CSA Box This Week

This morning we unpacked a delicious CSA box that also included a green grocer order of yougurt and half and half cream!

The box was filled with:

Box Contents
Roma Tomatoes, Organic - 1.5 pounds
Bunched Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
Green Cabbage, Organic - 1 each
Spring Onions, Organic - 2 bunches
Cucumbers, Organic - 2 each
Arugula (Greens), Organic - 1 bunch
Green Bibb Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Minneola Tangelos, Organic - 6 each   These were unavailable and Navel oranges were substituted.
Navel Oranges, Organic - 6 each
Nectarines, Organic - 6 each ..
Peaches, Organic - 6 each
Cameo Apples, Organic - 5 each

Unfortunately I did have a fair bit left in the fridge after so much yuck in the house, including another cucumber, another head of lettuce (okay, half head), and bunch of carrots.

I don't think this is going to be a problem because I also have to goal of eating more fruits and veggies myself, and putting veggies in the snack bowls too - even if it means breaking out the salad dressing!

If you were feeling slightly over run by fruits and veggies what would you be doing?

Today's CSA Box

This morning we received our third CSA box in 3 weeks, and what I learned is that we are still an every second week kind of family, but with company I love this alternative of upping our delivery as needed.

The recipe I tried with baby bok choy of Pork Lo Mein worked out great, even when I substituted ham, so I will share that with you soon.

This morning's box contained the following along with a slug who managed to eat a fair bit of lettuce and all the leaves off my broccoli - both of which I will receive a credit for, and the slug was enjoyed by the neighborhood crows.

This week's box:

Box Contents
Avocados, Organic - 2 each
Bunched Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
Broccoli, Organic - 1 bunch
Cilantro, Organic - 1 bunch
Roma Tomatoes, Organic - 1.5 pounds
White Sweet Corn, Organic - 4 each
Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Cucumbers, Organic - 2 each
Navel Oranges, Organic - 6 each
Minneola Tangelos, Organic - 6 each
Celery, Organic - 1 each
Braeburn Apples, Organic - 5 each

In addition, the following Green Grocer items are scheduled to be in your order:

Qty.	Item	Price	Total
1	Broccolette, Organic - 1 bunch/order
1	Watermelon, Organic - One small, approx. 4.5 lb melon/order.

We have pico de gallo and guacamole on our menu list for this weekend along with chips, of course!

I am also planning the favored brocolette with a balsamic vinaigrette that Miss Pear could not get enough of (she loved it so much that we all ended up giving her some of ours once the bowl was empty!)

I confess, the first watermelon of the season for the long weekend was too good and too tempting! I could not resist temptation and added it to our box.

What would be at the top of your list if this was delivered to your door?

CSA Box This Week

Thursday morning our CSA box was waiting for us on the front steps full of delicious produce. This is an extra box we ordered while we have company and it was filled with:

Red Radishes

Bunched Carrots

Yellow Onions

Swiss Chard (Last minute substitution for Bok Choy when it was not available)

Broccoli

White Sweet Corn

Red Leaf Lettuce

Tomatoes

Navel Oranges

Strawberries

Mangoes

Apples

Plus we added on yellow beans, blueberries and yogurt.

It was such a great treat to have yellow beans! I never order them because they are so delicate and expensive, but my mother-in-law said she wanted them so order them and put them on her tab - how could I argue? They were delicious!

I am also looking forward to that delicious sweet corn for the first time this spring!

What would you be planning if this box was arriving on your door step?

CSA Box as Reading Lesson

Recently we have been trying to show Miss Pear how important reading is to every day life. One of her newest jobs is to help me "inventory" the CSA box. Our method goes like this:

1. Pull the CSA box in off the front steps before breakfast, open to warm if it was really cold putting away anything that requires refrigeration.
2. Eat breakfast.
3. Empty box all over kitchen island putting like things together.
4. Give list and pencil to Miss Pear.
5. She reads each item and quantity.
6. I say we have it, sometimes pretending to not be able to locate it to help her identify things.
7. She checks it off
8. Repeat items 5-7 until the box contents are completely reviewed.
9. Store all veggies and fruits.

