Strawberry Fields...FOREVER

 

We are on Week 5 of our 24 week farmthisway CSA distribution already.   This week, besides the farm fresh brown eggs, we got a big box of broccoli and 2...yes 2 flats of strawberries!  What does one do with so many strawberries?  Well, for one thing, I immediately hulled, washed, patted dry and then flash froze some.  These come in very handy for smoothies and for recipes involving strawberries when we are way past fresh berry season.  The next thing my oldest daughter and I did, was find some new recipes to try.  

The first thing we came up with was Strawberry-Buttermilk Sherbet.  We made two batches...because we have a lot of berries... We only tasted a couple of testing bites as we put in in the ice cream machine, but we liked what we tasted!  

Next up was Strawberry Smoothie Ice Cream Pie .  It was a layer by layer in the freezer sort of thing.  A labor of love...but boy, am I having a hard time not going down there right now, releasing it from the prison of its springform pan, and eating half of it in one sitting.  Layers of strawberry, banana and blueberry (each layer mixed with vanilla ice cream) on top of a waffle cone crust.  YUM!  Dessert tomorrow cannot come soon enough!  

There was of course much jam making as well...some will be given away as end of year presents to teachers and bus drivers, but much will be ferreted away in the basement for a later date. And of course some to eat now as well!

And then we had to think about tonight...

So we decided to put the broccoli to good use with Broccoli Cheddar Soup.   I know, I know...you are probably thinking it is too hot for soup!  Well, I cranked the AC anyhow because we were cooking on the stove all day...so the soup tasted great!  I made a double batch, which is a good thing, because we only have a couple of bowls left after dinner!

And sticking with the soup theme...we opted for Strawberry Soup for dessert. (although I left off the olive oil, salt and pepper that this recipe calls for, and substituted white grape juice for the wine it called for).  Essentially, it was a bowl of smoothie, and we loved it. 

All in all it was a BUSY day.  We even took some time out from our crazy kitchen madness to ride out to farmthisway with a friend who wanted to buy a flat of strawberries as well, but wasn't sure how to get out there.  Now we have just about 1 1/2  quarts left in the fridge for just EATING.  

I hope your day was productive too!  I'm falling asleep at my keyboard, so it must be time to sign off and dream of strawberries...

Market Time!

 

Today was the first day of the 2014 Wednesday Farmer's Market in Blasdell.  It takes place in the Ilio DiPaolo's additional parking lot on South Park.  This year the market is PACKED with vendors, and opening day was a pretty good success I would say.  I was working my weekly shift at the farmthisway stand, and we were quite popular with the crowd.  Marty and Carolyn provided a huge array of flowers.  Annuals, planters in multiple sizes, hanging baskets, herb plants, patio tomatoes, lettuce bowls, strawberry plants and more!  It was a gorgeous sunny day!

Also, we had week three of our distribution.  As always, they always supply an amazing distribution for the farmthisway CSA members.  This week's distribution consisted of the dozen brown eggs (YUM!), a bundle of rhubarb, 2 citronella geraniums (they keep the bugs away!), a flat of mixed annuals, a flat of geraniums, and another lettuce bowl.  We have been using our lettuce bowls every single night to have a fresh salad with dinner.  Just clip off what we need, and it will grow back for us too!  

We are all anxious for the fruits and veggies to start making their way to market, but have to be patient as the rough Winter and crazy Spring proved to be difficult for some of the crops.  However, fresh produce should start making its debut within the next week or two, so keep your eye on the farmer's markets, and look for farmthisway!