On our quest to become more healthy…support local…and eat raw organic foods….I signed up for the local CSA (community supported agriculture) through Geauga Farms. It’s a co-op of nine certified organic farms in the Northeast Ohio area and costs between $310 and $775, depending on what size share you get. The season runs June – October and there’s also a winter share that begins in late October and runs in 6-week blocks. (Totally planning on signing up, by the way).
On their website they state that typical shares might include:
Early season – lettuce, kale, collard greens, cruciferous vegetables, radishes, green onions, strawberries, raspberries
Mid-season – tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, sweet corn, Swiss chard, broccoli, beans, basil, peaches, blueberries
Late season – sweet corn, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, peppers, kale, pumpkins, apples, pears, watermelon
(If you’re still curious on the types of veggies grow, they have a veggie ID guide online with pictures of most of the produce you could get receive).
I signed up for the medium share which “provides enough produce for two to three people to have several servings throughout the week.” We’re just two people but I wasn’t sure if I should sign up for the large share anyway because #GroceryStoreObsessed and I love cooking.
Good thing I didn’t. The medium share is HUGE! Since the only meal my boyfriend and I share together is dinner, which we try to cook at least 5 times each week, this share will provide more than enough for dinner and leftovers for lunch.
This week we got:
I’ve never even seen garlic scapes before (the bottom part is where the garlic bulbs grow) and while I’ve seen kohlrabi in the grocery store before, I’ve never cooked with it. Sooooo this’ll be a true Chopped mystery basket for me.
Here’s my plans for this week’s basket though: (UPDATE: We’ve powered through everything but one bok choy, one kohlrabi bulb, and the rhubarb. Below I updated in italic what we actually ate)
- Lettuce – Salad! Mix with some spinach we have in the fridge and top with goat cheese, my homemade pickled red onions, and my homemade lemon thyme vinaigrette. Done! We finished the last bit yesterday.
- Bok Choy – Used once in stir fry…we’ll use it again in the same way OR we’ll freeze it in a homemade stir fry veggie blend. Haven’t eaten the second one…will see if it’s too late to blanch and freeze it.
- Strawberries – Wash and eat. DONE. Ate a fair number of these with yogurt actually
- Swiss Chard – Totally not sure what I’ll do with this…. Steamed kohlrabi and swiss chard with herbs and lemon sauce last night.
- Kohlrabi – Used one of the bulbs in a savory onion pie…I’ll use one other one in a stir fry and the final one we might eat raw. Still have one left
- Rhubarb – Not sure about this but I might make a rhubarb and cinnamon bread. Still planning on making bread with this!
- Garlic Scapes – Put this in the stir fry earlier, put some more in the savory pie tonight…whatever remains will go in to the stir fry veggie blend for later in the week. Randomly just started putting these in everything. Once I realized they’re basically tasteless…
How have I never seen garlic scapes before? They smell so strong of garlic in your hand but they actually cook up a lot like green beans and, at least to me, are mild in flavor.
The brightness of this swiss chard makes me swoon.
I remember fresh strawberries from my childhood. Hopefully we get even more and I can make some homemade strawberry and rhubarb jam!