This has been a lot of fun for her, and it helps her to feel useful and productive, something she loves.

We have only had one problem with this process, and that was the day Daddy snuck an orange out of the box and did not tell her. It was quite cute.

How do you make reading a practical thing in your home - I love new ideas!

Last Week's CSA Box

Last week's CSA box was readily anticipated around here. I was down to 1 grapefruit, 1 pear, and 1 mango for fruit along with about 10 apples I had bought at Costco. The veggies were holding out a little better, but not much.

Our delivery consisted of:

Cucumbers

Bunched Carrots

Broccoli

Baby Bok Choy

Snap Peas

Romaine Lettuce

Onions

Navel Oranges

Strawberries

Apples

Tangelos

Mangoes

I also added cilantro so that I could make a pasta dish that ended up being kind of bland, unfortunately or I would have shared it with you.

As we have company right now we are getting an extra box this week, making it 3 weeks in a row that we get the larger box delivered. It will be a great to see exactly how that works because we are definitely trying to eat more fruits and veggies around here.

I confess thought that I did swap out the Zucchini for Tangelos because I was tired of trying to come up with different ways to serve zucchini and really wanted more tangelos because they are one of my favorite.

We are having salads, and the bok choy will turn up in a lo mein recipe this week that I will share with you if it is as good as I remember. I cooked up the second half of our Easter ham this week so I am looking for all kinds of ideas to use it up - today it is ham soup without the split peas.

Also, in my continuing love for my CSA I realized that the small box is defaulting to avocados while the large box is defaulting to mangoes - such a treat.

This Week's CSA Box

I am eager to get our CSA box this week, and not just because we are almost out of bay leaves!

Here is what we are getting in our box this week:

Box Contents
Avocados, Organic - 2 each
Tomatoes, Organic - 2 each
Broccolette, Organic - 1 bunch
Cilantro, Organic - 1 bunch
Ruby Grapefruit - 3 each
Snap Peas, Organic - 0.75 pound
Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Yellow Onions, Organic - 3 each
Navel Oranges, Organic - 5 each
Strawberries, Organic - 1 pint.
Mangos, Organic - 2 each
Braeburn Apples, Organic - 5 each

Qty.	Item	Price	Total
1	Bay Leaves, Organic - Approx. 1 oz/order.
1	Half & Half, Organic - 1 pint/order.

Yes, more half and half - my dear husband gave me a half pound of my favorite coffee that he had to have a friend pick up when he was on business because it is that hard to get and they don't ship. It is great with milk, but it is delicious with half and half!

The tomatoes, half an onion, avacadoes and cilantro will be made into pico de gallo, guacamole and served over soft tacos on Saturday...that is also were some lettuce will go.

That leaves lots of yumminess for salads, fruit desserts!

What is your favorite Mexican food? Does your family love pico de gallo too or is it just my family that makes it vanish?

Red Radish and Cucumber Salad

So they put radishes in the CSA box, and I kind of like them in salads in small amounts, and figured I could just make it work because they last this side of forever, so no swap.

Then the fridge froze my lettuce.

And while I learned a valuable lesson and adjusted the fridge, I still have these radishes.

So a little research and I found this delicious recipe, but now am out of radishes, which is too bad because it is all gone:

Red Radish and Cucumber Salad

1 lb red radishes, cleaned and thinly sliced in circles

1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

1Tbsp white onion, thinly sliced

3Tbsp sugar

2Tbsp olive oil

2tsp fresh dill, chopped (I skipped this)

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1tsp lemon zest

1 lemon, juiced (I used a Meyer lemon)

Salt and pepper to taste

Place thinly sliced onions in a small bowl of ice water while you prepare the other ingredients, this will take away some of the bite.

