Week 13

Week 13's pick up included:

• One bag of greens (looks like arugula and something else)
• One bunch of salad turnips (I did not take these....)
• One head of garlic
• 1/2 Pound of green beans (Stella ate two of these while we were picking up. They were not the cleanest)
• Two red peppers
• One pound of tomatoes (Heirloom, but not the best quality. All mushy and pretty banged up)
• One GIANT head of calla-loo (other option was a bunch of small beets)

I am thinking of sauteing up the Calla-loo, but that is a LOT. Not sure what would happen if I ate it all!
Also, getting somewhat disappointed with the quality. They tell  you not to pick over the items. Basically, you touch it, you take it, but I am thinking this is getting a little crazy.

We shall see what the rest of the season brings. I am excited that the weather has turned and turning the oven on will not be torture!

Week 11

Week 11's Pick Up included:

• One pound of yellow squash (other choice: beets.)
• One head of Broccoli
• One pound of tomatoes
• One pint of speciality tomatoes (I don't remember what kind they were...)
• One head of salad lettuce

VERY bored with the pick up.
The head of lettuce was very tiny (one salad) and the tomatoes were not the best to say the least. The broccoli also has black spots on it, which I think is mold. Yuk.

We shall see what next week brings I guess!

Week 12

Week 12's pick up included:

• 4 Ears of Corn
• 2 pounds mixed of Carrots and Japanese Eggplant (long, purple things)
• 2 Peppers (green and red)
• 1.25 Pounds of Tomatoes (not impressed at the quality of these. Very squishy and bruised)
• One "green" choice - a head of salad lettuce. Other Choices were Kale and Swiss Chard)

I am going to go google things to do with Japanese Eggplant now!

Also, I need to catch up with a few dishes I have made. The summer is definitely getting in the way! I wanted to keep up with the pick ups though so I can look back at the year and see if it is worth doing again next year.

Week 10

This weeks pick-up included:

• 1 ¼ pound red potatoes
• One pint grape tomatoes
• One head of lettuce
• Three ears of corn
• ½ pound of green beans
• 1 Bunch of Leeks (2 leeks)
• 1 head of Fennel
• Purchased: One quart of raspberries, after Stella basically ate a handful from a quart on the table $4

See that sneaky hand going for the fennel? As I was putting the bounty away, she actually grabbed the head of fennel and started munching on the ends of it. I washed a few pieces and cut it up and added to her dinner. I can't even stand the smell of the stuff. I have a feeling she is going to be a black lickerish fan. When I finally give her candy that is.

Another corn eating picture. The kernels seemed really small to me.
She ate the entire half.

Week 9

This week’s pick-up is was another one done toddler free. Who-ho

Here is week 9’s booty:

• One head of lettuce (washed & eaten that evening)
• Pint of Organic Grape Tomatoes
• 4 ears of corn (brought to Cape Cod for girls weekend and grilled the next evening)
• 1 pound of tomatoes (two some-what bruised tomatoes)
• 2 pounds of (mixed): Green Peppers, Red Onions, Cucumbers (Beets were also an option, which I passed on)

Over all, a very boring couple of pick-ups. I have fixin’s for salads, but I think I am green pepper and onion-ed out. Hopefully I will be insired soon!

Stella and Aunt Cecily enjoying some fresh corn

Week 8

Paul was off of work today, so to give me a little bit of a break he was going to pick up this weeks share. We planned on meeting after pick up in North Reading for our final review of our new kitchen plans (yeah!). But unfortunately, when he arrived right at 3:30, he was told the truck was late. He waited until about 4, but since we had to be at the lumber store by 4:30, he left with no vegetables (Insert sad face emoticon).

So, after a few schedule re-arrange acts, and a Stella switch-off, I was there to pick up the bounty right before closing time at 6:45, sans a toddler.

This weeks loot:

• one pound of cucumbers
• one yellow squash (other choices were beets or collard greens)
• two green peppers
• two 'hot' peppers (one yellow and one green. Paul tells me the green one is a jalapeno)
• one pound of tomatoes
• half a pound of tomatillos
• head of green lettuce

For dinner tonight, Paul grilled some of the green peppers and the rest of the white onions we had. Eaten with some steak tips and Quinoa for me, rice for Paul. Yum!

