Our CSA ended this month and I have been thinking a lot about food in general. Our CSA is awesome and it was a really good year with lots of yummy veggies [the watermelon was inedible] but even though we dropped down to every other week it was SO MUCH FOOD.
I remember being in India and seeing the camps of people living on rock heaps right outside of the office building. And there was nothing you could do. There wasn't even a place for people to grow food for themselves.
Fast forward a year plus and I get so much food in my CSA every other week that I end up forgetting what I have and then it spoils and I end up throwing it away. It is really hard to not beat myself up over this.
What can be done? I try to feel grateful every day for all the blessings I have which include so many choices, so much food. I try to be conscious that food is important, I don't want it to be convenient and easy all the time. I want to put effort into giving my family and myself the energy to live our lives. I want to be aware and remember all those who have so much less. But still food goes to waste.
So even though I am busy, even though I get tired I am going to put extra effort into keeping track of the food we have and thinking about how to use it or store it for the future. I am going to try to make it a priority.
I have a head of broccoli yellowing in the fridge right now and soup is coming. If anyone has any ideas about how to make this easier I would love to hear them.
Showing posts with label CSA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CSA. Show all posts
sigh, CSA failure
The most recent CSA was brilliant, squash, arugula, beans, savoy cabbage, pickling cukes, broccoli, fresh onions. I can't even remember it all.
I love it but with the best intentions I still can't keep up with it. I had the best plans. I tried to be organized and we ate a lot of it. But still I ended up throwing stuff away that went bad before I could get to it. It makes me so sad and guilty, which isn't helpful because I really am doing the best that I can.
Sometimes it even seems like I did better last year even though I was dealing with twice as much, that can't be accurate though. It must just be that haze of time. I am going to try to come up with new ways to meet this challenge, any ideas be sure to let me know.
As for the garden the first full size tomato is rapidly turning gorgeous. Those d@mn squirrels better not pilfer it, take one bite and mock me. We'll see though. Minneapolis squirrels have no fear.
I hope everyone's growing projects are moving along nicely.
I love it but with the best intentions I still can't keep up with it. I had the best plans. I tried to be organized and we ate a lot of it. But still I ended up throwing stuff away that went bad before I could get to it. It makes me so sad and guilty, which isn't helpful because I really am doing the best that I can.
Sometimes it even seems like I did better last year even though I was dealing with twice as much, that can't be accurate though. It must just be that haze of time. I am going to try to come up with new ways to meet this challenge, any ideas be sure to let me know.
As for the garden the first full size tomato is rapidly turning gorgeous. Those d@mn squirrels better not pilfer it, take one bite and mock me. We'll see though. Minneapolis squirrels have no fear.
I hope everyone's growing projects are moving along nicely.
CSA = brilliant box
The early spring in these parts has resulted in our CSA being even more fabulous this year. I am so glad we went down to every other week, because even with house guests and parties it's still a challenge to not let anything go to waste.
Last week our box had: cucumbers, green beans, carrots, beets, fresh garlic, summer squash, cabbage, lettuce, cilantro, basil, snow peas, sugar snap peas, green onions. It was all fantastic.
I made my first attempt at a blue cheese dip to go with a lot of those fresh veggies and people at the party seem to like it pretty well.
EB's blue cheese dip
1/4 c blue cheese [as strong as you like]
1/4 c mayo [could be part sour cream]
1/2 c plain yogurt
chopped cilantro [or any herb you have handy]
whirl in food processor for smooth or mash with fork for chunky and enjoy.
The yogurt gave this a nice lightness and tangy-ness that people seemed to like.
We didn't quite get all the lettuce eaten before it died. Oh well, I hate throwing food away. I have a goal to not let any of it go to waste we'll see if I succeed some box. I hope everyone is getting a chance to enjoy fun local stuff this month. Stay cool.
Last week our box had: cucumbers, green beans, carrots, beets, fresh garlic, summer squash, cabbage, lettuce, cilantro, basil, snow peas, sugar snap peas, green onions. It was all fantastic.
I made my first attempt at a blue cheese dip to go with a lot of those fresh veggies and people at the party seem to like it pretty well.
