The End is Near

No, I'm not a doomsday prepper...but I know that this was one of our last distributions for the 2014 farmthisway CSA season. Week 22 of 24.  With yet another GIANT distribution, filled with cabbages, two different squashes, apples, grapes, eggs and more (including some Fall decorations!), we are prepping not for doomsday, but for Winter.  When our beautiful fresh vegetable distribution will not be showing up every Wednesday.  So a lot of this is heading to the freezer or into canning jars to make sure we have yummy stuff to eat when the snow flies as well.

I've already got soup bases and sauces prepped and frozen.  Along with many canned and frozen veggies.  I think early next week, I will take on making and freezing some cabbage rolls with the remaining cabbage that I have, and prepping the rest of my acorn squash for the freezer, which I will then use (amongst other things) for a Thanksgiving side dish.

EGG SHARES ARE HERE!!!
Sign up has begun for the 40 (or what is left of that 40) egg shares that farmthisway will offer.  24 weeks of 1 dozen farm fresh eggs for $85!  Pick up is at the farm in Brant, that you set up your weekly pick up date with Marty and Carolyn,  but there is also a Monday distribution group setting up in the Northtowns. Email farmthisway@gmail.com to get more information or to reserve your share!  Pick up starts the week of November 1st! 

And it isn't too early to start thinking of a 2015   CSA Membership.  Click the link for more information on pricing and then click on Our Bushel to see a sample year of distributions.  We are winding up our 3rd year of participating in the CSA, and we have NEVER been disappointed in the amount or quality of the great packages that Marty and Carolyn put together for us every week! 

Eggs-actly what you need

 

With the 15 week members being done for the season and the chickens still producing lots of eggs, this week everyone got 2 dozen fresh brown eggs with their distribution.  YUM!  We use lots of eggs around here, and can go through a dozen easily in one meal if we make that our protein source for the meal.  However, when we have LOTS of eggs, a fun thing we like to do is my 14 year old daughter's DUO OF DELECTABLE DESSERTS.  For those of you who don't like to sugar yourselves up, or can't...This doesn't help you much, but this dessert solution is my absolute FAVORITE use of a dozen eggs. 

The first is Angel Food Cake, the recipe the link goes to is Alton Brown's, which is our favorite.  We switch up the extract of choice depending on our mood.  Light, fluffy, and delicious!  And is uses one dozen egg whites.

Then, since we have 1 dozen egg yolks left after this delicious angel food cake is done, we move onto a double batch of Alton Brown's Creme Brulee Recipe.  Yes, Alton Brown again, what can I say, we always look to the master for our recipes, his always turn out to be our favorite!  Yes, double batch.  There are 5 of us, and we sometimes share.  

 We have also been getting into a lot of breakfast sandwiches lately.  They're yummy, easy, portable and pretty healthy too.  Using an English muffin, typically the whole wheat variety, as the bread, I scramble an egg, and load it onto the muffin with a slice of cheddar and sometimes either bacon or ham or sausage.  This week we used Canadian Bacon.  If you have kids who run out the door without breakfast, or like me need to bring dinner on the run in between after school activities, these sandwiches are GREAT to hand them as they run out the door for the bus, or as a breakfast for dinner in the car, or anywhere.   I wrap them in aluminum foil when I make them, and stick them in an insulated lunch tote, and off we go.  I did 5 on Tuesday and took them to my oldest daughter's swim meet and we all ate them for dinner while sitting in the stands.  She came up to get hers during the diving break.  

Of course, you can make an omelet bar night , scramble them, make chicken in a basket, quiche, frittatas (like maybe with some of the lovely tomatoes and  green peppers we received this week as well!), or many other yummy things with your eggs.  But with only about 70 calories per egg & 6 grams of protein, plus some of the healthy fats and other nutrients we need, eggs are a lovely choice for any meal! 

A new way for me to can - The Freezer

 

The biggest reason I have heard for people to tell me they couldn't do a CSA or farm share program is that they simply can't use all of the produce that we get each week through our farmthisway membership distributions.  That they don't know how to can or don't have the time, or don't want to invest in the supplies.  Here is a secret...I don't have the time to can most of the time either.  But I do have a freezer!  And here is how that helps.

