from the last few weeks’ boxes).

The pickles will be demolished by S5 sometime before tomorrow’s lunch, or whenever she discovers that they’re in the fridge.  The cucumber and lettuce will likely become salad (which we’re eating lots of these days).  As for the kale, I’m not quite sure what to do with it just yet, but my friend suggested sauteeing it with butter and either onion or garlic, which sounds quite palatable.  There was also a recipe in the Rodale cookbook for some sort of greens-soup that also looked good.  I will see how I’m inspired tomorrow.

With Alarming Regularity

While routine (*shudder*) is not my forté, there are a few things I do on a regular basis and at a regular time.

1. Every morning, before I do pretty much anything else, I make coffee.

2. Every morning, before I do pretty much anything else (but after I make coffee), I turn on my computer and check email/blogs/waste a really dumb amount of time, while drinking my coffee.

3. Once a week, on Thursdays at 1:00 PM, I drive out to a farm to pick up my CSA box. (I sometimes stop for coffee along the way, but not always.)

I think there is some tooth-brushing that you might be able to throw in there as well, but the timing is always different so it really can’t count as routine.

This is the first year for us belonging to a CSA. I looked into doing one last year, but couldn’t find one within a reasonable distance. In fact, the one we ended up joining is brand-new. It’s a group of Amish farmers who call themselves “Growers and Grocers.” I think that’s such a cute name. They are working with our favorite farmers, the ones we get all of our meats from, to develop and operate their CSA as some of their… er… brethren have done elsewhere.

Yesterday was CSA day, and I just finished entering the box contents into my little food journal. Yeah, you heard me: I have a food journal. It’s a little notebook where I write handy bits of information, such as the name of the place where we picked blueberries last year, and how many quarts we got, and how much they were a pound, and how many jars of jam came out of it. I write down useful measurements, like the fact that a 4-quart box of hand-picked strawberries ($8.50) gives you about 13 cups of hulled and sliced berries, which in turn makes about 5 half-pint jars of strawberry syrup. I also put recipes in there, which was very useful when we made four different batches of apple butter from about nine different types of apples last year, and I was able to identify the right recipe/apple combination so that we can make it again this fall. So don’t mock. Nerdiness can be very, very tasty.

I’m sure* you’re wondering what we got in our CSA box this week.

*Actually, I am not sure of this at all. In fact, I could very well be talking to myself at this point. But I’ll write it down for posterity’s sake.

Here it is, all freshly picked and crisp and tasty.

I even picked out a few bugs that woke up to discover their homes had migrated about fifteen miles southwest. Yeah, it’s that fresh.

Mrs. B also gave me a cute little recipe card. On one side is a recipe for zucchini casserole, which uses 3 cups of shredded zucchini (check) and a small onion (check), plus cheese and eggs and other things, and it also calls for a cup of baking mix, the recipe for which she put on the other side of the card. Such a nice little touch.

I am slightly alarmed that the three things I do with absolute regularity all involve food and/or coffee.