EB's blue cheese dip
1/4 c blue cheese [as strong as you like]
1/4 c mayo [could be part sour cream]
1/2 c plain yogurt
chopped cilantro [or any herb you have handy]
whirl in food processor for smooth or mash with fork for chunky and enjoy.
The yogurt gave this a nice lightness and tangy-ness that people seemed to like.
We didn't quite get all the lettuce eaten before it died. Oh well, I hate throwing food away. I have a goal to not let any of it go to waste we'll see if I succeed some box. I hope everyone is getting a chance to enjoy fun local stuff this month. Stay cool.
CSA great so far, garden behind
This has been a busy summer in so many ways that I haven't made the time to write about our CSA or garden this summer.
As I said before the early spring seemed to throw me and I got stuff planted quite late. This year I put in tomatoes, orange bell peppers, basil, kale, and cauliflower. I am also planning on a late summer crop of lettuce and peas. One nice thing about all the rain, we haven't had to worry about dragging the sprinkler out and with all the heat and humidity these past couple of weeks things seem to be taking off. Things are pretty buggy though, lots is getting munched on. I have been using the safe soap sparingly. We'll see if I get anything to harvest.
As for the CSA we went down to every other week and I am really enjoying it. The early spring has been fabulous for the CSA, we have already got broccoli and cauliflower, summer squash, strawberries, fennel, so much fabulous food. This week we get 2 kinds of beets, lots of salad greens and summer squash, sugar and snap peas.
Even though there is so much less food than last summer it can still be hard for us to get through it all. In fact we still have garlic scrapes and scallions left from a week ago. I am hopeful I will be able to buckle down and really concentrate on what wonderful things I can make or freeze with tomorrow's box. I have noticed that if I am not the one who unpacks the CSA box then I tend to totally forget half of what we get and then things languish in the fridge. Which reminds me of what luxury we live in where food can actually not get used.
Helping us eat all this produce the first 12 days of July is my wonderful niece and gorgeous goddaughter. They both love veggies, and it's been fun to have some food inspiration with them around. Of course their visit has been fun in many ways. It is so pleasant to have visitors that are just such a joy.
To wrap up this food themed post I tried Crenshaw melons for the first time last month and I love them. It was a pleasant surprise since I don't really like cantaloupe or honeydew but the spicy sweetness of the crenshaw melons are just right for me. If only I could find some really good prosciutto to have with it. Here's hoping something delicious heads your way soon.
As I said before the early spring seemed to throw me and I got stuff planted quite late. This year I put in tomatoes, orange bell peppers, basil, kale, and cauliflower. I am also planning on a late summer crop of lettuce and peas. One nice thing about all the rain, we haven't had to worry about dragging the sprinkler out and with all the heat and humidity these past couple of weeks things seem to be taking off. Things are pretty buggy though, lots is getting munched on. I have been using the safe soap sparingly. We'll see if I get anything to harvest.
As for the CSA we went down to every other week and I am really enjoying it. The early spring has been fabulous for the CSA, we have already got broccoli and cauliflower, summer squash, strawberries, fennel, so much fabulous food. This week we get 2 kinds of beets, lots of salad greens and summer squash, sugar and snap peas.
Even though there is so much less food than last summer it can still be hard for us to get through it all. In fact we still have garlic scrapes and scallions left from a week ago. I am hopeful I will be able to buckle down and really concentrate on what wonderful things I can make or freeze with tomorrow's box. I have noticed that if I am not the one who unpacks the CSA box then I tend to totally forget half of what we get and then things languish in the fridge. Which reminds me of what luxury we live in where food can actually not get used.
Helping us eat all this produce the first 12 days of July is my wonderful niece and gorgeous goddaughter. They both love veggies, and it's been fun to have some food inspiration with them around. Of course their visit has been fun in many ways. It is so pleasant to have visitors that are just such a joy.
To wrap up this food themed post I tried Crenshaw melons for the first time last month and I love them. It was a pleasant surprise since I don't really like cantaloupe or honeydew but the spicy sweetness of the crenshaw melons are just right for me. If only I could find some really good prosciutto to have with it. Here's hoping something delicious heads your way soon.