This week we got a whole crate of corn.  We can't eat THAT much corn in one week, especially at the end of the season, when we literally have corn coming out of our ears (pun intended).  But, if I freeze some of that corn, right on the cob, mid winter, a special taste of summer can be ours.  Last week we got a LOT of tomatoes, and this week too.  Last week I didn't have the time to deal with them and make sauce, so I froze them, whole with skins on.  Sometime this fall or winter, I will pull them out, and the skins will come right off when they're defrosted, and I will use them for sauce or soup then. 

But, aside from freezing stuff straight out the freezer and a farmthisway CSA are great for future meal planning.  Today, a rare day where I don't have to be anywhere while the kids are at school, I have my stove and oven working away. Tomato sauce, potato and corn chowder and chili sauce on the stove, and acorn squash roasting in the oven (which will also become soup).  The chowder is for tonight, but the others are for future meals.  The easiest way for me to process them is this....after they are done, I let them cool.  I transfer them to 1 gallon size Ziploc bags, suck the remaining air out with a straw and seal the bags.  then I have flat laying packages of future meals that stack EASILY in my freezer.  It doesn't require a canning pot or lids and jars, just some bags, which are way cheaper and I always have in stock anyhow.  I don't have a chest freezer because my husband isn't a fan, so I have one section of my bottom freezer (similar to the one shown above) that I save just for all of my flattened, frozen meals or meal starters.  On those nights in the fall and winter when we are in need of a quick dinner or need sauce for a pasta meal, I go to the fridge and grab a bag to defrost, and off we go!  

So, if you dread the process of canning, give freezing a try.  It is my new favorite method of preservation!  

CSA with Farmthisway - Not just for Humans

While I always talk about how much my husband, kids and I enjoy our farmthisway CSA, today I thought I would talk about the ways that our furry family members enjoy it as well.

My daughter, Mara, has two chinchillas (Mooch and Squishy), Caitlyn has a Russian Dwarf Hamster (Ivan), and my son, Finn, has a guinea pig (Oreo).  Not to mention the blue jays, squirrels and other friends we have in the yard as well.

One of the things we like to share with the critters is Kale.  Kale is a special treat that the chinchillas especially love.  It is something we can only give any of the furballs in small amounts, but they all seem to enjoy the occasional treat of kale.

Corn - sweet corn, because of the high sugar content is also given only as a special treat to the Hamster and Guinea Pig, but the inner husks of the corn are apparently VERY tasty if you're a guinea pig, and that is one of Oreo's favorites!  It makes him hop up and down in his cage and make happy chirp like noises.  Ivan is especially excited when he gets a kernel or two or corn.  Chinchillas are never supposed to eat corn because it can have fatal effects on them.

Herbs - Chinchillas can eat some basil or thyme as an occasional treat too. Guinea pigs too.

There are other little treats we can give our furry friends from our CSA distribution.  Just check with your vet or search the internet to find what is safe for your pet and then let them share in the farm fresh goodness as well. 

****Note*******
this was written 9/6 and meant to be published last week, so I will be posting another as well today

Ratatouille

Recent farmthisway distributions have been inspiring me to think of some interesting recipes.  Something that I had never tried until I saw the Disney Movie of the same name was "Ratatouille".  My kids instantly wanted to try this dish that the movie was named for.  So now, when the mood strikes, we will whip up the Disney version of this classic recipe .  Recently the vegetables provided by our CSA have been perfect to make a ratatouille without having to buy very many ingredients at all to complete the recipe. 

I was reminded of this ratatouille recipe when a customer came into the farmthisway tent at the Blasdell farmers market.  She was very friendly and outgoing, and clearly new her way around a veggie stand.  Once she started seeing some of the different fresh vegetables that were on offer this past week, her eyes glowed with excitement as she filled her bag and said "I'm going to make Ratatouille! This is perfect!" 

Seeing the joy brought to a fellow human being just by something so basic as selling her some fresh veggies was one of the highlights of my work day on Wednesday.  The way that people talk about their favorite recipes and the creative things that they do with the different produce is always fun. 