In a small bowl, mix sugar, vinegar, oil, lemon juice, zest and dill. Add radishes, onions and cucumbers. Toss all until evenly coated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve as a side to grilled meats or spicy dishes.

This Week's CSA Box

I am excited to get my CSA box this week - the fridge is looking a little bare after missing an extra week with the move (plus we lost a couple things, like our 2 beautiful mangoes due to moving induced forgetfulness!)

This week I did a bit of swapping and a bit of shopping in the green grocer section, so now my box looks like this:

Box Contents
Cucumbers, Organic - 1 each
Italian Parsley, Organic - 1 bunch
Snap Peas, Organic - 0.75 pound
Yellow Onions, Organic - 3 each
Zucchini, Organic - 1.75 pounds
Tomatoes, Organic - 2 each
Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Radishes, Organic - 1 bunch
Minneola Tangelos, Organic - 6 each
Navel Oranges, Organic - 6 each
Mangos, Organic - 2 each
Braeburn Apples, Organic - 5 each

Green Grocer:

Qty.	Item
1	Golden Guernsey Vanilla Yogurt - One quart/order.
1	Green Beans, Organic - Approximately 1 lb/ order.
1	Half & Half, Organic - 1 pint/order. .

Okay, I confess the half and half is a special treat for me to help me unpack my desk. Did I mention it is a huge roll top that was a gift from my grandparents?

I am planning a wonderful salad, and spiced green beans with the addition of a bell pepper I will pick up at Costco before the box arrives.

The yogurt will go in with some granola I really need to make for breakfast.

The fruit will be lunch desserts for us and I will pick up some bananas to round it all out.

I am still trying to think of what to do with the parsley and zucchini.

What would you be making if you were receiving this box this week? I am always looking for new ideas!

Spinach Cheese Bake

I had some baby spinach from the last CSA box that needed to be eaten up, and a salad would not work because with sore throats all around we are not buddies with salads right now. So I pulled out my Simply in Season Expanded Edition (World Community Cookbook) and started looking. I finally decided on Chard Cheese Bake because spinach is the other option to chard in it. Although rather than steaming the spinach I put some olive oil in the bottom of a heavy pan and added some minced garlic. I slowly brought it to temperature so the olive oil was lovely and garlicky too. I was pleased with the results, but thought it was missing something...I just don't know what. What are your thoughts?

Here is the recipe (page 210)

Spinach Cheese Bake

1lb Spinach cooked

4 eggs (beaten)

1 cup milk

1 cup Swiss cheese (or another cheese) shredded

1 cup bread cubed (I used home made)

1/2 cup green onion (I used red because that is what I had)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

(I cheated and added some salt and pepper too)

Combine with cooked greens. Pour into a greased 2 quart baking dish. Cover and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

What are your thoughts on adding some more flavor to this? Or is the problem that I used mozzarella cheese because that is what I had and it just did not have enough flavor?

CSA Box This Week

Now that we are finally on the mend and food tastes good again, I am looking forward to our CSA box that will arrive tonight/tomorrow morning!

We will be receiving:

Box Contents
Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
Cilantro, Organic - 1 bunch
Broccoli, Organic - 1 bunch
Red Onions, Organic - 3 each
Celery, Organic - 1 each
Tomatoes, Organic - 2 each
Red Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Rainbow Chard, Organic - 1 bunch
Minneola Tangelos, Organic - 6 each
Mangos, Organic - 2 each
Braeburn Apples, Organic - 5 each
Cameo Apples, Organic - 5 each

In addition, the following Green Grocer items are scheduled to be in your order:

Qty.	Item	Price	Total
1	Brisket - Approx. 3-lb/order.

The brisket is for St. Patrick's day, I am going to try something new as I have never made brisket before but hear how great it is - is this something you make? What is your favorite recipe?