CSA surprises
Funny how much fun a CSA can be. But this week it really was. The weather was lovely and I found a slightly new route which made to run more enjoyable. But there were also a couple of things that made it great.
My CSA posts a list of 'what we hope will be in the boxes' on Mondays. This whets one's anticipation and helps you know what not to buy at the store. Although between the garden and the CSA I pretty much know to not buy more veggies.
I went to the store on Thursday and really wanted a cucumber. I love cucumbers, and they are not on the list yet. But [the plot thickens LOL] there were no cukes in the entire coop. The weirdest thing, but they said their supplier was out. I was bummed but then thrilled to pick up my CSA box, look at the newsletter and realize that not only was there a gorgeous slicing cuke but 2 pickling cukes as well. And early surprise for us CSA. Seems kind of a small thing but fairly thrilling at the time. But there is more. Although there was no mention of it in the newsletter some random boxes got quarts of strawberries, the last of the season and they were wonderful. It was certainly a successful CSA week.
I have already made pickles out of the cukes, I can't wait to taste them and the sweet and sour cabbage [their recipe] with the savoy cabbage was fab. There was a cauliflower, and more squash and a fresh yellow onion and lettuce and we are seriously just munching away. It's just all very good. I hope all are enjoying some of the fruits of summer.
My CSA posts a list of 'what we hope will be in the boxes' on Mondays. This whets one's anticipation and helps you know what not to buy at the store. Although between the garden and the CSA I pretty much know to not buy more veggies.
I went to the store on Thursday and really wanted a cucumber. I love cucumbers, and they are not on the list yet. But [the plot thickens LOL] there were no cukes in the entire coop. The weirdest thing, but they said their supplier was out. I was bummed but then thrilled to pick up my CSA box, look at the newsletter and realize that not only was there a gorgeous slicing cuke but 2 pickling cukes as well. And early surprise for us CSA. Seems kind of a small thing but fairly thrilling at the time. But there is more. Although there was no mention of it in the newsletter some random boxes got quarts of strawberries, the last of the season and they were wonderful. It was certainly a successful CSA week.
I have already made pickles out of the cukes, I can't wait to taste them and the sweet and sour cabbage [their recipe] with the savoy cabbage was fab. There was a cauliflower, and more squash and a fresh yellow onion and lettuce and we are seriously just munching away. It's just all very good. I hope all are enjoying some of the fruits of summer.
CSA and hot lips
So our weekly CSA continues to be wonderful and inspiring and tiring at times.
We had another big bunch of cilantro in our box which for some reason made me think of pad thai. I couldn't find any of the 1/4 inch wide rice noodles so I made do with the vermicelli, and managed to stir up a fairly tasty dish that had only one problem. I have burnt my lips from eating it. Now granted I still ate a huge plateful of my thai noodle dish along with just barely sauteed fresh peas on the side, so I guess I am not that badly burnt but whoo doggy.
I have now bought Mark Bittman's "how to cook everything vegetarian" and even though I am not a vegetarian it is helping me use and think about getting veggies into my diet in a serious way. He is the man who taught me how to make risotto so I turned to him for pad thai. His recipe says to add two chopped thai peppers at the end. Since I am a medium spicy kind of gal I wasn't sure that was a good idea. I looked at his handy pepper chart and saw that thai peppers are rated 'very hot' so at the coop I bought jalapenos instead.
When I was getting everything chopped up before cooking I also followed his recommendation and tasted the pepper to see how hot I thought it was. It was very hot to me, though tasty. I immediately decided that one would be plenty and that I would cook it, not add it raw at the end. Even still, burnt lips are the result. I am pretty sure there is homemade ice cream in my near future. How I suffer!
The only food in the CSA I have been disappointed with has been the broccoli which is no biggie since my wife can't even eat broccoli and so I hardly miss it when it's a bit too old to use. This week I have everything on a list on the fridge so that I can mark it off when I use it. The first week I thought I did so good and then realized that a whole head of lettuce had got lost in the fridge.