I also have the opposite end of the spectrum come through the market many days.  People who look at something like kale or eggplant and say, "I would love to try it, but I just have NO idea what to do with it!"  I am always happy to offer up suggestions on what I have done with it, and it often helps them to get the courage to try something new.  They will sometimes come back the next week and tell me that they tried it and loved it, like the man who has been adding kale to his morning smoothies all summer long, and sometimes tell me that they tried it but it just wasn't for them.  Hey, not everyone is going to love everything. 

But, if you are looking for a little inspiration, fire up some zucchinis, squash, onions, garlic, eggplant, peppers, and a few other ingredients, into a lovely Ratatouille, and maybe pop in the DVD of the Disney movie to have a special movie themed dinner night.  I always love seeing Remy and his passion for food.  Even if Remy is a rodent. 

On the side

Sometimes our veggies from our farmthisway CSA share are the STAR of our meal, like when we all decide to eat 3 ears of sweet corn then can't eat anything else, or when I make squash casserole, but sometimes, they play a supporting role. And that's OK too.  What would the leading actress be without the supporting cast. 

This week I discovered a new instant family favorite.  We all love quesadillas, but this time, I sauteed up some ground beef from Robbins Nest, with some of my farmthisway bell peppers, onions and tomatoes, and made Cheeseburger quesadillas.  The veggies were there and tasty, just not screaming out "LOOK AT ME!  I'M A STAR!" Another fun use was in a potato hash.  Diced up baby fingerling potatoes with the green peppers and onions again, and sauteed as a side for breakfast for dinner, along with our farm fresh brown eggs! 

Besides that, we've used the tomatoes, with the peppers and onions to make an individual batch of sauce for our lasagna this week.  And this week, most of our blueberries got frozen for later use (though my son managed to find a few before I sealed them in their freezer bags for future smoothie use!). 

The white corn this week was PHENOMENAL and shines as the star of any meal, even if it is "just" on the side...And our jalapeno peppers got their first run as an appetizer, stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon.  YUM!  One of my favorites, and so easy!  I like that the jalapenos are a perfect pair with the creamy cream cheese and yummy bacon.  Not too HOT but spicy enough.  Even the kids love them!

Another week and suddenly I am realizing that summer is ending soon.  The kids go back to school in a couple of weeks and that means pretty soon the leaves will start turning.  But fear not...I also no that along with that comes hardy winter squashes, mums, and pumpkins!  We love all of our seasons, especially the 24 weeks of CSA season!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

 

Looking at the top of my farmthisway newsletter, I realized that we are already in week 10 of our 24 week CSA distributions.  Looking back we have already received so many wonderful items from annual flowers and hanging baskets (I always take the portulaca - even I can't kill them) to herbs (I know have a thriving fresh herb garden - minus most of the parsley which I managed to kill) to yummy fresh produce, which always comes in quantities big enough to share &  still have enough left over to freeze, can, etc.  My freezer is starting to fill up with some of the yummy things we have gotten.  I've got lots of strawberry jam stored up, even despite giving it as end of the year teacher presents.  And we've made a few family, friends and neighbors happy as well, by sharing a little of our farmfresh goodies.

This week brought perhaps the happiest of arrivals since fresh strawberries...THE FIRST CORN!!!  We love corn on the cob.  Caitlyn couldn't even wait to get it home on Wednesday and ate one ear raw at about 9 AM...meaning it was only about 3 hours old, as it was picked fresh at 6 that morning, as it is every day at the farm.  I'm perfectly OK eating corn as a side dish every night for the next couple of weeks.  It doesn't get much fresher than that and we all enjoy it.  The first night the corn starred as the main attraction, even though it was a side to the pancetta and kale I had sauteed up to go with it.  I know that when we get more next week, we will start to put some aside to freeze for later use in corn chowder, etc.  Pretty soon it will be tomato season, and the corn makes a wonderful addition to our homemade salsa as well!  

