Week 6

I've been an extremely delinquent blogger. Things have been crazy at work and I was away last weekend. But, I'm back! It's a shame I missed last week's farm share blog because it was the coolest share yet. Enterprise Farm did an experiment with an "Emergency Farm Share" that relied solely on local producers in the case of a weather/delivery emergency where they couldn't pick up from southern producers. We got some funky root vegetables like parsnips and celeriac, sweet potatoes, and even baby spinach. It was awesome, the produce was so much better than the gross tomatoes we've been getting from Florida. We're starting a bit of a stockpile of root vegetables, but so far nothing has gone to waste except for 1 little moldy tangerine that Ryder threw out! I probably would have eaten it just to be able to say nothing has gone bad... Perhaps some things really do turn out for the best.

Anyway, this week it was still a mostly local share. We got:

• Red Onion (Conventional), Long Plain Farm, Whately, Mass.
• Baby Arugula, Equinox Farm, Sheffield, Mass.
• Baby Spinach, Equinox Farm, Sheffield, Mass.
• Apples, Bashista Orchards, Southampton, Mass.
• Beauregard Sweet Potatoes, Eastern Carolina Organics, NC
• Carrots, Lake Side Organics, Hadley, Mass. (one EXTREMELY large one--the biggest I've ever seen in my life)
• Beets, Winter Moon, Hadley, Mass.
• Grapefruits, Florida
• Box of plum tomatoes, Florida (gross! please stop sending us these, Enterprise, until it's actually tomato season!)

Last night we slummed and made nachoes, but I'm going on a health/cleanse kick and am trying to start an "Anti-Inflammatory Diet" where I eliminate all processed foods, dairy, and gluten from my diet, among other random things. Check it out here and wish me luck. I'll try to post some of my adventures. Of course, I will make an exception for our Siberia party this Saturday.

Week 4

This week we got:

• 2 medium Red onions (conventional) — Long Plain Farm, Whately, MA
• Baby Bok Choy — Lady Moon Farms, Fla
• Romaine lettuce — Lady Moon Farms, Fla
• Baby spinach — Equinox Farms, Sheffield MA
• 2 Pink Grapefruits — Spooners Organics, Fla.
• 2 Apples (low-spray/IPM) — Bashista’s, Southampton, MA
• Red potatoes — Deep Root, Prince Edward Island
• Beets — Deep Root, VT
• Carrots — Winter Moon Farm, Hadley, MA
• Eggplant — Somerset Farms, FL
• Roma Tomatoes — Homestead Organics, FL

I must admit, the beets, carrots, and potatoes are starting to stockpile. I think this is ok, but we need to make a conscious effort to use them soon. Other than that, we’ve been doing fine with all of the produce. Last night we finally used the eggplant from last week’s share and made a spinach/eggplant lasagna based on last week’s farm share recipe. Our recipe (which turned out OK—needed a bit more salt or something) went like this:

1 ¼ cups whole fat ricotta cheese
~5 oz baby spinach (we just used up our leftovers)
~5 oz arugula (again, leftovers)
1 egg
1 eggplant, sliced lengthwise
Some baby portabellas, sliced
¾ box of lasagna noodles
16 oz. tomato sauce
Thyme, coriander, salt, and pepper to taste

Begin boiling the lasagna noodles and cook to very al dente, maybe 10-12 minutes. As they boil, mix the ricotta, spinach, arugula, egg, and spices in a bowl. Once the noodles and ricotta mix are ready, start layering in a greased baking pan! Eggplant first, then a uniform sprinkle of mushrooms, a thin spread of the ricotta/arugula/spinach mix, then tomato sauce, and top with a noodle layer. Repeat until you’ve filled your baking pan, ending on a noodle layer with some tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes, and voila!

Third Share!

I didn’t have the pleasure of picking up our third CSA share last night due to class, so the responsibility fell to my boyfriend. For me, picking up the CSA share and bringing it home is such a treat. There’s anticipation and excitement throughout the day and then finally comes the reward of opening the box and seeing what’s inside. I’ll have to ask my boyfriend if he feels similarly. If not, I will demand to pick up our shares for the rest of the season once class is over. It’s just too much fun.

When I got home, I found:

Onions (conventionally grown) — Long Plain Farm, Whately, MA
Greenleaf lettuce — Lady Moon Farms, FL
Baby arugula — Equinox Farms, Sheffield, MA
Tangelos — Eagles Nest, FL (the ones we got last week were the best citrus I’ve ever had, so hopefully this batch will live up!)
Apples (low-spray/IPM) — Clarkdale orchard, Deerfield, MA
Sweet potatoes — Eastern Carolina Organics
Carrots — Winter Moon Farm, Hadley, MA
Eggplant — Somerset Farms, FL
Green beans — Homestead Organics, FL
Avocado — Homestead Organics, FL (another jumbo sized one!)

All produce is organic, unless otherwise noted. From last week, we still have a few carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, tangelos, and baby spinach. From the first week, we are still hanging onto the wheat berries (does anyone know a good recipe for these?) and some potatoes. A 10 lb. share per week is turning out to be just right for us. I don’t think anything will go to waste, and we definitely don’t have much left over. We also haven’t had to go out shopping since we’ve started our farm share, so that’s another plus.

I regret not having more time and energy to be more inventive in cooking with our farm share. On the flip side, we haven’t really been getting anything too crazy. Turnips and wheat berries were a little out there, but other than those, our CSA shares have been okay for the faint of heart. Pretty normal produce. Perhaps this weekend I’ll be able to get creative. I remember a friend’s mother who had a wonderful pasta with arugula recipe, so maybe I’ll be able to get that from him.

