Week 7

Before I get into week 7, I did end up making the beet ravioli and it was wonderful. I cut the butter and added caramelized onions to the sauce...yum.

I am loving the carrots and onions each week! The onions have such a great flavor, I never want to buy them at the store again. The zucchini is piling up on me and I may have to give in and make bread or muffins. I am going to use some in a pot pie...these are adorable! and I suppose I could pickle some. Even though it is plentiful I am glad to see it each week since it is so versatile.

I used the squash on a pizza I served to friends and it was a big hit. Everyone was surprised at how good it was to have a nice veggie pizza with good onions and very little cheese.

I did pick some basil (for pizza) and mint (for drinks) this week but I was again without adult help with the kiddos so that was all I picked...I really am craving some more chard!!

Week 6

I had to skip pick-your-own again this week (it was just me and 2 tired boys) and I was super sad because the basil is coming in :(.
More bok choy is always a welcome sight. I took this weeks carrots and made baby food for the 5-month-old. What better to feed your baby than local, organic, fresh carrots!! My husband and I were iffy on the fennel. It is just not mu cup of tea and while he likes it he found it overpowering. I heard you can dry the fronds for later use with chicken or fish so I am drying them but we will see if I decide to use them...

The Mexican Gray Squash was listed as carali at the CSA which yielded nothing helpful in google so we tried google goggles and came up with Mexican Gray Squash - cook like zucchini. Well I was going to do zucchini fries so I may do MGS fries and use the zucchini in muffins. To do the fries I cut them into 3-4 inch long sticks (about a half inch thick) then dip into flour with s&p, then a beaten egg followed by panko crumbs. I then bake at like 425 until goldenish or pan fry them (yum).

I am not a big beet eater but found this recipe for beet ravioli and was excited to give it a try. Where I go for bulk foods was out of poppy seeds - luckily beets keep so I will be trying it next week.
Obviously we have been eating lots of salad and I made a new dressing that I LOVE!!

1T Fresh Orange Juice
1T Olive Oil
1T Rice Wine Vinegar or Cider Vinegar
1t Sugar
S&P to taste

Obviously you can adjust to taste. I bet it would be good with orange zest (but I had already used the zest of my orange) or poppy seeds (dang you store for being out). I actually segmented (?) my orange and just used the juice that dripped down then added the segments to the salad to with the fennel and the last of the onions from last week.

Week 5

This is the first week we didn't take full advantage of the pick your own areas so it just looks smaller.

I was excited to see kohl rabi so I could try it. It was nice but it isn't all that versatile. The CSA recommended eating it raw in salad or with dip.

I used one of the zucchini and a few onions in this DELICIOUS pizza. Caramelized onion, zucchini, ricotta, Parmesan, garlic, olive oil, s and p on this crust. I would say so easy but I didn't flour my surface enough...hence the hole. And the plain one I made for my 3-year-old who won't eat brown (just a phase I hope). It got so flipped I thought it looked like a fish :).

I still have an onion or two and one squash...good thing they both keep.

Week 4

I have to admit, I thought I would be sick of greens. Surprisingly, I'm not. I will admit that I was using the last of the collards I picked in week 3 today and that I didn't use all of my cilantro from last week, but otherwise we are doing well in eating the share. I froze the chard for use this winter in soups.

The gailon is really good and we were glad to see it again this week. My 3-year-old is going to be really sad the first week there is no bok choy in the basket. I was glad to find the kale still readily available since kale chips are now a staple in our pantry.

I am a little nervous about the beets, I have never liked them so we will have to see...

The Root Connection also has fruit shares available which we are not doing but they also have a small fruit shelf you can buy pieces from. Today my boy really wanted a plum so I got 3. At $.30 each I thought they were a fine price.

Each week when I look at the food I realize that the only thing we would have bought at the store is the lettuce. We probably would have gotten broccoli and asparagus too but none of it would have tasted as nice and fresh.