Along with the corn, and many other goodies, we got some more zucchini and summer squash.  At the grocery store the other day, they were demonstrating a delicious grilled zucchini and summer squash with an Asian Miso Ginger sauce.  My daughter and I loved it, so we decided to replicate it at home.  I thought I had ginger..but I thought wrong, so instead, I used soy, soba sauce, garlic olive oil, and sesame oil as the marinade, grilled until tender and then sprinkled with some toasted sesame seeds.  It was delicious, and gone very quickly.  

The first of the green bell peppers arrived this week too.  Those are so tasty that they didn't even make it to a salad, as they are very wonderful sliced and eaten plain.  Maybe in the next few weeks, some of them will make it to be stuffed peppers.  It is hard to believe how fast the summer is flying by, and how we are already closing in on the halfway point for our CSA membership for this year.  If you didn't do it this year, maybe 2015 should be the year you try farmthisway CSA.  This is our 3rd year, and we have never been disappointed! 

ALL HAIL, GLORIOUS KALE

If you and your family, like the dwarf above think "I don't like green foods", then kale can be a little scary.  But, for a seasoned green foods veteran, kale comes as a pleasant treat in this week's farmthisway CSA Distribution. 

I took a peek at Marty's distribution video and from what I can see...this week includes both summer squash and zucchini, cauliflower, eggs, cherry tomatoes and kale!  My kids will be excited about this, especially my oldest, 14 year old, Caitlyn.  I know the first thing she will want to do it make kale chips.  They are SIMPLE, quick and tasty! 

To make kale chips, take one bunch of kale, get the leaves off and torn up into bite size pieces.  Wash and dry (I use a salad spinner) and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with a teaspoon of sea salt.  Bake in an  350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until the edges start to get a little brown.  My daughter took these into school one year and her teacher was impressed and tells me to this day that she still makes them because she LOVES them, but would have never tried them if Caitlyn hadn't brought them in that day!

If kale chips are not your thing, how about adding pancetta to your kale?  Pork fat never disappoints in my house, so my plan is to make Kale, Apple & Pancetta Salad. 

 

And sometimes for a straightforward kale side dish, this  Bobby Flay recipe for Sauteed Kale hits the spot.

Let's not forget the other greens in the basket...This week, we remembered one of our favorite squash recipes.  First we sliced up 2 each (small to medium) summer squash and zucchini, and sauteed them in butter with about a quarter of a sweet onion, salt and pepper.  Next we tossed them in a big bowl, with about a cup of panko bread crumbs, and about 2 cups of cheddar cheese.  I put this all in a Pyrex 9x13 pan, topped it with a few pats of butter,  and baked at 350 for about 20 minutes, putting the broiler on for the last 2 minutes to brown/crisp up the top a little.  Sometimes, for a little something different, we will also mix in either a can of cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup, but this time, we went for less added to the veggies.  SO GOOD that the little bit that was left was highly contested for leftovers as lunch the next day. 

I'm sure you have plenty of ideas for what to do with cherry tomatoes, mine don't usually make it past being rinsed and eaten straight out of the container.  And the cauliflower in our house is usually either eaten raw with dip or steamed with a little butter and salt.  

I hope you like green foods, and that if you don't you give them another try.  And stop by the Blasdell Farmer's Market on Wednesdays from 9AM-2PM at the farmthisway stand and say hi! 

Wednesdays are the best!

With no alarm clock and no school schedules to keep up with, Summer days can tend to be indistinguishable from each other.  Not Wednesdays though.  Wednesdays are farmthisway days!  Today is no different.  We are in week 7 of our 24 week CSA membership here in my house, and this week is looking like a fun week!  

Growing season is in full bloom, and the variety in the distributions is starting to show that.  This week we have lovely cauliflower, cabbage, zucchini and summer squash, strawberries, cucumbers, onions and eggs.  Oh what a culinary delight!  The first thing on my post CSA pick up shopping list is going to be a pizza crust or two.  I see a grilled veggie pizza night in our very near future. I usually either buy the Wegman's whole wheat crust or the Rustic Crist Old World Whole Grains crust.   Then I just make long slices of the zucchini and summer squash, make large rings of onion and rough chop the cauliflower and toss in olive oil and some sea salt.  Grill those up first, and once cooked, chop to smaller, pizza friendly sized pieces. Then I take my crust, shred up some fresh basil from my farmthisway herb garden and spread that with some olive oil as the sauce.  next some cheese of your choice, I usually do a blend of cheddar and mozzarella, and toss the veggies on, before putting the whole thing on a low heat grill and closing the lid to get a better melt on the cheese!  