Week 7

This afternoon's pick up was nice as there was no rain. It was also a little exciting for Stella, because I let her walk over to the fence for the near-by dog park so we could watch the doggies for ten minutes or so. I will continue to let her think that I am just an awesome mom and love "doggies doggies doggies doggies DOGGIES!!!" as much as she does, and not that I was trying to stay out of the way while the coordinator tried to explain to a few homeless people who wondered into the veggie tent that, no, sorry, you can't take the carrots. Ahhh, #salemma

Anyway. There were no choices this pick-up. The items also had a few pre-measured portions out (so I didn't have to weigh one pound of carrots while keeping an eye on a roaming toddler.) Very handy!

This weeks pick up included all items that require no Googleing on my part:

• One pound of carrots
• One pound of pickling cucumbers
• Two Green Peppers
• One Eggplant
• One head of garlic
• One bunch of Basil

Typing it out, it seems like more, but the bag certainly seemed on the smaller side. I think the lack of a head of greens was a factor in this feeling. 

In putting away tonight's bounty, I found the Kale, which I honestly forgot about. It is not wicked hot, so Kale chip time. I feel with this batch, I went into it a little more confidently.

I made a few modifications after the last batch:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• One bunch of Kale - washed, spun & patted dry and broken into bite size pieces
• One tablespoon of olive oil
• In a large bowl, drizzle the olive oil over the Kale, and massage in. (Really? "Massage"? What does that even mean? Do I need to buy the Kale a drink first? I have no clue. But I did massage my Kale, so you should too.)

• Once the Kale is covered in the oil, spread evenly over two trays and place in the oven. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste

ready to go in

• Check once at 5 minutes to separate any leaves that are getting a little too cozy
• Remove from the oven after an additional 20 minutes.

You are now the owner of some crunchy Kale chips! 

I munched on these while calling the credit card company (always fun!), left some for Paul for when he gets home, and plan on crunching any extras on my lunch salad tomorrow since I used the last of the croutons this evening. Super easy to do, and much better then sauteed Kale (IMO).

Week 6

Rain rain go away. Not only was this afternoon's pick up in the rain (which is slowly becoming the norm) but it was also cold. Very odd seeing that it is mid July and we had record breaking temps in the 100's just a few days ago. But what else would we talk about in New England if the weather was not cray-cray?

There was another fabulous volunteer at the depot this evening. She saw me running up with Stella in my arms (too muddy to let her roam free) and immediately offered to help me gather my goods. She informed me she is the mother of 17 month twins. God bless her.

The Week 6 bounty included:

• 1 & 1/2 pounds of red onion (look at that color!)
• 1 pound carrots
• Beet (other option was scallions)
• Kale (there were two other leafy greens to choose from, Bok Choy being one, callaloo the other)
• 1 pound green beans
• 1 head of salad lettuce

Once home, the normal routine of lettuce washing commenced. I contemplated a quick batch of Kale chips since it was so chilly, it would have actually been nice to turn on the oven. But laziness and a stubborn, cranky toddler both did me in for the evening.

I was able to crank out a little chopped tomato, mozzarella with some of the salad lettuce for a nice little dinner this evening.

this never gets old

Meanwhile, a cranky and stubborn Stella insisted on being pushed in her stroller around the house. And did not want to get out of said stroller. Rainy nights are so much fun! So, I did a mom-improvise and served her dinner as is:

bath time was equally fun

Week 5

Whoops! I am so in the groove, I completely forgot to snap a picture of the goods this week.
On the positive side, there was no puppy to scare Stella at the pick-up. Instead there was an excellent volunteer who offered to watch Stella as I went around to get the veggies . Thank you!

This weeks share included:

• Three ears of corn
• Two more onions (I probably could have taken three, but I still have the other three from last week)
• Two more green peppers 
• One Head of salad lettuce (other choice was beets)
• One Head of Pointy Head Cabbage (I choose not to take this one - I am pretty sure I wouldn't eat it)
• One pound of the snap peas

I also snaged a pint of fresh blueberries, as they had extra they were selling. Stella 'sampled' a few from the table as well. Along with some snap peas and what I think was a cherry. She wanted to try everything.

I quickly did the lettuce wash once home, munching on sliced cucumbers and green peppers with hummus while doing so. And I have already enjoyed a lovely salad at work today.

I really want to do a Stir-Fry type meal with the snap peas, pepper, onions and a protein (beef?). But looking at the recipes on line, it seems a little daunting of a task for me.... Maybe!

No food pictures this week, so here is one of Stella and Annie (we are dog sitting this week). They have turned into best buds.

going "night night" on Annie's dog bed

week 4. whoa!

Since we did not have a pick up last week due to the holiday, we received a few "extras" this week.

