CSA Weekly Report: Lancaster Farm Fresh

Thursday, July 26, 2007

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.