Also a summer favorite is cauliflower salad.  Steam the cauliflower, and you've got a picnic side dish in a few simple steps.  Much like potato or macaroni salad, but by using cauliflower instead of noodles or potatoes, you get more veggies, and please any of your friends who skip the carb scene for one reason or another.  Sweet yellow peppers, hard boiled farm fresh eggs, and mayonnaise make this quick and easy, and tasty too.

This week, most of our strawberries are destined for the freezer in one form or another...Here is the strawberry Popsicle recipe we will be using this week!  

2 pounds ripe strawberries, washed, hulled and halved
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Place strawberries in a medium bowl.  Add sugar.  Toss to coat.  Soak berries for about 30 minutes, or until they begin to leave juice in the bowl

Add strawberries and lemon juice to food processor.  Blend until strawberries are pureed.  Add to popsicle molds.  Freeze until solid (about 8 hours).  

This looks like a great way to beat the heat this Summer.  Healthy popsicles that the kids will LOVE!  I hope you enjoy your week of goodies, I know I will! 

Week 6 of 24

Fresh produce is starting to roll into the local farms around Westen NY and our CSA distributions at farmthisway are getting exciting.  

In my family, we plan most of our meals around the produce in the distribution for that week.  This past week we received Cucumbers, cabbage, and 2 more flats of strawberries, plus eggs.  

The strawberries have been made once again into jam, frozen for future use, sliced with sugar for shortcake and just eaten plain.  One of my favorite things to do with the strawberries in the freezer is to make smoothies.  We use these for breakfasts, lunches and snacks.  One of my favorites is the "Banana Split" smoothie.  Greek yogurt, frozen strawberries, banana, Ovaltine (or your favorite chocolate milk making powder/liquid), and milk.  Another frozen strawberry favorite is a simple strawberry milkshake.  Berries, ice cream or frozen yogurt, and milk in the blender is great for dessert. 

The cucumbers never usually make it to dinner, unless we slice one or two on our salad.  They are often just sliced and eaten either plain or with a little salt.  Sometimes if we have a lot of them, I like to make a cucumber salad, with sour cream/vinegar dressing and some sweet onion, or if we also have fresh tomatoes, we use the cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet onion and a little Italian style dressing.

A lot of people fear the cabbage.  My family was never really a big cabbage family until we started getting it from our CSA.  It was something I just never bought because I didn't have many standard recipes for.  We have grown to enjoy it though...and found many tasty ways to prepare it.  Whether a fresh cabbage slaw, or sauteed with onion and bacon, stuffed with ground beef and rice for cabbage rolls, or made into sauerkraut, there are way more uses for cabbage than I had ever imagined.  This week, I used some of mine to make an Asian style stir fry of cabbage, onion, and thin sliced beef, tossed in a little sesame oil mixed, and finished off with toasted sesame seeds, soba sauce and some fresh garlic chives chopped out of my herb garden that was part of an earlier distribution (and that I have miraculously managed to not kill!). 

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!  

Back in the Swing of things

Yesterday was our second week of distribution with the 24 week farmthisway CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).  This is our 3rd year with the program and we are NEVER disappointed.  Yesterday's lot included 2 gorgeous potted planters with varied plants in them, two patio tomato plants, a dozen farm fresh brown eggs,  rhubarb (and a tasty sounding recipe for an orange rhubarb breakfast bread), and a box of herb plants (with info on how to care for them and what they are good for!).  And I even ran into someone from high school, who I've kept in touch with on Facebook yesterday at the farm.  She and her family had done a different farm experience last year, but based on my posts of the goodies we've received, they are trying farmthisway this year, and two weeks in, really loving it already.


