Another week another great box!
In the box this week:: watermelon, beets, cucumber, banana & jalapeno peppers, summer squash/zucchini, a variety of tomatoes, sweet corn, carrots, lettuce, garlic
extras:: onions, garlic, parsley, mushrooms, and...a case of tomatoes
While I didn't necessarily like our previous CSA farm any less just because the pickup was at a delivery point in town (someones garage), for me there is just something more substantial and more real to picking up right at the farm. I always love walking through the barn, counting or weighing each item, and putting it into my box. The boys help me with the box, weigh things, write on the chalkboard, chat with the farm person, and hunt for bugs in the flowers. And each week we can see what 'extras' are available - garlic, onions, pickling cucumbers, sweet corn, tomatoes - always enough for canning and preserving!
This week we picked up a case of tomatoes - cracked/ripe. As soon as we got home I rinsed them all off, cored them, and popped them into my large canning pot to simmer away.
We have a lot of tomatoes growing in our garden, but with a small yard never enough to make everything we want for the winter, so we always pick up extras. We make pizza sauce, ketchup, pasta sauce, caponata, and more. And as we go through the end of the season we freeze diced tomatoes, make lots of salsa and can whole tomatoes. There is something very satisfying about going from garden or farm to pot to canning jar. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way, and that I am not the only one who had tomato seeds plastered all over the kitchen this week. :) Ahhh, summer!
What is in your CSA box this week? What are you harvesting from your garden?
6 comments:
I so very want to join CSA. My goal is to be able to afford it next year. It's sad that I feel I have to shop at regular grocery stores because it's cheaper. Blergh.
This weekend I'm hoping to compromise and head to a farmer's market.
My yard is too shady, I can't seem to grow any produce. Even my herbs are sad this year. Last year my tomato plant produced all of *one* tomato. The squirrels and birds ate all the teeny baby sprouts before they ever had a chance.
My yard gets a lot of shade too - our yard is only 18 feet wide with a 2+ story house on each side. I plant things like tomatoes where the most sun peeks through, and even have about 6 pots on my porches so they get extra sunshine when my yard is in full shade. I know I run a bit behind on people with full sun gardens, but with a little extra care I seem to balance out. In the areas where I get a lot more shade I plant things like cabbage, mustards, lettuces, spring onions, swiss chard and all that, and I get really late harvest on them since they don't bolt so early.
You might want to check with CSA's in your area about options. I know in my town there are sliding scale/reduced plans for families, work share (kids are welcome to hang out too), half shares, etc. Worth checking into! :)
Oh my, I get so jealous. Where I live it's so difficult to grow anything at all...my grandmother had potatoes and carrots, but this year the strawberries are not coming, I've heard (bad summer). Good luck with your boxes!
Arctic Mum - I must admit I dream of living off the coast of Norway...it is so beautiful. Of course I watch a lot of New Scandinavian Cooking on public television, so ... :) Do you have any luck with greenhouses or hoop houses where you are? Or growing inside? :)
Today I froze beans and cauliflower, my tomatoes are just starting.....I see red in my future....Ironically I'm reading Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver - I just finished the tomato chapter and started the chicken chapter - and we have 116 meat birds on the go.....Any idea on the variety of the tomatoes your CSA farm grows?
Love the tomatoes and all the canning, I just picked up 75 lbs..that is correct 75 lbs. of tomatoes to start my sauce making..I'm going to try freezing some diced ones, and whole plums also, along with all the roasted tomato sauce I make, so yummy!
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