So it begins.
I picked up my first CSA share two weeks ago.
An occasion this momentous needs a little music, so I’m sharing a tune which exemplifies just how I feel about my CSA. Remember it’s early in the season, so I’m still enamored; in the honey moon phase if you will.
For anyone not familiar with a CSA, it’s basically my sanity, my self-imposed challenge, my summer lifeline, and my produce all in one. Still confused? I can’t really understand why since my description was so succinct and dead nuts (nuts, hee hee; sometimes my level of immaturity astounds even me).
Back to the nitty-gritty details, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and basically you purchase a share in your local farm. In return you get seasonal, local produce on a weekly basis for as long as your CSA program lasts. Mine started two weeks ago, which was two weeks earlier than I expected and I just so happened to have a fridge full of farmers market finds at the time; oops. It runs for twenty weeks, which puts me at mid-October, at which point I’ll likely sign up for a winter CSA because I can’t get enough or maybe I’m just sick. Perhaps a little bit of both.
I get my goodies through Geauga Family Farms, and I pretty much love them, almost more than life itself…almost; there’s still a shred of sanity left in me. By the way, they don’t know I’m a blogger, singing their praises in my very off-key voice. To them, I’m just the girl who gets really freaking excited to pick up her veggies each week. Maybe even a little too excited. Nah; no such thing.
The coolest part about Geauga Farms is they work with a wide network of farms in the area in order to provide a large variety of produce, although this time of year, nothing says northeast Ohio quite like greens.
Speaking of greens (pretty slick transition, right?), I got a bundle (more puns) in my first week. Along with a head of green leaf lettuce, we got some Romaine lettuce, a pile of Red Russian Kale, several stalks of rhubarb and a plethora of green onions.
We also scored two delicious hoop house tomatoes (add one more to the photo below and we’re good) and a dozen eggs. We started getting eggs this year, and we’re going to be getting twelve every week, which I can only hope is enough. Between the Hubby and I, a dozen eggs is chump change, especially since I have visions of yolk porn dancing in my head. Screw sugar plums; they’re totally overrated and since I’ve never had one, it makes sense for me to pass judgment.
I hope you’re ready to join me on my summer adventures as I eat and freeze my way through my local produce. The freezing part is new for me this year, so I appreciate any and all tips you can throw at me. In the meantime, I’ll just keep bugging this lady for advice; she won’t get sick of me, I’m sure of it. I’ll be like a permanent hangnail that never really goes away and pops up at the most inopportune times.
By the way, before you join me on my summer long pilgrimage to the CSA gods (is that sacrilegious; am I going to hell now?) you should know I often name my veggies, and I absolutely get competitive with them; highly, highly competitive. Maybe I am a carnivore at heart, but hey the competition is half (maybe even more) the fun for me.
You know what else is fun (another sweet transition; I’m on fire today), sharing not only my CSA goodies, but exactly how I got down and dirty with them.
Let’s begin with the bundle of Red Russian Kale. I drank him; all of him as a matter of fact on three separate mornings, in three separate smoothies.
I know these blenders of joy really look a lot alike. They are brothers from another mother, I swear. If you look closely, you can, in fact, see varying nuances. Yes, look closely into my smoothies, that’s it…closer now…ok, bark like a dog while eating all your veggies. Did it work? No. Oh well, it was worth a shot.
Moving on, I ate my new eggs, straight up with some roasted veggies and a mimosa because new eggs need celebrating.
Author’s Note: they fry differently (read quicker), which means true yolk porn has alluded me thus far. Have no fears because yolk porn will be mine. “Oh yes, [he] will be mine.” I will love you forever and a single day if you know where that quote is from.
I also scrambled a handful of eggs along with a little almond milk, shredded cheddar cheese and some of the green onions from my CSA.
Since we delved into green onion territory, I think it’s safe to share this next dish: Apple and Green Onion Pizza with an olive oil garlic base. You know what’s even cooler than that? I made the pizza dough myself. Two snaps and a twirl for me.