With June on the horizon, my family is looking forward to the Member Solstice Strawberry Social.  Marty and Carolyn Rosiek (And their son Eric who will be running the South Buffalo Market on Sundays this year), our farm family, are planning a fun evening for the members to gather, eat, enjoy music and a fire, and I even heard rumors of 200 Chinese lanterns that are to be released! 

I can't say enough how much our family loves being a part of this CSA.  Once you are a part of the CSA, you become part of a family of sorts.  For instance, the rhubarb and recipe actually came from another member who wanted to share with the "family".   It is so much more than just a farm share. It is a learning experience, with recipes and information on canning and freezing. It is a community builder, with members helping members, farmers helping members and members helping farmers. It is a family. 

You don't have to be a CSA Member to experience this however (although I recommend it!) Stop out at the farm in Brant, or one of the farmer's markets Hamburg on Saturdays, South Buffalo (Caz Park) on Sundays and Blasdell (Ilio DiPaolo's Lot) on Wednesdays, and check out all of the great ways that you can farmthisway. 

Time to think SPRING

Yeah, yeah...I know what Punxatawny Phil said about another 6 weeks of winter, but even so, now is a great time to think about Spring.  And think about where you will get your food this year.  For me, I know I am all set for another year of CSA Membership with farmthisway .  They have different programs to suit many different family sizes/needs. 

I am actually still eating canned and frozen items from my 2013 membership.  There is something very comforting about knowing where my family's food (or at least a good bit of it) comes from!  You can see what kinds of things we got over the past two years (the CSA is entering its 3rd year!)....FARMTHISWAY CSA BUSHELS 2012 & 2013

It is a great time of year to sign up, as I know we, like many others are just getting our tax returns and what a great way to spend some of that money, supporting local farmers and providing yourself and your family with wonderful farm fresh produce and MORE! 

Winding Down

Well, it always has to happen...the end of the farmthisway CSA season.  Almost...Week 23 arrived yesterday, with cold wind, and stinging rain (and some hail too) to remind us that winter is on the way.  For us 24 week members, that means just one more distribution.  It comes in the form of a wreath and a bushel of hard squash for the winter. 

This year, that last distribution will arrive on November 16th.  Marty and Carolyn, our beloved farmers, are hosting an end of the year gathering so that all of the members can get to know one another, and enjoy a meal together.  Everyone will bring a dish to pass, and there will even be live entertainment, in the form of a folk musician.  The Fall setting in the barn seems a perfect way to end the season. 

This week we had our decorations distribution, but that's not all.  Besides a hay bale, corn stalks, Indian corn, pumpkins, and another beautiful mum, we also got an 8 qt basket of tomatoes, some squash (acorn and butternut) cabbage, and our farm fresh eggs. 

I look forward to some Butternut Squash Soup but also would like to attempt to make some more Butternut Squash Ravioli.  The last time I made the ravioli, they came out OK, good even, but I know I can do better, particularly in my pasta quality. 

As for the cabbage, that is bound for sauerkraut to have with my New Year's pork dinner.  Something my family always has on New Year's day is pork and sauerkraut.  I am not sure why, but I usually stick to that menu.  I used  Alton Brown's Sauerkraut Recipe last year, and it worked great.  Very easy, not a lot of attention needed, and it was tasty. 

Well, I am signing off for the season..sort of.  I may pop up over the winter with some new squash recipes just for fun, or when I pull some canned or frozen veggies from my CSA distributions out to use.  Year 2 of our membership with farmthisway CSA has again been fantastic and we look forward to seeing Marty and Carolyn continue to grow the membership!  If you are looking for a way to get your veggies and more from people you know, go out and meet Marty and Carolyn at the farm.  It's a great program and we will be back again next year!

Fall Harvest = Good eating!

