CSA Box This Week

In our box this week: Red slicing tomatoes, yellow onion, beets, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli tips, brussel sprouts, green acorn squash, (pungent!) basil.

Applesauce.

I have two amazing little helpers. We went to a park this morning to play with some friends (hi guys!), and then after lunch we got rolling.

They peeled & cored (crank crank crank), taking turns and cheering each other on.

They smushed (crank crank crank) with the food mill - it can't be too chunky, they said.


The house filled with an amazing aroma. They added cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup.


Delicious!!

We didn't make too much today (5 qts) - just enough for them to do most of it and have a great time without it being *too much*. They had a blast.

I might make more. Definitely not as much as this marathon applesauce goddess, though!

First Loaf.

Our first try with the hand crank grain mill? A success. The boys LOVE to crank. The bread was rich and moist and light and textured and nutty and amazing.


I was not familiar with the type of mill my husband selected - and wasn't sure how fine the grind would be. But you can just set it to the finest setting and run it through twice and it is perfect for bread. The rolling mill is also for making cereal/flakes from whole grains, so there are many other uses I am interested in trying.

CSA Box This Week

I love the drive to the farm to pick up our CSA box each week. Today, even in the heat, signs of fall were all around. Corn is brown, beans are yellow, tree tops are rust colored, and the bushes which line the highways are fiery red.

The mosquitoes were not too abundant so we all were able to go in to the outbuilding together to get our goodies.

The boys immediately found their favorite spot where the wash basin drainage hose comes out creating a bit mud puddle and gravel bed.

Today in our box we have:
Kohlrabi, tomato mix bag, beauty heart radish, beets, carrots, brussel sprouts, red kuri squash, basil.

Grain Mill.

The boys and I are excited...a GRAIN MILL! Hand crank, for more fun.

We also found a local source for wheat (yay)...although my first bags come from the local coop.

Tomorrow we make...bread!

Smoothies.

Smoothies are a favorite in this house. It is nice both boys like them, as they are at the ages where texture and smell issues seem to plague their veggie and fruit consumption. It is FUN because they get to make their own - and we use big loud appliances, after all. They both really enjoy picking and choosing their ingredients -- juiced veggies, fresh yogurt, frozen fruits...the result is always delicious (and packed with stuff they won't eat in its' original form).

Today, A juiced carrots for the liquid base. He then added home made vanilla yogurt, frozen strawberries & blueberries, and a few frozen peaches. We added a little liquid supplement (CLO) too, to make it extra good, and whizzzzzzzzzzzzzzed it right up.

Today A was pretty nervous about tasting the smoothie - he juiced both orange AND white (gasp) carrots. But of course he eventually did a "taste test", loved it, and yes, this photo below is of him, all smoothie goofy & dribbled. He was yelling "white carrots are NOT disgusting" while I snapped a shot.


Making smoothies is definitely one of the favorite kitchen activities - and we try to make it a ritual/activity which we do at least once or twice a week. YUM!

CSA Box This Week

Today my husband ran in to get our CSA box while I sat in the car with the boys - mosquitoes were swarming! I love the look and color and shape of vintage tractors, so I took a pic.


Ok, I quickly hung out the window, snapped several shots, and then closed it quickly as the boys shrieked MOSQUITOES COMING IN!!!!!! I love the tractor shots.


We have so many tomatoes, and with a big project this week I am behind on getting them stored! Tomorrow is food prep day - we are going to slice, cook, freeze, dehydrate, and blanch lots of stuff. Should be a perfect day for it. And then this weekend we have a tomato u-pick (yum) and hopefully go pick...APPLES!

This week in our box: Eggplant, tomato mix bag, tomatillos, radishes, cauliflower, red & yellow onion, potato medley, garlic, cilantro. There were also some yummy extras to choose from - peppers!

I love tomatillos, jalapenos, cilantro...MMMMM. None of THAT is going towards fall storage!

Bread Baking.

I know for some, bread machines might not fulfill their bread making craving. There is no kneading or punching down or bowl in a warm corner. But with 2 small boys it is great. We make our own fresh bread usually once a week. With a bread machine it is easy enough for small hands to measure all of the ingredients, pour them into the pan in the correct order, and know by habit where each item goes. And they like to add something extra - ground flax, wheat germ, or oats, perhaps, to make it extra yummy.

They also get to monitor the dough to be sure nothing is sticking to the edges as it whizzes on. And hearing it turn on a few times in the day for the next rise, followed by the amazing aroma of fresh bread throughout the house--well, it seems to be satisfying for both boys (and me). They love seeing their perfect loaf emerge - and to have a slice while still warm, covered in fresh butter and raw honey - Mmmm. Not bad for a 4 year old and a 2 year old.

We are getting a grain mill and a sprouter which I think will be even more fun!

CSA Box This Week

It is getting dark so early now! We went to pick up our CSA, and in the rainy (yep) cloudy afternoon it was even more pronounced, and very dark by the time we got home.

We read in our newsletter that our CSA farm had more rain damage than originally thought. Not being underwater needing a boat to get around is not the only way crops go down, I guess, and long term heavy saturation and repeated storms just wreaked havoc on many things...

We keep hearing more and more stories of the same. The farmer we get our meat from also lost all of their onions/potatoes/garlic in standing water. Like most farmers, they also supplement their main market products with whatever else they can grow...Sad news.

This week in our CSA box:
Eggplant, Mixed Tomatoes, Onions, Celeriac, Brusselini (well, we swapped ours out for an extra celeriac), Basil, Potato Medley, and Garlic. We skipped on the Melons this time.