Full disclosure: this pizza has potential, but I pretty much drowned it in olive oil (oops), so it wasn’t a huge success. It can be though, and I plan to try again.
My lettuce got eaten the way most lettuce does: in a salad (I might have thrown some green onions from the CSA in there too). My tomatoes became a Raw Pasta Sauce created and prepared by the Beast herself.
To balance out all this veggie loving, I made cake. A Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake using the rhubarb and eggs from my share. I thought my Strawberry Rhubarb coffee cake was good (and it absolutely is), but there’s no denying it; this cake is better, even though it loses value over time, which translates to you should eat the entire thing in one day. It will still be good on day two, but it won’t be as magical as day one. Day one I wept; day two I only got misty-eyed.
The cake is dense, heavy and yet still moist and supple (yeah, I said it and I’ll say it again: Moist, Moist, Moist). The sweet strawberries and tangy rhubarb seal the deal though, which comes as no surprise to me. I mean really, when do strawberries and rhubarb not seal the deal?
This cake is perfection and also the perfect ending for today’s post.
Are you doing a CSA this year? Would you be interested in one? Any tips for freezing produce?
Party on, Meghan! I get my first CSA box this evening and I am super excited, so I totally understand this post. Fresh eggs are amazing, and your eggs/veggies/mimosa meal looks wonderful! Last year, my CSA had crazy amounts of cabbage, so I froze a bunch of it – shredded it, blanched it and froze it in portions. It was perfect for soups and fried cabbage all winter.
Yeah for first CSA box of the season. Now I need to know just what you got….heading over to your site now.
I think I’m about as excited as you are that you are getting in on the CSA goodness again 🙂 These photos perfectly showcase all of the wonderful produce you got. I really like the side angles of the cake and your egg breakfast. Oh, and for the record— You really almost had me leaning in to look at your smoothies. But I refrained because I’m at work and I didn’t want someone walking by seeing me act like a nut. I would hate to be chatted about in the several break room kitchens…
As far as tips go, I’m trying to think if I have any that you aren’t already aware of… Freeze your fruit laid out flat on a cookie sheet and then store it in a baggie so that they don’t stick together? Hmm, you probably already know that one. How about blanching your vegetables before freezing them for the best results? ooo… Or what about a trick I saw recently of blending up your greens with some water, freezing them in ice cube trays, and then utilizing them for smoothies later on? Feel free to acknowledge that you already knew all of those before. I can take it.
I can’t even tell you how pleased I am to hear you’re looking forward to my CSA posts again. I did the cookie sheet thing and I’ve heard of blanching but the green smoothie ice cube starters in genius and completely new to me. I love this! Thanks!
We did a CSA last year and it was so fun! Also, the house where we picked up our goodies had a super friendly little cat that was always on the porch (I brilliantly named him “CSA Cat”) so we always got some kitty time before snagging our veggies.
That cake looks SO GOOD! Maybe you could freeze it, too? Frozen cake is delicious, especially in the summer.
CSA and frisky felines. Now that’s living. Hopefully you can get a CSA when you are on the far reaches of earth. Can you imagine what kind of goodies you’d get there?!
I ate the entire cake. In two days. I shared minimally with the Hubby. #noshameinmygame
You photos are amazing.
Well done, indeed!
You’re welcome to be a hangnail, I’m quite jiggy with that, but I absolutely don’t do splinters so I’m glad you didn’t go in that direction.
Funny, the spell checker wants me to be jiggly. I don’t really want to be jiggly, so I’m off to Reform.
And drink some of my Red Russian kale–I keep forgetting to do that.
Wait until the first over case weekend, and then my pictures will be screwed.
Let’s stay jiggy and as far away from jiggly as possible.
I like the idea of CSAs, but I’ve never done one myself. Maybe one of these days… 🙂
You absolutely should, especially since you like to get your cook on. They are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful things. Seriously, sign up now. It’s not too late. Feed the bump CSA goodies.
