Hello there!
Our Plan B Organic CSA Share began last night! It was pretty much torture waiting all day long until our evening pick-up time…
This is the first time we have ever had a CSA share, so I was really excited to get started.
Here are the types of foods that are in season in June in this area. I bolded what we received.
June – Asparagus, Baby Salad Mix, Lettuce, Spinach (?), Green Onions, Radishes, Greenhouse Tomato & Cucumber, Strawberries, Swiss Chard, Kale, Broccoli, Shiitake Mushrooms, Beets, Sugar Snap Peas, new potatoes, Carrots + apples.
We have a half share which is enough for 1-2 people, however I could easily chomp my way through a full share I’m sure! :biggrin:
I love knowing that these foods come from local organic farmers working hard every single day to try and make a difference in the system. It feels good to support their efforts and get some fresh organic produce in the process.
I’m not sure what the greens are on the left…spinach??
I handled this food ever so carefully when I put it away.
I stare at it in awe, I appreciate it, and I try and think about how I will use it.
Any ideas? :biggrin: Maybe we can make this a weekly challenge- ‘Help Ange build a recipe from her CSA produce!’
I was really hoping I was going to find some kale in the bag because our local grocery stores don’t carry organic kale. Maybe next week though.
These are the cutest little apples I have ever seen….bumps and marks and lots of character!
After caressing my produce, I made breakfast!
I had some Vegan Overnight Oats ‘marinating’ in the fridge (it was a triple batch) so I just scooped out a serving, mashed a big banana into the bowl (with a fork), and topped it with shredded coconut and my coconut oil + maple syrup dressing (1/2 tbsp coconut oil + 1/2 tbsp maple syrup).
I used to look at overnight oats and CRINGE at the thought. Now I am completely in love. Funny how things turn out. If I had a dime for every email that I got from new Green Monster lovers that said ‘I thought those green drinks looked SO gross…and then I tried one and fell in love. Now I drink one every morning!’
I must admit I am missing my Green Monsters! As you may know my Kitchen Aid blender is broken once again. I am trying to decide if I am going to go BIG with a Vitamix or a Blendtec OR if I am going to try a mid-range brand that I have heard good things about (Oster, Hamilton Beach, or Breville). Decisions, decisions!
This morning I worked on shipments, ordering stock, and baking. Before I knew it, I was hungry for lunch!
I had an Ezekiel wrap filled with about 1 cup of Navy Beans, pasta sauce, mixed veggies, dried parsley, and ground pepper and sea salt.
Mmmmmm.
I also had a juicy apple.
Afternoon snack will be this guy…
Have you ever supported local farmers either through a CSA or by going to a Farmer’s Market? Do you find that your city or town has a lot of access to local and/or organic products? Why or why not?
Have a Terrific Thursday!
There are lots of farmer’s markets in my area (Seacoast of NH) in the summer. During the rest of the year, the pickings are slim for local and organic food, unless you want to pay a boatload at the grocery store, where the freshness isn’t dependable and neither is the selection. I really want to do a CSA at some point- very cool that you are doing one!
Yum, looks great. We get a veggie box delivered as well (except we get the 3-4 person one plus a fruit top-up between the two of us!! We get through a LOT of veggies in a week!).
With the asparagus, I would make a simple pasta dish – cook the pasta until al dente, meanwhile, saute the asparagus in some extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice (enough so that the olive oil and lemon juice can coat the pasta) and a sprinkle of dried chilli flakes if you like, toss through the pasta, add plenty of cracked pepper, a touch of sea salt and serve topped with your local herb of choice (I like to use continental parsley, dill or chives). This will let the asparagus flavour shine (make sure you don’t overcook the asparagus!)
With the swiss chard, tomatoes and mushrooms – I would stuff the tomatoes with a mushroom and rice mixture and seve atop a bed of wilted swiss chard. Cook the rice and let it cool. Scoop out the inside flesh of the tomatoes. If you have onions, saute some in a pan in some EVOO. Add the mushrooms and continue sauteing then add the middle parts of the tomato to the mushrooms and cook down a bit. Add the rice to the mushroom and tomato mixture, stir through, add a decent amount of cracked pepper, some sea salt, a handful of chopped herbs (parsley or basil would work well) and some toasted nuts (chopped cashews, almonds, pinenuts, whatever you have – it adds some texture and crunch). Pop the rice mixture inside the hollowed out tomatoes, top with some breadcrumbs and put them into the oven for 20mins or so (until the tomato has cooked). When the tomatoes are done, steam or saute in a little olive oil, cracked pepper and seasalt the red chard, put it in the middle of a plate, place the tomato on top, sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve!
oh, and with the pasta dish, top with toasted slivered almonds. It makes all the difference! :)
looks like swiss chard, or beet tops (maybe too early for beet tops?) to me!! Lucky you!
