CSA Weekly Report: Red Earth Farm

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

This week’s share:
zucchini (for salad, or maybe muffins)
eggplant (to make with a sweet miso sauce)
onions (just to have)
Yukon Gold potatoes (I have potatoes of every color now)
swiss chard (need some greens)
frying peppers (stir-fry is in their future)

CSA Weekly Report: Red Earth Farm

Thursday, August 09, 2007

This week’s share included

1 quart of slicing tomatoes
1 quart of Yukon Gold potatoes
1 quart of green snap beans
2 large zucchini
4 Walla Walla onions

I asked for blue potatoes, but they substituted the Yukon Golds. Not pictured is the jar of honey I picked up from the buying club and the half of the share that went to my friend. 

When I first signed up for the CSA I wasn’t sure just how much produce I’d get each week. I was afraid that if I got a full share I wouldn’t use it all. Unfortunately, almost immediately after receiving our first box back in June I realized that splitting a full share with another person just wasn’t enough for my family. Now I know for next year that a full share is a necessity. I think that this week since I’m going to have to go to the farmer’s market to get more produce anyway, I’m going to roast and freeze the tomatoes for sauce and grate and freeze the zucchini for latkes and bread in the winter.

CSA Weekly Report: Lancaster Farm Fresh

This week’s share from the Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA program saw the return of radishes!  The share is chock full of tomatoes and peppers this week.  I’m thinking it might be the week to drag out my pressure canner and make a few jars of roasted pepper and tomato sauce!

• 3 green peppers grown by Meadow Valley Organics
• 3 Cubanella peppers grown by Green Valley Organics
• 5 hot peppers grown by Farmdale Organics (a mix of banana and ancho peppers)
• 3 red slicer tomatoes grown by Green Valley Organics or Countryside Organics
• 2 heirloom tomatoes grown by Riverview Organics
• 1 watermelon grown by Riverview Organics
• 3 Walla Walla onions grown by Scarecrow Hill Farm
• 1 pint grape tomatoes grown by Farmdale Organics
• 2 bunches cherry bell radishes grown by Elm Tree Organics
• 2 green cucumbers grown by Farmdale Organics

CSA Weekly Report: Red Earth Farm

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

A veritable rainbow of produce:

Red: slicing tomatoes
Orange: Sungold cherry tomatoes
Yellow: pattypan squash
Green: green beans
Blue: blue potatoes (although some red ones snuck in)
Violet: beets

Also in the mix: first Macintosh apples of the season (from the buying club), and Lancaster County-grown peaches that I bought from Sue’s Produce (on 18th Street, near Sansom) because they looked luscious.

The cherry tomatoes are all gone—we couldn’t help eating those sweet things all up.

CSA Weekly Report: Lancaster Farm Fresh

Thursday, August 02, 2007

What’s fresh off the farm this week from Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop?  Come and see…

3 green peppers grown by Meadow Valley Organics 1 sugar baby watermelon grown by Green Acres Organics 1 pint grape tomatoes grown by Farmdale Organics 4 heirloom tomatoes grown by Green Valley Organics 2 Cubanella peppers grown by Green Valley Organics 5 lbs potatoes grown by Scarecrow Hill Farm 3 yellow squash grown by Green Valley Organics 2 green cucumbers grown by Elm Tree Organics 2 candy onions grown by Meadow Valley Organics

Amy, our friendly neighborhood coop representative, suggests making watermelon margaritas with the watermelon in this week’s share - a woman after my own heart!  Pass the tequila!

It’s been so hot here in Philly the last few days I thought I might use the onions, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes for gazpacho - nothing beats sitting out on the back porch with a cold bowl of gazpacho and some good bread from Le Bus!  Of course, the tomatoes look so delicious that they may not last long enough in my house to make it into the soup!

CSA Weekly Report: Red Earth Farm

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

This week’s haul, from left to right:

peaches (from the buying club)
slicing tomatoes
red potatoes
onions
green bell peppers
flat-leaf parsley
leeks (hiding in the back)

The peaches are for out-of-hand eatin’. The tomatoes and some of the onions will be part of a koshary for tomorrow. I’m thinking of making vichyssoise with the potatoes and leeks. The peppers smell so fresh, I might just eat them as is, a la Iron Chef!

CSA Weekly Report: Blooming Glen Farm

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

I was out picking-my-own string beans this afternoon and considering the sign that said we were free to glean several rows of beans.  Knowing that I’d be out of town for a couple weeks and had to preserve most of my share anyway, my instinct was to spend an extra half-hour picking over the rows for a few extra quarts.  Of course, after ten minutes under the hot sun and humid air, reality took over instinct.  Besides, I still had to finish packing for that vacation. 

Another member, on the other side of the aisle must’ve read my mind. 

“I always think of the farmers when I’m out here.  It really makes you think about what goes into the food you eat, doesn’t it?”

Her words have been ringing in my ears since.  Of course, I’m thinking about the farmers. Really, I was thinking about the farmers because I didn’t want to get caught popping all those heavenly acidic cherry tomatoes into my mouth instead of into my pint basket, but I knew what she was getting at.

Little defining moments like these happen nearly every week when I go to pick up the share - honest and real moments that just don’t happen at the Superfresh. 

Local. Sort of .

Thursday, July 26, 2007

We vacation in the Outer Banks where the produce at the local supermarket is terrible. The small produce store has some better items, but since I’m a member of the Red Earth Farm CSA (I split a full share of ten items with my friend Jen) I decided to bring along the entire contents of last week’s box.

