The Weekly Share

It was a gorgeous day to work on the farm on Tuesday.  Lots of sun, but not hot, a little breeze, not so many bugs…  We did a lot of harvesting.  Here’s what we brought home:

Share 18

• .25 oz. arugula
• 1 zucchini/squash
• 5 beets
• 8 oz. carrots or (? another item I can’t remember)
• 3 onions
• 1 garlic
• 5 sprigs basil
• .15 oz. salad mix
• 3 radishes
• 1 hot pepper
• 1 jalepeno pepper
• 1 spaghetti squash, pie pumpkin, or acorn squash
• 1 handful cilantro
• 8 oz. beans
• 1 sweet pepper
• 1.5 lbs. potatoes
• 1 head lettuce
• I took 3 tomatoes from the “help yourself” pile

I will use the carrots, salad mix, head of lettuce, sweet pepper, radishes, and tomatoes for snacking and salads.  I will make sesame green beans with a dinner later this week.  I will probably make french fries out of the potatoes.  I will saute the arugula and zucchini with garlic.  I have never made spaghetti squash before, but there are lots of recipes out there, so that will be a side dish sometime this week.  I have lots of beets (leftovers plus from our garden) so I would like to try pickled beets.  I think that leaves hot peppers and herbs.  Don’t know what I’ll do with those yet – maybe freeze them.

I spent my day at the farm harvesting basil, beets, arugula and beans.  I washed lots of arugula and lettuce heads.  And I chatted with my co-workers about everything from recipes to raising kids to wilderness survival!  The time goes quickly when you are surrounded by good people and good conversation.  Thanks to Jon, Beth,  Christine, Dawn, Emily, Fern, Francie, John, Lisa, Victoria and Vince for helping my day pass quickly and happily!  Here are a few pictures from my day at the farm…

Goldfinch Farm Entrance

Christine and Fern harvesting beans

Share Pick Up at the Farm

I spent Tuesday morning working at Goldfinch Farm as part of our working share.  I forgot to bring my camera, so I don’t have any pictures of the farm, but here is a lovely picture of our huge autumnal share.  As you can see, it’s another large share.  We received:

Share 17

• 1 small handful cilantro
• 6 sprigs of basil
• 1 cabbage
• 1 box tomatoes
• 1 head garlic
• 3 onions
• 1 squash/zucchini
• 1 cucumber
• 5 daicon radishes
• 1 lb. beans
• 1 handful watercress (from the farm pond!)
• 1/2 pint raspberries
• 1 jalepeno pepper
• 1 hot pepper
• .2 lb. arugala
• 2 eggplant
• 1.5 lb. potatoes
• 1 lb. sweet potatoes
• 1 head lettuce
• 1 sweet pepper
• I took a green pepper and a yellow tomato from the “extras-help yourself” pile, too

I helped harvest the basil, arugala, raspberries and beans.  SO MANY BEANS!    We also harvested lots of beans at home this week – I’ve got too many beans!  John, a farm worker, said he makes pickled beans.  I found this recipe, so I’m going to give that a try.  I used some of the potatoes tonight in a corn chowder, mmm-mmm!  I used some of the watercress on sandwiches today – what a great alternative to lettuce!  We will eat the sweet peppers, cucumber and raspberries fresh as snacks.  Probably in salads, too, with the lettuce, arugala, onions, radishes and tomatoes.  I may steam some of the radishes (we have some from our garden, too).  I understand they become sweet when cooked that way.  I’m thinking mashed sweet potatoes will be a nice change this week.  For the cabbage…I didn’t make this recipe when we received cabbage before, so I think this is the week to try it!  Maybe I’ll make zucchini bread this weekend.  Yum – now I’m getting hungry!

I work at the farm again next Tuesday and I WILL remember to take my camera!  It is a great experience to know where this delicious food comes from and how it gets to our shares.  If you have a chance to work on the farm, do yourself a favor and go!  The setting is beautiful, the work is gratifying and the people are delightful !

The fall crops are starting to come in.  You will see a big difference between these two share pick-ups!  Last week’s share, #14, contained:

Share 14

1 lb. potatoes

5 Swiss chard

1 box tomatoes

8 sprigs basil (I think)

2 eggplant

10 oz. beans

1 jalepeno pepper

1 hot pepper

2 onions

1 garlic

2 sweet peppers

1 handful parsley

1 cabbage

1 cucumber

1 zucchini

It’s still a lot of produce, but wait until you see this week’s share (#15):

Share 15

3 edamame stalks

1 lb. potatoes

2 sweet peppers

1 garlic

1 jalepeno pepper

2 hot peppers

1 tomatillo

2 onions

1 squash

1 handful parsley

8 oz. beans

1 box raspberries

1 bunch broccoli

8 sprigs basil

2 leeks

1 lb. sweet potatoes

(up to) 10 okra

Whew!  Look at all of that food!  Now, what should I do with it?  I have a pile of potatoes in the basement.  And onions and garlic on the kitchen counter.  And bags full of beans in the fridge!  The potatoes, onions, and garlic will keep – and I use some of them each week.  Most of the beans will probably be blanched and frozen.  I have hot peppers to freeze, as well.  I will blanche, puree and freeze the last of the tomatoes, too.  We always eat the cucumbers and sweet peppers raw, as snacks and with meals.  I used the Swiss chard in place of spinach in a recipe last week.  I made a squash saute last night, using the zucchini and eggplant from last week, the Swiss chard stems (also from last week), a red onion, and  some garlic.  Mmmm-Mmmm!  I used the parsley and some share potatoes for parsley-buttered potatoes last week.  I steamed the edamame tonight and popped the seeds out of the pods.  I added some to our salads.  Yummy!

