2010 CSA Tracker - What are you getting?

[David M. Bueker]

Laura and I joined a community supported agriculture group at Easy Pickins' farm this year. While our first share is not supposed to come until June, I thought I would see who else might be in one & if we could post on what we are getting week by week (and of course how we are using the 8 pounds of eggplant or 11 pounds of apples, etc).

Not much to say for a little while. Anyone else in a CSA this year?

[Jenise]

Good for you! I absolutely would join one but I live too far out of town on the wrong side of town to participate in one.

Will be interesting to see what you get. A friend who joined one up here a few years ago called me to ask what to do with swiss chard, she'd never cooked it before. I asked how much she got--it was only three or four modest sized leaves! I had to laugh, I guess it can be hard for the farmers to decide, early in the season, how to divvy up what they've got to share.

we're alternates in a coop/CSA (when someone can't take their share or half-share - vacation or whatever- they check and see if we want it). It's year round, with co-op arm purchasing organic fruits/veggies in off months,. With the actual CSA stuff, while there might be a few "overload" items at height of season, as Jenise suggested it's more often that the problem is you have 3 stems of chard, 1 small eggplant, etc. But, generally very good quality.

I've been in one for a couple of years now. I get a box every other week. Lately, we've been getting greens of various types (collards, lettuce greens, etc.), kohlrabi, navel oranges, cabbage, beets, shell peas, and snow peas.

I have to say, we're not good on using the lettuce greens and the kohlrabi. We're not big on salads and I just never figured out how to handle the kohlrabi.

[David M. Bueker]

My grandmother used to grow kohlrabi. I loved it! I miss it now.

[Jenise]

I have to say, we're not good on using the lettuce greens and the kohlrabi. We're not big on salads and I just never figured out how to handle the kohlrabi.

Sliced raw with just a bit of salt are great. But if you have enough to cook, how about a gratin? I made a turnip/potato gratin (six medium turnips, 2 big baking size potatoes) for a vegetarian dinner earlier this week. Just layered the stuff in a cast iron skillet with about half my vegetables, a little oil and the turnips purposefully on the bottom, put it on the stove to brown said turnips on the bottom, then pulled it off the fire, added a handful of a 3:1 mix of swiss and parm cheese and a nice amount of fresh tarragon and thyme, then finished layering the rest of the vegetables the poured chicken broth over to fill not quite halfway, then a drizzle of fresh cream, a sprinkle of nutmeg, more herbs, another handful of cheese, a handfull of panko and a drizzle of olive oil over all. Perfect with a salad...oh wait, that's the other problem, huh.

Sounds good, Jenise! Gratins are a favorite with every member of the family.

Just thinking out loud... Could you grate it, add a bit of flour and seasoning, and make variant latkes?

Good question, Jeff. I have no idea how that would work in such a prep.

Can't hurt to try, though!

[David M. Bueker]

I think kohlrabi might have too much inherent water to make latkes.

I like kohlrabi, can basically do anything you'd do with a turnip. Gratins are a good idea(Jenise's sounds great). Braised, or roasted with other root vegetables.

I think kohlrabi might have too much inherent water to make latkes.

Do you think we could force water out of it like we do to eggplant (salt, rest, rinse)?

If not, I suppose one could always take the grated bits, grind up a carrot and a green pepper, add mayonnaise and voila: kohlrabi slaw!

[David M. Bueker]

I've had kohlrabi slaw!

You could probably get the water out of it.

I think kohlrabi might have too much inherent water to make latkes.

Like potatoes don't?

[David M. Bueker]

I think kohlrabi might have too much inherent water to make latkes.

Like potatoes don't?

The kohlrabi I've had always seemed a heck of a lot more watery.

But you always know best.

Here is our "CSA":
We are so fortunate to live out the the rural environs, so we can grow much of our own produce and can plant only those crops we enjoy...thus no kohlrabi for us. Spinach has been bountiful enough that we are feeding ourselves and a couple of neighbors, ditto the lettuce, Rhubarb is doing nicely after being moved from the 'burbs last year, beans are up, peas are just about finished, basil is awaiting some warmer weather as are the 'maters and peppers.
Our "organic" Angus beef comes directly from a local farm owned by our mail carrier and her husband. Our pork is processed in the next county, but is not industrially raised and actually has flavor. Eggs are from a local farm as well. I have not found a reliable source for poultry, but have a lead on an Amish clan that I need to check out.
Time for me to go play the banjo!

[David M. Bueker]

Nice to have those options 'Winger. We have a local dairy farm for milk (and soon cheese!), as well as another local dairy farm for ice cream (!!), but no local meat available as of yet.

[Jenise]

Sounds good, Jenise! Gratins are a favorite with every member of the family.

It's delicious, Mike. The turnips (and kohlrabi would be likewise) are a bit sweet and the potato provides a good counterpoint both in taste and texture. Bob, who has been known to say he despises turnips, loved it.

I had to laugh while reading all the Kohlrabi suggestions: our old CSA used to give us far more Kohlrabi than we could use, to such an extent that our friends were sick of getting "gifts" of Kohlrabi from us. This year, as last, we're using the CSA option of a local farmer. We've got such a wealth of Farmer's Markets locally that we don't even need to do that, but we found over the years that we got most of our produce from Farmer Kevin and we can easily supplement our basket with other goodies using his website.

Mark Lipton

[David M. Bueker]

Woo Hoo - strawberries coming this weekend!

[David M. Bueker]

Verdict: the berries are delicious.

Unfortunately I did find out that the late, hard freeze we had here in Northern, CT did significant damage to the fruit trees. Apples, peaches and pears will be thin.

On the bright side, the berries were unaffected!

People around here have never heard of a CSA, but every community has a farmers market that we frequent from now through October.

[Robin Garr]

CSAs abound here, but Mary and I don't take part in many of them, mainly because farmers' markets also abound, and we live just midway between our city's two biggest and best, one of which is open all year, in abbreviated form over the winter. Just got back from one this morning with a carload of locavore meats and veggies and some annuals for her garden.

The other issue, though, is that between the farmers' markets and our garden, we just couldn't eat all the veggies that come in a CSA box every month.

We do, however, participate in a meat CSA (beef and chicken) from a nearby farm, which has two big advantages: It operates year-round, and you can place a quarterly order for just the items you want, no waste.

[David M. Bueker]

First full share coming Saturday - I know that there is spinach and lettuce coming (good!) and also more strawberries (great!). We'll see what else is in the box.