I am also looking for a new recipe for chard, so if you have one, I would love to hear about it! So far I usually saute with garlic, but something new would be great!

And the cilantro will go with black beans and rice, and probably some guacamole as I have 2 avacadoes to use up too!

CSA Box This Week

This morning my CSA box showed up at my door again - how wonderful is that! And it delights the girls to retrieve the yummy box.

When I was reviewing the box this week I realized that I wanted to keep it easy for us, nothing too thought provoking or challenging to figure out! Plus with the yuck in our house last week I still had some veggies and fruit to use up.

So our box this morning contained the following:

Box Contents
Cucumbers, Organic - 2 each
Garnet Yams, Organic - 3 pounds
Broccoli, Organic - 1 bunch
Yellow Onions, Organic - 3 each
Garlic, Organic - 3 each
Roma Tomatoes, Organic - 1.5 pounds
Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Grapefruit, Organic - 3 each
Navel Oranges, Organic - 6 each
Mangos, Organic - 2 each
Minneola Tangelos, Organic - 6 each
Gala Apples, Organic - 5 each

In addition, the following Green Grocer items are scheduled to be in your order:

Qty.	Item
1	Celery, Organic - 1 bunch/order.

A big salad will be made with the lettuce, cucumbers, and roma tomatoes from the box along with some sweet peppers and carrots I have on hand.

There is lots of fruit for snacks and desserts.

Broccoli will be simply steamed for a side dish, and the sweet potatoes roasted for another side dish.

Nothing fancy this week, and that is just how we need it!

What our CSA Box Looks Like

I have been talking about my love for our CSA box for a while now, and FINALLY remembered to take pictures the last delivery!

When I open my box I am greeted with this:

A box of organic fruits and veggies and almost no packaging! (I reuse bags that I have at home to store my fruits and veggies.)

My first order of business is to always unpack everything and check to make sure everything is there and of the quality they have spoiled us to expect, when I am done it looks like this:

The brown paper bag was the only packaging in the box and it is protecting the zucchini. In this picture you will find:

Box Contents
Garnet Yams, Organic - 3 pounds
Bunched Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
Zucchini, Organic - 1.75 pounds
Green Onions, Organic - 2 bunches
Red Bell Peppers, Organic - 2 each
Green Cabbage, Organic - 1 each
Romaine Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Yellow Onions, Organic - 3 each
Minneola Tangelos, Organic - 6 each
Gala Apples, Organic - 6 each
Navel Oranges, Organic - 6 each
Pink Lady Apples, Organic - 5 each

What I am always amazed at is the lack of dirt in our box! It is rare I need to wash anything before I store it!

Does this make you want a CSA box too? How do you find the fresh fruits and veggies you need for your family?

No Sir, I don't like it....

We have a rule about our CSA box: You don't swap it out just because you don't know what it is!

So we have tried a variety of things that have been great!

Therefore when eggplant was in the box two weeks ago I started looking for recipes, and decided on Veggie Parmesan (minus the fennel bulbs), and I even used my homemade marinara sauce!

It was DELICIOUS! We loved everything EXCEPT the eggplant which we all gamely tried and then picked out.

I would make this again with just 2 layers of peppers, it was that good.

But next time I see eggplant on the list for the CSA box I am definitely swapping it out!

CSA Box Change

For the 8ish months my husband has made a detour to stop and pick up our CSA box. Sometimes it has been out in the afternoon heat longer than we would like, but it has always been fine, I just had to prioritize using stuff occasionally. When the days started getting dark before he left work, he started picking up the box at lunch time, and this worked great until the truck was delayed until the normally promised hours, so he went and the box was not there yet!

Getting to the box is not hard, getting out of that parking lot is. It is a busy 2 lane road where you have to cross both lanes!

So starting in 2 weeks we are having the box delivered to our home. Instead of getting it Wednesday evening, it will be delivered to our door by 6AM the following morning. There is a $3 charge for this service.