A fabulous week of beautiful Fall weather brought us another WONDERFUL farmthisway CSA distribution.   8 quarts of tomatoes, 2 quarts of baby heirlooms, 2 quarts of delicious concord grapes, 10 heads of broccoli, 4 heads of cauliflower, 16 apples (half Macintosh, half Cortland) 2 heads of green cabbage, 1 of purple cabbage, 6 mini acorn squash, 2 pie pumpkins, and farm fresh brown eggs.  Today I will be processing some of this for the winter, but we will also be eating some more of it fresh.  I had an heirloom tomato and cheddar sandwich this morning for breakfast, and my kids all took some fresh fruits and veggies in their lunches.  Dinner tonight will include this recipe I found for Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower to go with our roasted chicken and mashed potatoes.   There will be a salad as well, with baby heirlooms, and some baby cukes picked up at the farmthisway stand at the Farmer's Market as well.  For dessert, we are going to take a page from Rachel Ray's book and have Super Stuffed Baked Apples a la Mode.  Yum.

In the time between now and dinner however, I need to blanch some broccoli and cauliflower for freezing (always nice to have my freezer stocked for winter) and make a couple of quarts of  tomato sauce as well.  The acorn squash will hold up well until we've had time to make a couple of meals out of it, so no need to process that.  Maybe I will rake the leaves so the kids can jump in them after school as well. 

Then, onto pie pumpkins.  I promised my 13 year old that if she had all of her homework done early enough today, she could help me get the pie pumpkins ready to bake with.  I am thinking there will be enough for a few pies, some muffins and pumpkin raisin cookies (we still have 3 pie pumpkins from our previous distribution). 

OK, time to log off.  As I read this, it appears I have a LOT to do today!  Happy Fall!  Enjoy the tail end of growing season and the beautiful weather outdoors.  Autumn is my favorite season! 

Fall is in the Air, Squash is everywhere

With a chill in the air and some squash in our farmthisway distribution, it really feels like Fall is starting to settle in.  The beginning of Fall is probably one of my favorite times of year.  I love cooking soup and the colors of fall, the smell of Fall and all of the cool things that there are to do.

I love to ride my bike with the smell of crisp leaves in the air.  The almost sickly sweet smell of apples fallen on the road as you ride by, or if you're really lucky, the smell of grapes on the vines.  I had a great ride out to farmthisway the other day on my bike.  Helped to pack up some heirloom tomatoes, which are THE BEST and then headed back home on the bike.  It was a glorious day.  Seriously, go buy some heirlooms...Tops has them.

But, back to my FALL obsession.  With half a bushel of acorn squash, which is part of our distribution this weel, you can make it several ways.  I'm fond of squash soup.  You can find a ton of recipes on line, and pick one that you think sounds best to you.  I sometimes like to pick one that has apple in it as well.   They make a great flavor combo.  You can roast the acorn squash tossed with olive oil, some shallots, or onions, and garlic, and whatever else you care to throw in (like dried cranberries) or for a simple and sweet side, you can split the squash in half, clean out the stringy and seedy bits, and then brush the insides with butter and sprinkle with a little salt.  A tablespoon of brown sugar sprinkled in each half, and some maple syrup.  Pop them in the oven for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes (don't forget to put about a half an inch of water on the bottom of the pan to keep the squash from drying out and the skin from burning onto your baking dish) at 400 and the kids will almost think it is dessert instead of their veggies!

You say To-MAY-To, I say To-MAH-To

This week brought a lot of tomatoes.  Of course, in my house, this means SAUCE time!  I like to can my sauce when the tomatoes are fresh and then have it all winter long.  Last year I made enough that I had my homemade sauce all the way through early March.  I am hoping to do the same this year, even with the tomatoes ripening later than last year.

I have also just received the gift of a Foley Food Mill.  Hand grind style.  It is wonderful and it means that all of my sauce will NOT be chunky style this year.  Last year it was, and I like it chunky, but some things work better with a smooth, chunk free sauce, so I will probably make mine half and half this year.

I like to throw other veggies in my sauce, like chunks of green peppers (which we also got in the @farmthisway distribution) and onion (ditto), to give the sauce some texture.  Some of my batches last year got squash and/or zucchini added to them as well.

If you like a little spice to your sauce, you can add one or two of the hot banana peppers as well.


Other than sauce, we have found other ideas for our tomatoes.  One of my 13 year old daughter's favorites this week has been to hollow out a tomato a little bit with a grapefruit spoon, and then fill it with cottage cheese and eat it that way.