I am not doing a CSA this year. Is it wrong that I live vicariously through your CSA and am soo excited to see the pictures of bright fruits and crisp greens back on the blog. Plus that cake looks AH MAY ZING!!!!
Farm fresh eggs are my favorite thing ever! I need to go to WI and pick some up SOON!
It’s not too late to sign up….my folks offer a 15 week share which starts in July. I bet you could find one around you that does something similar. Then instead of living vicariously through me, we can share stories.
Oh my gosh, that pizza looks SO good! I would never think to add apples to my pizza, but I am loving it :).
Yep, I like adding fruit to almost anything. It goes fabulous with cheese.
So confession- CSA is a new concept for me…I don’t think it’s been introduced in India so my only insight about is through blogs . I love the idea about it and it definitely sounds like a win-win situation: small farmers get business and consumers benefit in getting fresh, and therefore flavorful, produce!
Happy Friday, Meghan!
Oh it’s absolutely a win-win for so many reasons. I hope you get them one day soon….maybe in London when you go.
Omg you CRACK me up with that song.
Thanks Jess.
Look at you go girl! It’s veggie mania 2013 at your house. I’m humbled by the amount of greens you eat!!!
All in a week’s work. A CSA week, that is.
My husband and I have talked about joining a CSA for the past year, but we have yet to commit to it…not sure why! It’s an great idea! All that fresh produce looks amazing!
You absolutely should do it. This is my third year, and I can’t imagine a summer without it now.
Two snaps and a twirl indeed! Making your own pizza dough is so time-consuming..but definitely worth it in the end, I think! And that’s such an interesting idea for a pizza. I love sweet/savory combinations.
There aren’t many places around my hometown that do CSA, but I’d love to someday!
It actually wasn’t that hard making pizza dough. You kind of mix it all together and then walk away. I had a much tougher time with pasta dough.
You should look for a CSA in your area. With the way you like to cook, you’d really love it.
Ahh, the honeymoon phase. When fresh produce is still exciting and new, not overwhelming and exhausting. And I’ll take yolk porn over sugar plums any day of the week. Speaking of which, I need to make the farmer’s market trek this weekend. For eggs. Because heck no I’m NOT allowed to buy produce (now that I’ve said that, let’s see just how much produce I come home with…). I was taking pictures of my smoothies every morning too, until I realized, yup, that’s another cup filled with green juice, looks identical to the five others I’ve photographed. It’s like those “spot the difference” challenges in the newspaper. Do those still actually exist in newspapers anymore? Do newspapers actually exist in newspapers anymore? I still dream of mimosas and lemon pasta. You made pizza crust? I applaud your efforts, even if a round two is required for perfection. I always think homemade crust is a great idea, until I contemplate yeast and rising and waiting. Same reason I don’t make my own bread. Ain’t nobody got time for that! Okay, I have the time, just not the patience. We also both described our baked goods as moist today. ROCK ON. Because I have no issues with that word, and I DO have issues with baked goodies that AREN’T moist. Bring on the moist. Moist. And the tips for freezing. I need to get on that with my mustard greens. They’re starting to bloom! But then again, mustard flowers might be really good. In smoothies? Sure. I’ll even take a picture. Of a cup full of green. But I’LL know the difference.
Man, feelin’ chatty today. I’ll stop before I’ve added a post to your post.
You feel free to add a post to my post whenever you please. Baked goods should be moist, the rest of the blog world will just have to get over it.
I’m on week three (although technically I’ve only written about one) and still honey mooning it. This freezing things may be the way to go. It’s work, but I get food for months from now, when it’s all said and done. Hell ya.
I get a little scared by the thought of CSAs because I feel like I’m going to get a lot of mystery veggies. Is this naive? (Did you know that Evian is naive spelled backwards??)
I was nervous too in the beginning (read: three years ago when I started doing this) and I absolutely got food I wasn’t sure what to do with, but I started to see those things as a challenge. I scoured the internet (or really just googled it) and found a crapton of ways to use my mystery produce. Also, for all the strange stuff you get, you’ll end up with far more of thing you recognize. I love doing the CSA and wouldn’t stop for anything now. You should think about it.