What did we get on July 2? strawberries, fennel [bulbs], chard, lettuce, sugar and snow peas, green onions, green garlic, garlic scrapes, potatoes, cilantro, parsley, summer squash. I am trying to get some stuff cooked up so that it can be munched on the rest of the week. Sometimes I think a family of 5-6 would be better for this size box.
I have big plans for grilling the squash and some leftover kohlrabi. I will also lightly saute the chard so that it can be munched on during the week. Happy veggie summer everyone!
We had another big bunch of cilantro in our box which for some reason made me think of pad thai. I couldn't find any of the 1/4 inch wide rice noodles so I made do with the vermicelli, and managed to stir up a fairly tasty dish that had only one problem. I have burnt my lips from eating it. Now granted I still ate a huge plateful of my thai noodle dish along with just barely sauteed fresh peas on the side, so I guess I am not that badly burnt but whoo doggy.
I have now bought Mark Bittman's "how to cook everything vegetarian" and even though I am not a vegetarian it is helping me use and think about getting veggies into my diet in a serious way. He is the man who taught me how to make risotto so I turned to him for pad thai. His recipe says to add two chopped thai peppers at the end. Since I am a medium spicy kind of gal I wasn't sure that was a good idea. I looked at his handy pepper chart and saw that thai peppers are rated 'very hot' so at the coop I bought jalapenos instead.
When I was getting everything chopped up before cooking I also followed his recommendation and tasted the pepper to see how hot I thought it was. It was very hot to me, though tasty. I immediately decided that one would be plenty and that I would cook it, not add it raw at the end. Even still, burnt lips are the result. I am pretty sure there is homemade ice cream in my near future. How I suffer!
The only food in the CSA I have been disappointed with has been the broccoli which is no biggie since my wife can't even eat broccoli and so I hardly miss it when it's a bit too old to use. This week I have everything on a list on the fridge so that I can mark it off when I use it. The first week I thought I did so good and then realized that a whole head of lettuce had got lost in the fridge.
What did we get on July 2? strawberries, fennel [bulbs], chard, lettuce, sugar and snow peas, green onions, green garlic, garlic scrapes, potatoes, cilantro, parsley, summer squash. I am trying to get some stuff cooked up so that it can be munched on the rest of the week. Sometimes I think a family of 5-6 would be better for this size box.
I have big plans for grilling the squash and some leftover kohlrabi. I will also lightly saute the chard so that it can be munched on during the week. Happy veggie summer everyone!
CSA start 2009
So last week was the week, Thursday the day. Our CSA started for 2009! It amuses me to think of how excited I am about our CSA this year. And I am reminded that although it is very common here in Mpls it is not in many parts of the country so I feel grateful as well. It's exciting to get a box of yummy fresh stuff and try to make stuff out of it. Try to not let it go to waste. Certainly challenging.
So one of the things I love about my CSA already is that they post on their website what they hope to have in the box come Thursday/Friday. That way if you are a planner, and you know I am, you can think about meals and so forth.
Another thing I like about them is that the weekly newsletter is typewritten. My old CSA used to hand write their newsletter. I think they were going for the personal touch but I always found it very hard to read. A minor thing but an improvement for me.
In the first box: Arugula, Spinach, Kohlrabi, blue Potatoes, radishes, green garlic, scallions, rosemary and lettuce. Everything I have tried so far is yummy. I had an arugula/spinach salad last night. I cooked the kohlrabi leaves this morning and had some of them topped with fermented soy sauce aside a fried blue potato with scallions and a poached egg. There are 3 of us trying to eat it up, we'll see how we do.
It's a bit overwhelming for some reason. Then I think how common this kind of eating was a century ago. You had a garden, things were ready to be eaten and you figured out what to do. It took thought, but also you probably get better at it the more you do. Just like pie crust.
I see that as a great line to end a post with, so more CSA adventures next week.
Just like pie crust.
So one of the things I love about my CSA already is that they post on their website what they hope to have in the box come Thursday/Friday. That way if you are a planner, and you know I am, you can think about meals and so forth.
Another thing I like about them is that the weekly newsletter is typewritten. My old CSA used to hand write their newsletter. I think they were going for the personal touch but I always found it very hard to read. A minor thing but an improvement for me.