$3

Yes, you did read that right.

This begs the question of why we have been picking the box up all this time! Well, technically the home delivery was not an option in our area until we moved, but still.

This makes my husband very happy, so I am thinking this might be the best $6 a month I spend.

This reminds me that sometimes in our quest to save money it is important to not lose sight of our overall goals and plans.

This Week's CSA Box

It has been a while since I posted about my CSA box, and that is surprising because I love it dearly, and it helps me so much! No running to the grocery store for fresh produce and then buying other stuff!

Today we will receive:

Cucumbers, Organic - 2 each

Garnet Yams, Organic - 3 pounds

Celery, Organic - 1 each

Red Onions, Organic - 3 each

Eggplant, Organic - 1 each

Bunched Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch

Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch

Green Kale, Organic - 1 bunch

Fairchild Tangerines, Organic - 6 each

Kiwi, Organic - 6 each

Mangos, Organic - 2 each

Cameo Apples, Organic - 6 each

To round this out I picked up 6 peppers and a bag of onions at Costco. I would have liked some bananas as well, but it was Friday evening when we stopped for milk and a few other necessities, and all the bananas were gone.

I have a few new recipes in mind to try, and will be making fruit salads for lunch desserts as well as an apple crisp to use up a case of apples I bought a bit ago and some Christmas satsuma mandarins.

So if this box was being delivered to you what would you be thinking? And what would you be doing with the eggplant...or would you have swapped it out?

This Week's CSA Box

This week we are getting some delicious things in our box - but I think I say that every time.

We will be receiving:

Roma Tomatoes, Organic - 1.5 pounds
Bunched Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
Red Cabbage, Organic - 1 each
Yellow Onions, Organic - 3 each
Avocados, Organic - 3 each
Cucumbers, Organic - 1 each
Satsuma, Organic - 6 each
Broccoli, Organic - 1 each
Satsuma, Organic - 6 each (yes, I am getting a second 6)
Valencia Oranges, Organic - 6 each
Bartlett Pears, Organic - 5 each
Braeburn Apples, Organic - 6 each


I am thinking guacamole and chips one night, fresh squeezed OJ to go with pancakes one night, and that is as far as I got!

Now that I start thinking I wonder if I should not make some Carne Asada with fresh salsa to go with that guacamole....

What would you be thinking of this box was being delivered to you tonight?

Gathering the Fragments

One of my favorite features of More-With-Less Cookbook (World Community Cookbook) and Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook is the Gathering the Fragments section - using up the leftovers!

We have found that with the CSA box we do need to have a plan to use up the leftover veggies, although the fruit never seems to be a problem! There are the standbys of stir fries and soup, which are always good. You can always roast veggies for a lovely remake on them. Or you can make this casserole from Eat, Shrink & Be Merry! Great-tasting Food That Won't Go From Your Lips to Your Hips! (Although my favorite book in the series is still the original: Looneyspoons: Low-fat Food Made Fun!):

Viva Las Veggies
(Yes, all the recipe titles are punny in these books)

2 medium tomatoes, cut in chunks
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 large portobello mushrooms, chopped
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
1 tsp garlic (I go with 1 large clove)
1 tbsp each olive oil and balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp each fresh herbs such as rosemary, basil, oregano, or thyme (can substitute dried)
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp thyme

In 9x13 mix first group of ingredients - I usually just keep the zucchini the same, add some kind of onion and then just throw in what I need to use up. Mix this well.

Roast uncovered at 425F for 25 minutes.

Mix remaining 3 ingredients and sprinkle evenly over top. Return to oven for 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve hot.


How do you like to use up your veggies that are at the end of their prime?

CSA Box

It is time for another yummy box today, and we had to make a change. We have switched to getting the bigger box every 2 weeks because I find I am buying more to add on than I would like, so we will see how that goes. We can switch back with an email if it ends up being too much produce.