• carrots
• onions
• scallions ( this was a choice, beets were the other option)
• tomatoes (yeah!)
• green peppers
• zucchini And yellow squash
• snap peas
• cucumbers

Lots of stuff. Already ate the zucchini! I can never find them in the super market, so I was a little excited for this one.

Stella was my helper. She really loved the carrots.

She did not love as much the puppy that came running up to her to kiss her face.

Week 3 (Green Stuff!)

Third week, and the second pick up in some pretty wet weather. Thank goodness for their tents.
This week includes lots of green stuff:

• Kale (left side of pic)
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce (Yeah!)
• Pea Tendrils (in the plastic bag)
• Napa Cabbage (right side of pic)

Rain caused tonight's 'photo session' to be inside & in poor lighting.

Kale was the one choice item. I think the other options were turnips. This week, I am looking forward to the Kale (I have never had it) and the Kohlrabi. It seems you can do some really neat things with this vegetable. I am hopeful Stella likes the pea tendrils. She LOVES sweet peas, so maybe?? She ate a piece of lettuce this evening with her dinner. Then she started crying. I am not sure if the two were related. I hope not.

We did the standard routing of washing the lettuce down when we got home.

Stella helping

I have already eaten a big bowl of the lettuce this evening. I just added some cherry tomatoes, feta, the rest of the scallions from week one, and some dressing. It was very Yummy!

For the Kohlrabi, you should separate the globe and the greens for storage. (This book, recommended by FDC, was very helpful this evening!). I included it in the water bath with the lettuce to clean it up, then removed the greens from the bulb and stored the bulb in the fridge. It should last for at least 2 weeks (I hope). The leaves can be used with other greens, so I added them to my salad this evening.  I did remove the center stem from the leaves as it just seemed really thick. (I later learned this is called the "center rib". 2 + points for google).

Kohlrabi at the depot (I remembered to take a picture this time)
in the water bath getting clean,
greens and bulb separated,
and on the living room floor (Stella helped unpack)

I was definitely able to tell which greens in my salad were the Kohlrabi as they were much thicker & stronger. I am glad that I mixed them with all of the lettuce, because I think I was at my max with the amount I could eat. I didn't dislike them, but I would not want an entire bowl of them. At least raw - I have a feeling they would be very good sauteed. But raw was easy and yummy this evening!

Taking a break from lettuce washing

Week 2 (Tomatoes!)

Writing is hard! Or is it finding the time to get this stuff down that is hard? I am not sure, but I am only two weeks into this and I feel I may be falling behind. Tomorrow is the pick up for week three, so about time I write about the second farm share pick up.

The Bounty

You may have seen a sneak peak of the bounty in the previous strawberries post. Week 2 included:

• Garlic Scapes - .25 lbs (Those long thin green things in the lower left hand corner)
• Garlic Leeks - (Upper left hand corner; white bulbs, leafy greens)
• Cilantro (Top of photo)
• Two gorgeous tomatoes-- 1.5 lbs
• Fennel (also called Anise)

*Bonus Strawberries*

I was a little sad that there was not another head of lettuce, that was probably my favorite part of week 1, but there were two gorgeous red tomatoes. Tomatoes are perhaps my favorite vegetable. Probably the only one that I enjoy eating straight - ie, just give me a bowl of cherry tomotoes, and I am happily snacking.

Tomatoes

The weekly FDC newsletter provided some info on the tomotoes:

"The green house tomatoes come from Fairview farms in Sunderland, MA.  These are grown in pots, in soil, and are watered directly into each pot, and are IPM. Many folks forget what that is. It stands for Integrated Pest Management. This system relies on the grower to identify pests, and determine a course of action based on the intensity of the infestation, and the threat to the crop.  Because these are greenhouse grown, the threats are minimal."

Modeling the tomatoes on a granite sample

So, with my love of tomotoes, those obviously went first. Both Stella and I had some Mac and Cheese for dinner (do you sense a theme here?) which i jazzed up by added half of one of the tomoates, diced up. The same went into Stella's lunch for the next day.

Stella loved it all.
Served on paper plates because we came home to a broken kitchen faucet.
I was NOT washing more dishes in the bathroom sink.

When we got home Friday evening, I quickly put a pot of quinoa on the stove top and got that going. Side note: I need to learn how to cook quinoa properly. The pot was pretty burnt by the end. There was still plenty of un-burnt quinoa, but man was that a b-eotch to get clean. Thankfully the kitchen sink was fixed by then.

I diced the rest of the tomatoes, saving a half of one of the tomatoes. Added to the quinoa, along with some left over peppers and onions that we had from the fathers day BBQ cook out, as well as some Feta cheese (a main stay in my fridge). Mixed it all together and topped with a little olive oil.