How Awesome! I would love to be take part in something like CSA! Another reason Canada gets a gold start, too bad I’m in Florida…
The greens are def swiss chard. If you decide to eat them cooked, be sure to cook the stalks first and add the leafy part at the very end for best flavor! Have fun!
Greens on the left look like chard to me. I used to belong to a CSA here, but they only have one size shares and at first it was good, but then it was just too much food for only two of us. One day I’ll sign up again though, because I loved it! I used to belong to Two Small Farms: http://www.twosmallfarms.com/
I still subscribe to their newsletter because they send out recipes, many are not veg/an though, but it helps for ideas of how to use what’s in season. They also have lots of recipes on their website.
Enjoy!
Yay for your CSA delivery!! I do something similar here and I got a pretty similar delivery this week :)
It looks like you got red chard – wait till you get rainbow chard, it’s SO pretty!! I love chopping up the organic apples and adding them porridge (oatmeal) and cinnamon…soooo good!
PS I put up the blog post about the article I did on your Green Monsters :) http://myadventuresinveg.blogspot.com/2010/06/adventures-in-food-green-monster.html
Aoife x
i LOVe the idea of CSA!! i always go to the local farmers market in my area which is amazing!! i cant wait for summer just for the farmers market!
that bean wrap looks delicious
The greens on the left look like Beet Greens… YUM!
I’ve never used a CSA (if it’s what I’m thinking…a co-op type thing…right?) We do have several local farmers mkts with organic produce that I absolutely love. A friend of mine, recently turned me onto I’m thinking something like this CSA you all speak of here in Dallas, Tx. It’s called Urban Markets, where you sign up for the co-op and every 2 weeks you go to the meeting place where the produce will be handed out. You pay like $30 USD and receive a box filled with several types of produce and a mystery veggie or fruit. I think it’s really a great idea and like you, I like the fact that we are supporting our local farmers. I am signing up for it this weekend. I’m really excited about it.
YUMMMMM! I believe your greens on the left are chard or swiss chard. Enjoy all that goodness. I made chocolate banana soft serve for the babe’s lunch dessert and she loved it!
Love the CCA idea! We have a similar service in Australia – and once we have moved into our house I hope to sign up! Plus we hope to try and grow our own veggies too !!!
YAY for fresh produce from the farmer’s market! Enjoy it :)
My mom has had her vita-mix for years and loves it. But, when I was looking at getting a blender I just didn’t know if I wanted to pay that kind of price. I spent a lot of time researching blenders and decided to get a Breville. I love, love, love it! I got it last November and it gets used every day (sometimes more than one time each day).
What wonderful produce, Angela! There is a big local food movement where I live in central North Carolina, so I’m blessed to be able to visit multiple farmers’ markets if I choose. My husband and I also keep a garden (and chickens), so we are also able to produce some of our own food as well. Very fun and rewarding!
As for your blender dilemma…I was considering a Blendtec about a month ago when our cheapy blender finally kicked it. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to spend the $300 it would cost to go with a top-of-the-line model and broke down and went to Walmart instead. Good fortune smiled upon me, because I happened to find a 600-watt, 12-speed digital GE blender for just $35. It has a nice, heavy duty glass pitcher and is easy to disassemble/reassemble. I’ve been using it now for my green monsters and I must say, that was $35 well spent. It pulverizes ice like nobody’s business and is even smart enough to slow down when it senses there is little left to blended (and conversely, speeds up when it “feels” any remaining uncrushed ice.) I’ll see how long it lasts, but the constructions seems good and if nothing else, I’m very pleased to have found that wattage of blender for such a good price. (To compare, I was also looking at 300-400 watt blenders that day I was shopping that ran $60-70.)
Good luck on your blender search and enjoy your bounty of produce! :)
I accidentally posted on your about page my comment about your green goods! whoops!
anyway, they look delish and I hope you enjoy them! :)
I just moved and there is a little locally grown produce stand called the Garden Patch right down the street from me. I love walking down there and being able to pick my veggies for dinner while talking to the man that actually grew them
We bought our first CSA shares this year, too! Last week was our first week, and we are loving it so far:-). Everything is organic, which I like. I have also found that one of our farmers market has a great organic and local stand, as well as a “sister” organic cafe. Ooh, I’m in love:-).
thats so exciting! I love the farmers market, I will be going often this summer thats forsure.
The greens on the left are beet greens. I live in Ontario and my boyfriend has a market garden. It is just a bit early for chard. They look a lot like chard but they are actually beet greens. Delicious in salads, sauteed with other veggies, on pizza – basically anything you would do with spinach I would do with beet greens.
Delicious! My CSA share from Whole Circle Farms starts next week!