I made my own coleslaw using the cabbage and a carrot.  It turned out OK.  I used the same sauce I use on store-bought coleslaw mix, but it didn’t have as much flavor.  Anybody know why?

I plan to steam the broccoli and the beans with dinners this week.  I will fry up the okra in butter, just to see how it tastes.  I think I’ll make the summer chowder again – the weather is starting to turn and I love soup on blustery days!  I am looking forward to all of the root vegetables that will soon appear in our share!  Mmmm – comfort food!

Our share seemed smaller this week than it has been recently.  I believe this is due to the ending of summer crops while the fall crops are not quite ready.  We have been assured that the fall crops are doing well and will be showing up in our shares in the near future.  This week we received:

Share 13

• 7 sprigs basil
• 2 lbs. tomatoes
• 1 head garlic
• 1 squash
• 2lbs. potatoes
• 1 handful parsley
• 1 box raspberries
• 6 oz. green beans
• 1 red onion
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 bunch celery
• 2 sweet peppers
• 2 jalepeno peppers
• 2 hot peppers

I used the parsley Tuesday night in spaghetti with clam sauce (YUM!).  We have eaten the raspberries right out of the box (YUM YUM!).  The sweet peppers have been cut up for snacking and lunch boxes.  The basil is drying.  If I can find just a little bit of space in my freezer, I will freeze some of the jalepeno and hot peppers.  I still have some left from previous weeks and I either need to use them or freeze them.  I’d like to blanch and freeze some tomatoes, too, but I have absolutely no room in my freezer!  Maybe I’ll rearrange my basement this weekend and buy a chest freezer…  I do not currently have a plan for the squash, potatoes, onions, celery and green beans.  I’ll let you know what I end up doing!  Have a great weekend!

All of the grocery stores are offering sales on in-season produce.  I was curious as to whether or not our share was still a “good deal” since the store produce seemed inexpensive (not cheap by any means!).  So while I was at the grocery store last week, I jotted down the cost of the comparable produce from our share.  Here’s what I came up with:

• PRODUCE                      STORE PRICE          SHARE COST
• Tomatoes                             $1.49/lb                $5.22
• Eggplant – the store didn’t have any
• Squash/Zucchini                 $1.29/lb                $0.65
• Cilantro                                  $1.49/3(?) oz       $0.25
• 2 Cucumbers                       $0.98/2                 $0.98
• Lettuce                                   $2.99                    $2.99
• Raspberries                         $3.99                     $3.99
• Cherry Tomatoes                $2.00/pint             $1.00
• Potatoes                                $2.29/lb               $4.59
• Spring Onions                      $2.00/12              $1.00
• Basil                                       $2.99/ 2 oz           $2.99
• Garlic                                      $2.49/lb                $0.57
• Colored Sweet Peppers    $3.99/lb                $2.51
• Hot Peppers                         $2.99/6                 $1.00
• Tomatillo – the store didn’t have any

So our total produce savings for Share #12 is $27.74 plus the undetermined cost of the eggplant and the tomatillo.  That adds up to over $100 a month in fresh produce!  Our share will pay for itself in 15 weeks, giving us 5 weeks of essentially “FREE” produce!  AND that produce is sooooo much better than what we can buy in the store!  PLUS I’ve been freezing some of it so we will have it for months to come!  Now that’s a not a “good deal”…it’s a GREAT deal!

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Here is a great recipe for salsa made with lots of yummy stuff from your garden or share.  It is easily adaptable to your own tastes.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion (red onion is really pretty in this recipe!)
• 5 serrano chiles, finely chopped – or as many as you’d like (I use 1-2 with the seeds removed)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• additional ingredients can include fresh garlic, garlic scapes, and tomatillos

In a medium bowl, stir together fresh vegetables, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator before serving.

For this batch of salsa, I used 3 different colors of tomato (red, orange and purple), plus a sweet onion (store bought ), a tomatillo, 2 cloves of pressed garlic, 1 jalapeno pepper, 1 purple (jalapeno?) pepper, 1 oz. of cilantro and 2 tsp. of lime juice.  I removed the seeds from the hot peppers to reduce the heat.  I am a “mild” salsa person, but I like the flavor of the hot peppers.  All of the ingredients, except the onion and the lime juice, are from our share.

This recipe is SO easy, but it creates an explosion of flavor with every bite.  People will ask you for this recipe.  I make it for summertime pot lucks and it is always a hit.