It all looks sooooo amazing! And of course you had me cracking up the whole eay through.
I have major CSA envy though. The long, late winter and super chilly spring has thus far yielded me two pretty unimpressive baskets and an empty basket on week three! Something about getting better baskets throughout the rest of the season by taking a week off. I undersrand the inherent risk of farming and of buying into a CSA but this chica is pretty bummed 🙁 It can only get better from here!
Oh boo hiss. Hopefully it will pick up soon. Last year, we never got strawberries because of all the rain, but this year we’ve gotten some the last two weeks (yeah!).
I’m sure yours will pick up soon and then you’ll be wondering how to use it all up. I can’t wait to hear your CSA tales of magic and mystery.
GOOD GOD that cake!! HOLY WOW. The photo is gorgeous and I am sure it does NO justice for the actual cake. AND the pasta, and the salad. I adore your obsession with the CSA!
Thanks Brittany. I’m absolutely CSA obsessed (and strawberry obsessed), and I wouldn’t change it for anything. 🙂
I would love to be part of a CSA. Don’t think they do them around here in NJ. I guess they’d probably be flogged by all of the local produce stand owners. But I’m hoping once we get to NM we’ll be able to find one. Everything looks delicious!!!
You’d be surprised. CSA’s are actually becoming more prevalent. Check out this link to search on ones in your area. http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
Can you pleaaaaase come cook for me?! Seriously, every one of your meals had me thinking “oh, I want to try that!” While I could make it all myself, I think it would much easier if you just came it made it for me – since you already have experience with it and all 😉
Have you tried scrambled eggs with cottage cheese? SO GOOD!! And now that I mention that, I have some cottage cheese that needs to be used up. I know what I’m doing with it now!
Oh and I have to say, I love how you emphasized the word moist 😉 I know some don’t like that word and I respect that, but sometimes it’s the only real way to describe something 🙂
I work on a barter system so I’ll come cook for you, but I need to know what’s in it for me. I will work for ice cream and pretty much any kind of fruit. If you want to combine the two, that’s be fine with me.
I’ve never mixed eggs and cheese, and I’m not kinda lie; the combo freaks me out a little bit. I’m sure it’s delicious, but I’m frightened. Maybe that would make Laura’s Strange But Good.
That’s the first thing I plan to get for myself once I move out into my own place (well second to a puppy…) For now I will have to live vicariously through your CSA and hope that you don’t get tired of photographing it any time soon 🙂
I still think that cake looks amazing, and so does that pizza (nothing wrong with a little extra olive oil, right?).
No worries; I’ll be showcasing my goodies on a weekly basis. The CSA is one of my favorite things to write about so feel free to live through me on this one. I will live vicariously through you on the doggy front….as soon as you get your puppy.
summer CSAs are amazing! I was in the Northeast last year and by the time November rolled around it was like – oh right, squash again 🙂
Oh yes, fall is squash city over here.
Ok, so I didn’t even notice you pulling out the dreaded “m-word” after seeing “supple” and getting totally mystified by that cake…then you just HAD to throw it out there three more times…way to ruin the mood!! I do have to give you mad props on that pic…I swear to God, I could lick it straight off the screen!
I picked up some Red Russian Kale too! Isn’t it purdy?! I love the purple stems! Actually, I felt guilty destroying its beauty in a smoothie, so I saved it for my salads instead…I know, I’m strange…but this is nothing new and we both know that. 😉
Cakes are suppose to be moist (and now I’ve said again) so I had to go there, especially on this bad boy. I might actually pick up rhubarb so I can make this. It was incredible!! It blew me away.
Kale salads are phenomenal too, but with so many greens, I went the easy (maybe lazy) smoothie route. I just love the purple stuff for the same reason you do too: it’s Purdy. Who can pass on Purdy produce? Certainly not you. Or me. 🙂