The box contained:
Beets
Bunch of kale
3 zucchini
4 green peppers
Bunch Walla Walla onions
Half pint of Sun Gold tomatoes
3 heads of garlic (extra because they were left out of the previous week’s share)
Quart of green beans
Quart of wax beans
Pint of new potatoes
Bunch of Rainbow Chard (extra because it was left out of the previous week’s share)
Bunch of carrots
Pint of apricots
quart of sweet cherries
Quart of blueberries (from the buying club)
Block of Jack cheese (from the buying club)
Block of Cheddar cheese (from the buying club)

I also picked up a separate buying club order from Meadow Run Farm and packed up more (locally grown, pastured) meat in one cooler than I’ve eaten in the past six months.

Because that didn’t seem like enough for two weeks I stopped at my local Farmer’s Market and picked up:

6 ears of corn
2 quarts of Peaches
Cantaloupe

And from my own garden I picked:
Rosemary
Basil
Tarragon
Thyme

So far, instead of eating eating out for every meal our dinners have been

Whole Wheat Rotini with Ratatouille (Roasted Golden Tomatoes, Zucchini, Walla Walla Onions and Garlic, olive oil, thyme and basil) and parmesan served with Swiss chard sautéed with garlic and olive oil.

Hamburgers with raw herbed jack and raw colby dill cheese (from the Fair Food Stand) on whole wheat buns. Sauteed zucchini and onions with tarragon

Whole brined butterflied chicken grilled, corn on the cob, Green and wax beans with butter and parsley.

I used the chicken carcass and some carrots, onion and garlic to make a chicken stock for the next night’s meal, which was Beet risotto gone wrong. I brought the wrong rice (long grain, not short) so I had to make long grain brown rice with onions, garlic and butter cooked in chicken stock, roasted beets, and sautéed beet greens with garlic instead of the risotto I’d planned

So far our meals have been delicious and I’m thrilled I packed four coolers worth of food. But traveling 375 miles leaves me with this question- if I’m eating the meals in coastal North Carolina does the food still count as locally grown?

CSA Weekly Report: Red Earth Farm

I’m a member of the Red Earth Farm CSA. They’re an organic farm located in Schuylkill County, and have drop-off locations for shares throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. Red Earth Farm is unique in that it is a “member choice CSA,” meaning you can choose the produce you want from a list of available items. They also have options for egg and fruit shares, as well as a pay-as-you-go buying club for purchasing additional fruit and vegetables.

I have a partial share, which means I can get up to 6 items weekly. I am also subscribed to their buying club, which allows me to buy local fruit when it’s available.

This week’s share consisted of:
2 bunches of carrots
Curly kale
Red new potatoes
Wax beans
Pattypan squash
Blueberries (from the buying club)

I bought the carrots specifically for juicing—we have a juicer at home and it’s the husband’s favorite juice. The blueberries are for a crisp/crumble, just because. I haven’t decided what to do with the other items, but I’m sure inspiration will strike when needed.

CSA Weekly Report: Lancaster Farm Fresh

It’s Thursday, and you know what that means - the CSA report from Lancaster Farm Fresh!  The share this week is massive.  No doubt it will be a struggle to carry all it home tonight!

Here’s the haul:

1 bunch Chiogga beets grown by Farmdale Organics 2 green peppers grown by Meadow Valley Organics 1 head red leaf lettuce grown by Scarecrow Hill Farm 3 candy onions grown by Back Forty Ranch 1 dozen ears of sweet corn grown by Green Acres Organics 6 tomatoes grown by Green Valley Organics and Countryside Organics 2 lemon cucumbers grown by Riverview Organics 1 bag green beans grown by Countryside Organics 2 green cucumbers grown by Farmdale Organics 2 green zucchini grown by Meadow Valley Organics 4 patty pan squash grown by Green Valley Organics 1 pint grape tomatoes grown by Farmdale Organics

I fully admit that I’ve been giving my lettuce away to the first available person.  I am officially off salads, possibly for life.  Early on the shares were chock full of lettuce.  My husband and I have a full share for ourselves and you can only eat so much lettuce, right?  We have eaten enough lettuce this Summer that neither one of us can look at a head without getting a little queasy.  At one point I had six heads of lettuce in my kitchen and feeling panicked.  The idea of wasting food makes me sick, but it’s not like you can freeze or otherwise preserve lettuce.

Well, except you can…sort of.

I ran into a recipe for Cream of Lettuce Soup that I really ended up liking.  The potatoes give it a nice body.  So I used every single head of lettuce in the house and made a few batches of soup, minus the cream and egg yolks, and froze it.  In the dead of Winter, the soup will be wonderful!

So far it’s the only way I’ve found to preserve lettuce.  I’d love to hear it if anyone has some alternative ideas.

CSA Weekly Report: Blooming Glen Farm

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Blooming Glen Farm, locate in Perkasie, PA began a CSA program last year that knocked the socks off our community and generated a waiting list for this year before the season even ended.  Their second season has proven thus far to be just as exceptional.  The variety of produce offered by Tom and Tricia, I think, will become a hallmark of their farm:

Click the image to view item names and quantities at flick’r and to get a closer look at all the great colors and textures. 

Isn’t summer lovely?

Veggie tales

Friday, July 20, 2007

Every week on Thursday finds me making a pit stop at the Fair Food Stand at Reading Terminal Market to pick up my CSA share from Lancaster Farm Fresh.  The shares have been rather huge recently, and this week was no exception:

1 bunch of beets grown by Farmdale Organics 2 green peppers grown by Meadow Valley Organics 3 Cubanella peppers grown by Green Valley Organics 1 head lettuce grown by Scarecrow Hill Farm 1 Walla Walla onion grown by the Scarecrow Hill Farm 1 dozen ears of sweet corn grown by Green Acres Organics 1 bag of potatoes grown by Green Valley Organics 2 lemon cucumbers grown by Riverview Organics 1 bag green beans grown by Hillside Organics

Everything looks amazing, particularly the peppers.