We picked up another big share this week.  Here’s what we got:

Share #12

3 1/2 lbs. tomatoes

1 eggplant

1 squash/zucchini

1/2 oz. cilantro

2 cucumbers

1 head lettuce

1 box raspberries

1 box cherry tomatoes

2 lbs. potatoes (I took 1 lb. purple and 1 lb. gold)

1 bunch spring onions

7 sprigs basil

1 garlic bulb

2 sweet peppers

2 hot peppers

1 tomatillo

We’ve already eaten the raspberries – YUM!  I’m making tacos tonight.  I will use some of the spring onions, some tomatoes and some lettuce as toppings.  I will also use up the fresh salsa I made last week.  We are having Pittsburgh Steak Salads this weekend (a nice garden salad topped with steak, french fries and cheese!) and that will use the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, the tomatillo, some cucumber and some sweet pepper.  I’ll do a saute using the squash, eggplant and some garlic this weekend, too.  I think the hot peppers will get frozen since I still have a bunch left over from the last couple weeks.  I will also blanch and freeze some of the tomatoes.  Our garden tomatoes are coming in strong now and I just can’t keep up!  I will probably make some more salsa, too.  I will either dry or freeze the basil.  I still have potatoes left over, so I’m not sure what to do with those…  I think that covers it.  Look for an article on salsa and one on the grocery store price comparison this weekend.

I missed a week…So here are the pick-up lists for weeks 7 & 8!

Week 7:

Share 7

1 green pepper

1 squash or zucchini

1 cucumber

1 hot pepper

1 garlic bulb

14 oz green beans

1 head lettuce

8 oz carrots

1 box cherry tomatoes

2 1/2 lbs tomatoes

1 tomatillo

2 lbs. Purple Viking potatoes

5 sprigs basil

help yourself to : okra, herbs

Last week I made salsa and guacamole, using the tomatoes, tomatillo, hot pepper, garlic and herbs (cilantro).  We had fresh veggies for lunch and dinner (carrots, green pepper, salad, cherry tomatoes).   I steamed the green beans for 2 meals.  I made pesto with the basil.  I sauteed the squash.  I still have potatoes, tomatoes and okra left over.  I have plans for potatoes and okra this week.  I think I’m gonna have to start canning tomatoes!

Week 8:

Share 8

1 green pepper

1 zucchini

1 summer squash

1 eggplant

1 hot pepper

2 heads of lettuce

5 1/2 oz. green beans

2 1/2 lbs. tomatoes

1 box Sun Gold cherry tomatoes

1 tomatillo

1 head of garlic

8 oz. carrots

2 lbs. Purple Viking Potatoes

7 sprigs of basil

I plan to make Garden Chowder from our CSA newsletter.  It will use carrots, green beans, zucchini/squash, fresh herbs (basil), and tomatoes (I may throw in the eggplant, too).  We always eat lots of fresh vegetables – green pepper, carrots, cherry tomatoes, salads.  That leaves me with potatoes and tomatoes.  I have a chicken and potato recipe to try this week, but I’ll still have more potatoes left.  I plan to bake the big potatoes I picked up this week, I just don’t know when!  And I think it’s time I learn how to make tomato sauce…

Check back this week for recipes.  I have lots of cooking to do!

We received some new items in our share this week:

Share - 4th Pick-Up

1 cucumber

2 zucchini or zepher yellow squash

10 oz. sugar snap peas

4 beets

1 head of lettuce

7 sprigs of basil

1 oz. cilantro

4 garlic scapes

1 bunch green onions

8 oz. swiss chard

2 lbs. new potatoes

1 box of tomatoes

I’ve already cut the cucumber into slices to eat with meals.  The potatoes, basil, some green onions and some garlic scapes will be used to make Laura’s Pesto Potato Salad.  I’m going to steam the sugar snap peas to go with tonight’s dinner.  The lettuce, tomatoes, and some of the green onions will be used for salads and burger toppings. I may make zucchini bread with the zucchini and squash.  My mother-in-law was telling me how she sauteed swiss chard with garlic scapes and some other stuff and added crumbled bacon.  I will have to get that recipe from her.  That leaves the cilantro unaccounted for.  Last year I kept making salsa with it when we were getting lots of tomatoes, but since I only have 2 small tomatoes from share, I will either have to buy more tomatoes or find another use…  Stay tuned!

This is how we used our share items last week:

• Tortellini with Bacon, Greens, and Brown Butter (spinach) – sorry, no picture!
• Basil Chicken over Angel Hair Pasta (basil, garlic scapes)

Basil CHicken over Angel Hair Pasta

• Fish with Parsley-Buttered Potatoes

Parsley-Buttered Potatoes

• Fresh salad with cucumbers (salad mix, cucumbers, green onions)
• Sauteed yellow squash with green onions, garlic scapes, and swiss chard (yellow squash, green onions, garlic scapes)

Sauteed yellow squash

• Fresh salad with radishes and cucumber (head of lettuce, radishes, cucumber)
• Martian Cookies (zucchini)

Martian Cookie

That leaves us with 2 radishes from 2 weeks ago and 4 radishes from last week.  We harvested our own radishes 3 weeks ago and had to use those up first.  I found a recipe for steamed radishes that I will try this week.  All in all, I think we did really well using up our share products.  Hopefully we will do as well this week.