There are also plenty of nice slicing tomatoes in the box, so some will go toward our Caprese Salad addiction.  We just pull the basil from the back deck, slice the tomato and pair with fresh mozzerella.  Reminds us that it is still Summer, despite the fact that the kids are back at school.

Fried Green tomatoes are on the menu again this week, and eggplant parm casserole as well.

Happy canning, and happy eating, from my kitchen to yours!

All Hail, Glorious Kale

I've had several people ask about the kale in our farmthisway distributions.  What can I do with this?  There are several great things you can do with kale, but first, how about some information on this green powerhouse.  I have pulled some information on kale from various resources.  Here is the low down on the queen of green.

Kale is low in calorie, high in fiber and has zero fat. One cup of kale has only 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber and 0 grams of fat.  It’s also filled with many nutrients, vitamins, folate and magnesium as well as having iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and calcium. 

A leafy green, kale is available in curly, ornamental, or dinosaur varieties. It belongs to the Brassica family that includes cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, collards, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

In summer, vegetable choices abound. But during the cooler months, there are fewer in-season choices -- with the exception of kale and other dark, leafy greens that thrive in cooler weather.

To find the freshest kale, look for firm, deeply colored leaves with hardy stems. Smaller leaves will be more tender and milder in flavor. Leaves range from dark green to purple to deep red in color.  

Store kale, unwashed, in an air-tight zipped plastic bag for up to five days in the refrigerator.

NOW you may ask...what should I DO with my kale....

Well, steam it, sautee it, use it as you would cabbage in cooked meals, or shred it up very tiny and you can use it in salads as well.  Baby kale works best for salads, but if you chop the full sized stuff small enough, it is great too.  You can shred some kale and put in in almost any soup.  I searched some creative recipes for kale, and while I am fairly certain I am not up for chocolate kale fudge pops, I may try to make this Kale-onaise

And if you have any potatos left from last week's distribution, sautee up some kale and mix with either mashed or diced, pan fried potatoes for a boost to your potato.  

Soup's On!

I know, I know, it is still Summer and you don't normally want to think about soup until Fall, but I LOVE soup and eat it year round.  I turn the Air Conditioning a degree or two colder and it is time to cook and eat a meal in a bowl.  This week with our farmthisway distribution, we received all of the makings of a delicious potato leek soup.  Or Leek Potato Soup as Alton Brown calls it.  Whatever it is, it is a favorite in my family and for that reason, I doubled the recipe and invited my parents over as well.  I served it up with some of the farmthisway fresh white corn (OH MY GOSH!  THIS IS SO GOOD!!!) and accompanied by crab cakes.  For these I used some lump crab meat, panko bread crumbs, and some onion (left from a previous distribution), green pepper (we have half a bushel this week), and garlic (also from past distribution).   Dinner was a hit with everyone. 

Now, what to do with all of those green peppers.  Well this morning is SALSA morning.  No, you won't find me dancing to Spanish music around my kitchen, I will be taking some onion, farmthisway heriloom tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos (from last week) and a lime, and mixing them up for a lovely home made chunky chip topping.  I will make too much, so I will can some as well.  Then I will have fresh tasting salsa in the coming months.  But, that won't use them all, so I found this.  Roasted Green Pepper Soup recipe to try.  I love red bell pepper soup, so why not the green pepper?  And like I said, I love soup year round, so a new recipe to add to my repertoire will be a welcome friend, especially in the coming cold months!  The recipe calls for roasted jalapenos but I may use some of the roasted/frozen farmthisway hot banana peppers that are in my freezer for the heat component on this one. 

And I cannot say enough about that white corn.  Part of me wants to put some in the freezer for winter, but most of me wants to eat it ALL, right now.  Since I already have one of my 4 freezer compartments almost filled with my earlier in the summer veggies, sweet corn and green beans mostly, I feel like this special treat will be gone by tonight....Just too good to save for later, though I might scrape an ear or two into my salsa as I make it, that always gives it just a little extra crunch and sweetness to cut the bite from the jalapeno a little bit.

Enjoy your week folks!  Have fun in the kitchen!