Geauga Family Farms CSA – Week Five

Geauga Family Farms CSA – Week Five

I honestly can’t believe that we got a CSA share this week – Tuesday and Wednesday the east side of Cleveland was pounded with snow (between 1 and 2 feet in Geauga County, where most of the farmers are).  It’s pretty amazing that they were able to pull off harvesting the above-pictured vegetables, in my opinion.  Then again, I don’t know a whole lot about farming.

Pictured you see three red onions, a pumpkin, a bunch of turnips, a parsnip, three ginormous beets, 2 heads of lettuce, a half dozen farm fresh eggs, six or so sweet potatoes, a bunch of radishes, a butternut squash, and a loaf of banana bread.

From last week, we only have a little bit of lettuce and one kohlrabi bulb left over.  I find it fairly easy to use all of the vegetables, but honestly, I can only eat so many salads in a week.  So, while I don’t find it too difficult to come up with a variety of vegetarian options or ways to use up the vegetables (and their greens), the lettuce kind of gets lost in the shuffle.  I’m going to make an effort to make a small side salad with dinner every night this week, but hey, there’s only so much food the two of us can eat.  Basically, I could stand a little less lettuce and a little more of something else in the CSA basket, but that’s just a matter of personal preference.  I just feel guilty watching a beautiful, flavorful head of fresh lettuce turn into a slightly wilted mass of depressed-looking greens.

I am already formulating some fun ideas for this week’s bounty.  I wish I could just spend the whole day in the kitchen – it’s such good stress relief, and finals are really taking a toll.

Geauga Family Farms CSA – Week Four

Geauga Family Farms CSA – Week Four

Pictured above is our haul from this CSA, minus a few items I passed along to my parents (half of two heads of lettuce, 2-3 carrots, a kohlrabi, and an onion) and the half dozen eggs which I neglected to picture. Included you will see a few parsnips, a half dozen baby turnips, three heads of varying types of romaine, a half dozen carrots, a half dozen or so radishes, a bunch of Swiss chard, two kohlrabi, two red onions, a half dozen potatoes, a large head of broccoli, and a loaf of bread.

Last week we did not get a share of the CSA since it was so close to Thanksgiving.  I used up almost everything in the two week period, with the exception of a little bit of one head of romaine and a few potatoes and radishes.  I would love to say I used up every little tidbit, but it’s tough with just the two of us, especially since neither of us eats a large breakfast during the week and then we eat leftovers or out for lunch (I eat leftovers, Zak usually eats out or at his parents house, which is very close to where he works).  That’s part of the reason I passed some of this week’s produce onto my parents.

I was disappointed to find that the CSA wasn’t going to be offering any other winter blocks.  We still have a couple of weeks left, so I won’t get bummed too soon, but I know I’m going to miss the extremely fresh produce and the fun surprise of opening the box and starting to formulate the week’s meal plan around what I find inside.

Geauga Family Farms CSA – Week Three

Geagua Family Farms CSA – Week Three

Above see week three of our Geauga Family Farms CSA share.  I am super excited about this week’s bounty.  Just look how colorful it is!  Included were some very colorful carrots, a few onions, a head of cabbage, two heads of lettuce, broccoli, swiss chard with shockingly bright center ribs, a bunch of the most intensely red radishes I’ve ever seen, a half dozen or so potatoes, and a pumpkin pie.

I still have some of last week’s produce left over – a head of lettuce, a few radishes, a couple of the sweet potatoes and the kohlrabi.  I’m a little disappointed in myself for not getting to it sooner, but we had our Thanksgiving pot luck last night,  the short ribs didn’t utilize any of our produce, and Zak made B’s Sauce on Thursday because I spent the evening prepping for the pot luck.  I don’t want to make the same mistake this week, so you’ll certainly be seeing a lot of vegetable-heavy dishes this week.

Geauga Family Farms CSA – Week Two

Geauga Family Farms CSA – Week Two

Pictured is Week Two’s yield of our Geauga Family Farms CSA share.  This week’s basket included (from left to right) two onions, a small container of Brussels sprouts, a bunch of radishes, a few beets, a kohlrabi, two peppers, a small container of cilantro, two large heads of different type’s of lettuce, a half dozen eggs, a loaf of some delicious pumpkin bread, a half dozen sweet potatoes/yams, and two heads of broccoli.

I thought I would take this opportunity every week when I post the new CSA bundle to comment on what I thought of last week’s bounty and how I utilized it.  Overall, I thought we did a great job of using pretty much everything that we got.  I was nervous that we would have a lot of leftover produce, but from last week I only have a few stray potatoes and one extra radish, which are all still good and I will certainly use.  Looking back on the week, I noticed that we ate a lot of vegetarian meals.  Most of the meat we did consume was complimentary to the dish (for example, the pancetta in the Warm Lettuce and Butter Bean Salad with Pancetta and Radish Chips) – more of a garnish than a serving – or was in stock form.  Overall, our meals this week were healthy and tasty.  Zak told me I should repeat almost everything I made, and I agreed with most of his assessments.

Basically, I really enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how to use everything in the CSA basket and felt that the quality of the ingredients really elevated the dishes to a higher level.  I can’t wait to use this week’s ingredients!

Geauga Family Farms CSA – Week One

Geauga Family Farms CSA – Week One

Pictured above is the bounty from the first week of our first share of the Geauga Family Farms CSA.  If you are unfamiliar with the concept of a CSA, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  A consumer purchases a share (sometimes offered in single shares or family shares), which entitles him or her to a proportion of output directly from a farmer or group of farmers, generally on a weekly basis for a block of a certain number of weeks.

The idea of joining a CSA appealed to me for a variety of reasons.  Primarily, I wanted to make a contribution to independent farmers in my community.  Additionally, I want to do a favor to the environment by trying to eat more local, sustainable produce.  Also, the nutrient content of vegetables begins to diminish virtually the moment the vegetable is harvested.  So, the further the vegetable is shipped, the longer it sits in the grocery store, the longer it sits in the refrigerator, the less “bang” you are getting for your buck, so to speak.  I also was enchanted by the idea of having a significant portion of our produce chosen for us, which will force me into being more creative in the kitchen.  Some people might consider that a disadvantage of a CSA, but I enjoy browsing recipes and being forced to think on my feet.

Shares for the Winter CSA through Geauga Family Farms are picked up on Saturdays, so I will make an effort to post what we get and my general impressions about the CSA experience on Saturday or Sundays.

This week, we received some beautiful baby bok choy, Annapolis lettuce (I believe), romaine lettuce (I believe), a kohlrabi, a red pepper, a bunch of radishes, a bunch of green onions, potatoes, a great deal of broccoli, a loaf of bread, and half a dozen free range brown eggs.  I’ve never cooked with kohlrabi before, so I am particularly excited about that.  I also have some tofu in the fridge which will go well with the baby bok.  My wheels are already spinning for how to use all of this fresh deliciousness!