Fresh and Value-Added Items:
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Beets Baking with Beets: 5 recipes
- Onions
- Fresh Winter Spinach
- Eggs-1 dozen
- Raspberry Jam-1/2 pt
Frozen Items:
- Vegetable Stock 1 Qt: water, onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, rosemary, sage. bay leaf, salt & pepper. Uses for stock.
- Minestroni Soup 1 Qt: Vegetarian based. Roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, water, vegetable stock, carrots, zucchini, green beans, beans, olive oil, oregano, basil, salt, pepper. Add freshly boiled noodles or rice to this base if you like, with some parmesan cheese. You could also add browned sausage or beans to this if desired.
- One of these two soups:
- Roasted Potato and Pepper Soup 1 qt: roasted potatoes, green and colored peppers, onions, garlic, olive oil, rosemary, chili powder, cumin, paprika, curry, salt, pepper. To brighten, add some parsley and parmesan if desired.
- Tomato Basil Soup/Base 1 Qt: roasted tomatoes, onions, vegetable stock, fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme (instead of soup, add 1 can of seasoned tomato paste to this and pour it over cooked pasta of your choice with parmesan cheese and sauteed chicken, optional)
- Raspberries 1 pt (frozen): whole berries, keep frozen until you want to use them. Great in yogurt and smoothies.
- Blueberries or Blackberries 1 pt (frozen): whole berries, keep frozen until you want to use them.
- Roasted Sweet Peppers 1 cup: Add to dishes to deepen flavor such as pasta, salads, dips. Add to pizza toppings, tacos, or create a sandwich spread with them. Purée in a blender with another 1/4 cup (or more) olive oil and salt to make a condiment that’s good for anything from burgers to steamed fish.
- Roasted Eggplant Dip 1 pt: eggplant, peppers, onions, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, chipotle seasoning. Use as dip for crackers, veggies. Works as spread on sandwiches and pizza.
- Spaghetti Sauce 1 Qt: roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, olive oil, basil, oregano, salt, pepper (I like to add 1 can of tomato paste to thicken and deepen the tomato flavor/color and add salt/pepper/garlic to taste. You can also add cooked hamburger &/or spicy pork sausage, red wine, fennel seeds, and Italian seasoning for a lovely lasagna or spaghetti base.)
- Roasted Broccoli 1 pt: roasted broccoli, olive oil, salt, pepper. Add to stir fry or make a quiche. Classic Pasta Primavera
This is our final winter CSA delivery, meaning tomorrow we will wake up and it’ll be spring! Perhaps spring showers tomorrow and some nice warm days this weekend with warmer nighttime temperatures to get this snow melting. At least I’ll stop looking at the forecast at that point…
As I’ve been spending a fair amount of time thinking about local food systems, I would recommend a book by Vicki Robin, “Bless the Hands that Feed Us”. She does a nice job a presenting what relational eating is and does when we know the local people who grow the food that feeds us. She often finds herself feeling that food is love, and I do agree. Food sustains us at our most basic level, we share it with others as a communal experience, and the greater our relationship with food and where it comes from helps create a local food system that creates a sense of place and gratitude.
Sometimes I feel like I regularly get to talk to CSA members (at least through the newsletter) but I would love to hear how things are going for each of you. In order to facilitate feedback about the latest winter farm share, I will be sending a short survey to fill out online. However, I do encourage you to let me know how things are good/bad/new ideas/etc anytime.
Gardening Interest?
I am hosting a GARDEN TALK at CFC school on Friday, April 25 at 5:30pm. We will have an overview of garden planning and a variety of resource tables covering many topics that spawn from gardening. So if you are new to the garden, need inspiration to get your hands dirty, or just want to learn more about growing, cooking, and preserving, come join us!
Eat Well. Smile Often.
Your Farmer,
Heather