6 posts tagged “wisconsin”

here is what I got in my half share:

• leafy greens (romaine)
• rainbow chard
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• two sweet potatoes
• two white potatoes
• onion (half on the funky side)
  
• avocado
  
• tomato (a little on the funky side)
  
• two apples
• two oranges
• two bananas
• two beets!

i didnt do the "fruit surprise" this week. i did peek at what it was though, and wish i had done it! a pineapple, two nice pears, a pint of strawberries and a pint of blueberries. mmmmmmm.

we went to use the romaine last night and it had started wilting. i noticed that there were aphids on it. =[ i should have cleaned it as soon as i got it. by last night, it was too late. it ended up as compost fodder. i feel bad about it. i emailed the farm to see if just washing & drying as soon as i get it will take care of these critters or if i need to perform some more rigorous method first. if anybody knows, please tell me.

what went to waste from the first week: some leafy greens, head of broccoli [eeeeep] i dont think anything from this week will go to waste. weve already eaten some stuff and i have plans for you, rainbow chard!

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a ... model of food production, sales and distribution aimed at both increasing the quality of food and the quality of care given the land, plants and animals – while substantially reducing potential food losses and financial risks for the producers. It is also a method for small-scale commercial farmers and gardeners to have a successful, small-scale closed market. CSA’s focus is usually on a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables, sometimes also flowers, fruits, herbs and even milk or meat products in some cases. (source: wikipedia)

Isnt it funny how natural it seems? Isnt this and Farmer's Markets basically how people got their fruits and vegetables before local farmland turned into Super Wal-Marts? That is, if they werent still farming for themselves. Go to localharvest.org and input your zip code to see a list of CSA's and Farmer's Markets in your area.

• Butter Bean Burgers recipe from allrecipes.com
  
• Collard Greens recipe from Vegetarian Times
  
• Sweet Potatoes
• Gravy

I also fried up some chicken breast in the oil after the butter bean burgers and then made gravy after all that was done. I cant believe I made gravy! My first time!

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Taking stock of the CSA:

Its Wednesday, what is left?

• Young coconut
• Pineapple
• two apples
• two oranges
• some leafy greens
• a sweet potato
• broccoli
• two bananas
• avocado

Not bad.

My boyfriend made a fantastic crockpot soup with some of our CSA ingredients and some other vegetables we had on hand: potatoes, the leek, onions, a sweet potato. I made some bread in the bread machine and roasted brussell sprouts with lemon pepper and olive oil. They look burnt in this photo but I promise they are not. Just roasted and browned so that they are so soft and carmelized they just disintegrate in your mouth. Mmmm. I also made oatmeal peanut butter cookies - recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance, but I did slightly improvise by adding chocolate chunks (probably de-veganizing it).

Except for the two I set aside, the cookies are for the NEIU Green Cycle Group's bake sale on Monday. They are trying to raise student awareness and support for a Renewable Energy Fund on campus.

It was a fantastic dinner and I was happy that we were able to make everything from what we had on hand.

Ive begun participating in a CSA from King's Hill Farm. This is my first week and I picked up my share from True Nature Foods here in Chicago. Im really excited to have finally found a CSA which works for my budget and schedule. Its not too expensive (relatively speaking) and I can skip weeks if I need to, which is great. Another nice thing about it is that it goes year round. They partner up with other organic producers to provide. I was surprised to find young coconut and pineapple in my share because they come from so far away but I can roll with it. In the summer things should be a lot more consistently local.

here is what I got in my half share:

• leafy greens
• collard greens
• 4 sweet potatoes
• 2 regular potatoes
• 2 onions (one a little on the funky side)
• cucumber
• carrot
• avocado
• broccoli
• fresh young coconut
• 3 oranges
• leeks
• tomato
• 3 bananas (not pictured)
  
• 2 small apples
• small green pepper
• bag dried apple chips (not pictured)
  

I also signed up for "fruit surprise" which varies week by week:

• a pineapple
• 4 nice, large ambrosia apples
  

this will be a new experience because there are quite a few things in there that i havent prepared before. its exciting and fun. i like surprises so getting a box of good organic food every week but not knowing what to expect is just the kind of mystery i am looking for in life.