This week we are getting:

Broccoli, Organic - 1 each
Leeks, Organic - 3 each
Green Bell Peppers, Organic - 3 each
Red Bok Choy, Organic - 1 bunch
Brussels Sprouts On The Stalk, Organic - 1 each
Bunched Baby Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Gala Apples, Organic - 6 each
Valencia Oranges, Organic - 6 each
Red Flame Grapes, Organic - 1.25 pounds
Bartlett Pears, Organic - 6 each

We are getting broccoli instead of potatoes which are forbidden in our house, and I substituted green peppers in place of spinach. Spinach is one of those things I am learning to like. I kind of like it sauted in oil with garlic, but if you have a great recipe for spinach could you please share it with me?

I have never had red bok choy before, but love bok choy so I don't anticipate a problem. I do anticipate a stir fry though!

Some hesitation lingers in me over the brussels sprouts. My experiences have not been stellar, but I am hoping that like everything else it will be much better directly from the farm. Plus, my husband loves it, so this is basically suck it up time if nothing else. In order to prepare for this I consulted on of my favorite cooking people, Alton Brown at Food TV and found 2 recipes of his to think about:

• Basic Brussels Sprouts which is currently ranking last, but it is good to know how to prepare them simply in case we love them. Reading this makes me think the ones I tried that turned me off for good were over done.
• Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Cranberries which could be the recipe to convert me, but also plays up the "hey, they are just little cabbages" angle.

I am also a big fan of Ina Garten so I checked out her recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts because I really do like roasted veggies, and this might be a winner too.

If this were arriving on your door step tonight what recipes would you be considering?

CSA Box This Week

This week's box looks delicious! We are getting:

Zucchini, Organic - 1 pound
Bunched Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
Green Chard, Organic - 1 bunch
Celery, Organic - 1 each
Spinach, Organic - 1 bunch
Green Bell Peppers, Organic - 2 each
Romaine Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Delicata Squash, Organic - 1 each
Red Flame Grapes, Organic - 0.75 pound
Dapple Dandy Pluots, Organic - 3 each
Gala Apples, Organic - 3 each
Fuji Apples, Organic - 3 each

The zucchini is a substitution for potatoes which are on our permanent exemption list (as in, "Please never put these in our box as our daughter is allergic!") and zucchini was the automatic substitution.

The gala apples are also a substitution for the d'anjou pears which everyone we know says are delicious, but we respectfully disagree. What am I missing? Are they best for baking or canning? We just want to take them out of the fridge and eat them.

Through our box we have become huge fans of pluots and red flame grapes, so we are always happy to see those in our box!

The one item that will be new to us is the delicata squash. I had never even heard of it, but our rule is that we never substitute something out because we don't know what it is, we get it, do some research and try it. If we don't like after that, then we know, but we are trying to be adventurous in our eating. I might try this recipe with the squash. Have you had this before? Did you like it? How did you prepare it?

If you had this box coming to your door this week what are some of the ways you would be preparing the contents?

CSA Box for This Week

This week in our CSA box I made no changes, substitutions or additions and we are getting:

Romaine Lettuce, Organic - 1 each
Green Onions, Organic - 1 bunch
Rapini, Organic - 1 each
Baby Bok Choy, Organic - 3 bunches
Bi-Color Sweet Corn, Organic - 2 each
Red Radishes, Organic - 1 bunch
Cucumbers, Organic - 1 each
Zucchini, Organic - 1 pound
Nectarines, Organic - 4 each
Peaches, Organic - 3 each
D'anjou Pears, Organic - 3 each
Gala Apples, Organic - 4 each

What would your plans be if this was the box you were picking up?

I already have plans for many of the vegetables, and hope to do better than I did with our last box when we all passed the ick around and I ended up throwing a lot away. I did not even pull out any of my usual tricks to use up veggies! So sad. Although we did love the new thing we tried - lemon cucumbers!