Super yummy, and super easy. Was also really good the next day for lunch. Stella on the other hand... let's just say I will probably hold off on giving her Feta cheese again for a while. She did give it a try though, which is awesome!

inspecting dinner.

Finally, on Sunday I used the rest of the tomatoes (along with a few more purchased at the super market) in my most favorite meal of all time - Caprese.

Basically a bowl of tomatoes, with some mozzerella, oil and vineger.
S&P and dried basil since we didnt have fresh. SO good!

And Stella had some added to her lunch too!

Week 1

Week 1! My sister sent me an email the day before telling me what she received (she has a large share, so she gets more). 

• Broccoli
• Scallions
• 2 heads of lettuce (red leaf and green leaf)
• Hakurei turnips (similar to potato turnips)
• garlic leeks (look like thick scallions but they are leeks)
• radishes

I took the above list to Google, and discovered this awesome sounding Potato - Leek - Cheesy - Crock pot soup (The weather was still crap-tastic here in Boston, so a warm soup sounded just perfect). 

Doesn't this look good?? (Recipe found here)

I did not make this!

Also, I knew there were a few potatoes that needed to be used asap -- which just shows you how often I cook -- so Stella and I went to the store Wednesday night to get the few things for the soup that I did not have on had (evaporated milk and an immersion blender).

On Thursday the Monsoon season that we have been having here continued. All day. By the time I arrived at the coop tents, they were pretty muddy. I signed in at the administration tent, she showed me the small vegetable share tent and walked me through the process. Since it was so rainy and muddy, I had to hold Stella (all 28 pounds) and the bags as well. Suffice it to say, I did not linger. I grabbed and ran. I did notice right away that there were no garlic leeks available. 

What I ended up with:

• One MASSIVE head of Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Scallions
• Hakurei Turnips

Look at that huge head of lettuce!

Lettuce

When I got home, I immediately washed the head of lettuce. (Great tip from my sister). A lot of dirt washed down the drain. I took out my salad spinner.... and after opening the package (whoops, guess I never used it before) I spun that lettuce like I was it's boss. Stella actually really enjoyed this. She kept wanted to watch it spin. Once it was all dry, I broke it up and placed it in a container in the fridge for salads during the week. The next day, my lunch was just lettuce, croutons I had on hand and some dressing. It was one of the best salads I ever had. The lettuce was almost buttery, with this really subtle umami flavor (Yes, I watch top chef). I want more lettuce!

Hakurei Turnips

These are still in a plastic bad in my fridge. Not sure what to do with them, that I will like. Everyone is saying to just slice them and put them in your salad, they are like radishes / turnips. Both of which I am not a fan of. So, they sit in the crisper.

Broccoli & Scallions

The scallions reminded me of Fido

These both went into the crock pot soup. I decided, even though I did not get the garlic leeks, I was going to make the soup anyway. (That picture before makes it look damn good, doesn't it?)

Substitutions made: Broccoli instead of celery & carrots, and Scallions, along with some frozen chopped onion we had, instead of Garlic Leeks. Should be totally fine, right?

The night before, I 'prepped" everything and stuck it in the fridge. Since my husband leaves after me for work, I asked him to put everything in the crock pot before he left for work. I also asked him to add about 8 cups of chicken broth. Apparently, I only bought four and a half though. I did not know this until I asked him how much he ended up putting in, and he told me I can't do math (the broth I bought was labeled in ounces). Whoops.

Before

I was a little late getting home, since I ended up picking up some plant shares and delivering them, instead of coming straight home. The crock pot was still standing though, and the house smelled great. This was also the first day the sun was out in FOREVER.

I used the immersion blender in the crock pot, added the milk, and waited 30 minutes to try it,

After

The first night, it was really good. Almost like a creamy potato, broccoli soup. Almost. The turkey bacon I 'garnished' the soup with left a little to be desired, though. I wish I skipped that step. The extra chopped scallions on the top were perfect. Had a nice, sweet crunch. I have a love affair with onions - I probably could have just eaten them without the soup. (I did also add some scallions to my salads, which were great.) 

Stella tried a few spoonfuls of the soup, but she was not a big fan.

The next day, the soup was way to thick. I felt like I was eating a giant bowl of green mashed potatoes. The proper amount of broth would have helped this, I am sure.

The shares the first few weeks are apparently a little smaller; the upcoming weeks when more is in season will be a little more plentiful. 

So far, a successful week!