In the first box: Arugula, Spinach, Kohlrabi, blue Potatoes, radishes, green garlic, scallions, rosemary and lettuce. Everything I have tried so far is yummy. I had an arugula/spinach salad last night. I cooked the kohlrabi leaves this morning and had some of them topped with fermented soy sauce aside a fried blue potato with scallions and a poached egg. There are 3 of us trying to eat it up, we'll see how we do.
It's a bit overwhelming for some reason. Then I think how common this kind of eating was a century ago. You had a garden, things were ready to be eaten and you figured out what to do. It took thought, but also you probably get better at it the more you do. Just like pie crust.
I see that as a great line to end a post with, so more CSA adventures next week.
Just like pie crust.
CSA decisions '09 and pre gardening
Here it is April and it is time for me to think about CSAs and gardening. Since it's so early I don't have to do much more than thinking which is bug free and can be done inside at a sunny window [or you know a window with snow/sleet swirling outside--whatever]. Pretty sweet.
We joined a highly recommended salad based CSA last year. We figured we certainly needed more salad in our lives. It didn't end up being a good fit for us though. We wanted more of a mixture of veggies not just greens that ended up needing to be used very fast and were at times very hard to identify.
So I have spent some time over the winter researching various CSAs and we have many to choose from around here. We decided to go with Driftless Organics. We like what we have heard about them, the boxes look like they have a good mix, including local soft fruits and root veggies. They also do unrefined, local sunflower oil, we got a small share of that. I am feeling pretty pumped. Who cares about winter having a last hurrah up here? Fresh tomatoes and BLTs with organic cottage bacon are closer than they seem.
I have also been musing about gardening this year in our large southerly exposure yard. I have never been much of a gardener. Not something my family had room to do. But I have been thinking. Eating good quality food is so important to me. Being more connected to my food is something I am working on. I want to appreciate my food for all the effort that goes into it. I want to be more engaged. Also I don't want to stress myself out or bite off more than I can chew. I want to do things small.
We have a double lot here in town with lots of sun and space on one side. We have a nice warm low bed perhaps 4' x 20' where we have some roses and delphiniums planted with plenty of room for additions. There is a primitive but useful watering system set up there and it gets plenty of light. There are lovely neighborhood nurseries I like supporting. I think I may actually do some gardening this year and not just flowers and herbs but some veggies like tomatoes and peppers.
I am a bit excited about it. Fingers crossed I am maintain some focus and enthusiasm as the spring progresses. Related goal: Finally get a compost bin set up, it's so silly that we don't have one with all this room.
We joined a highly recommended salad based CSA last year. We figured we certainly needed more salad in our lives. It didn't end up being a good fit for us though. We wanted more of a mixture of veggies not just greens that ended up needing to be used very fast and were at times very hard to identify.
So I have spent some time over the winter researching various CSAs and we have many to choose from around here. We decided to go with Driftless Organics. We like what we have heard about them, the boxes look like they have a good mix, including local soft fruits and root veggies. They also do unrefined, local sunflower oil, we got a small share of that. I am feeling pretty pumped. Who cares about winter having a last hurrah up here? Fresh tomatoes and BLTs with organic cottage bacon are closer than they seem.
I have also been musing about gardening this year in our large southerly exposure yard. I have never been much of a gardener. Not something my family had room to do. But I have been thinking. Eating good quality food is so important to me. Being more connected to my food is something I am working on. I want to appreciate my food for all the effort that goes into it. I want to be more engaged. Also I don't want to stress myself out or bite off more than I can chew. I want to do things small.
We have a double lot here in town with lots of sun and space on one side. We have a nice warm low bed perhaps 4' x 20' where we have some roses and delphiniums planted with plenty of room for additions. There is a primitive but useful watering system set up there and it gets plenty of light. There are lovely neighborhood nurseries I like supporting. I think I may actually do some gardening this year and not just flowers and herbs but some veggies like tomatoes and peppers.
I am a bit excited about it. Fingers crossed I am maintain some focus and enthusiasm as the spring progresses. Related goal: Finally get a compost bin set up, it's so silly that we don't have one with all this room.
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