We would like to continue our CSA through the summer, but aren’t sure which share to sign up for. I’m partial to the Re-Vision House CSA or The Food Project’s CSA because I know the people who work at those places, but there aren’t any convenient pick-up locations based on where I live. Also, committing through October or November is a bit tricky, not knowing where we’ll be next fall. Enterprise Farm’s CSA has been flexible and our pick up location has been convenient, but I’d really like to get an all local summer CSA share. I think I need to do some more research.

2nd share

Despite having a terrible week at work, I still was jazzed to pick up our second share. Nothing like fresh veggies to get you going. I could barely stand waiting on the bus ride home to open the box and see what we got this week. This week's share contained:

* Purple Kale, Lady Moon Farms, Fla
* Redleaf lettuce, Eastern Carolina Organics
* Baby spinach, Equinox Farms, Sheffield Mass.
* Tangerines, Eagles Nest, Fla.
* Apples, Clarkdale Orchards, Deerfield, Mass.
* Sweet potatoes, Eastern Carolina Organics
* Carrots, Enterprise Farm, MA
* Parsnips, Winter moon farm, Hadley, Mass.
* Yellow squash, Lady Moon Farms, Fla

Produce largely from southern producers, which is kind of a bummer. I think I'd rather have more root vegetables from around here. Definitely would give up the lettuce or kale for more local food. I was pleasantly surprised that the baby spinach came from Sheffield, MA. This week's share was a farm share for the faint of heart, if you will. Nothing too weird or exotic in there. Parsnips are about as far down that line as we're taken. We roasted our ones from last week and they came out beautifully. Added a bit of thyme, tarragon, and corriander and sauteed in olive oil. They had a nutty, licorice-y taste. Lovely. Kale is a bit weird too, I guess. I think I read somewhere this week that kale contains more nutrients per calorie than any other veggie. Pretty ridiculous that it's often used as a garnish. I always try make a point to eat it if it's ever presented as a garnish.

We haven't really delved into the new share yet. I did bring a tangerine to work on Friday that was absolutely delicious. So juicy and sweet, low acidity. Just how I like them.

From last week we still have a few potatoes, the wheat berries, and the delicata squash. The squash will be eaten today, probably, and the potatoes can chill out in our pantry. We will have to figure out what to do with the wheat berries, since neither of us has ever cooked with them before.

I'll post more about our culinary adventure's with this week's share once I get our kitchen in order and have a sense of this week's meal plan.

Weekend fare

Despite being slightly disappointed with the stretch of our $30 share, we still have:

• A head of garlic from Eastern Carolina Organics, NC
• An ample avocado from Homestead, FL
• A box of organic grape tomatoes from Florida
• A bag of wheat berries from Four Star Farm in Northfield, MA
• Three Yukon potatoes from Full Bloom Farm in Whately, MA
• Four parsnips from Deep Root, VT (where we used to get a lot of produce at the Middlebury Co-op!)
• One delicata squash from Czajkowski in Hadley, MA
• One low spray/IPM apples from Bashista Fruit Farm in Southampton, MA

left over from our share last Wednesday. We didn't cook as much of it as we expected to for New Year's and the weekend, and it's a good thing that a lot of it will keep for a while (i.e. potatoes, squash, parsnips, garlic, wheat berries). We dutifully brought along our kale and lettuce for New Year's at our friend's house in New York, but they were not consumed at the alarming rate we had anticipated. And, the refrigerator at my friend's house was ridiculously cold and they semi-froze and lost a lot of their crunch. Bummer.

We still managed to salvage the kale in our Japanese nabe soup last night and I brought the remaining lettuce to work for lunch today, determined to suck it up and eat my flimsy lettuce like a real woman. We ended up buying a lot of extra produce for nabe last night (daikon, napa cabbage, scallions, broccoli, onion, mushrooms) so we'll have to make a conscious effort not to neglect our farm share veggies. The delicata squash and remaining apple will be eaten, no problem, I'm sure. I'm not worried about potatoes, wheat berries, and parsnips. They'll survive. I anticipate a "biggie beanie blowout" to come later this week to incorporate said garlic, tomatoes, and avocado.

First Share!

Today was the big day, our first farm share delivery! I went through the day with an extra spring in my step, knowing that I was set to pick up 10 lbs. of delicious organic produce at the end of the day.  Call me lame, but I was downright giddy.  I picked up the produce after work and brought it home on the bus.  Inside the share I found:

• A head of garlic from Eastern Carolina Organics, NC
• A bunch of green kale  from Lady Moon, FL
• A head of green leaf lettuce, also from Lady Moon, FL
• An ample avocado from Homestead, FL

• A box of organic grape tomatoes from Florida
• A bag of wheat berries from Four Star Farm in Northfield, MA
• Two enormous carrots from Enterprise Farm in Whately, MA
• Five Yukon potatoes from Full Bloom Farm in Whately, MA
• Four parsnips from Deep Root, VT (where we used to get a lot of produce at the Middlebury Co-op!)
• One delicata squash from Czajkowski in Hadley, MA
• Two low spray/IPM apples from Bashista Fruit Farm in Southampton, MA

I was psyched that the majority of the items I received were actually local and that there was produce from five Massachusetts producers.  I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed at how $30 of organic produce didn't take us very far in terms of volume.  $30 of produce at Bazaar or Super 88 would be a crazy large amount in comparison.  I reminded myself that this farm share was something we are committed to and that winter CSA shares tend to be more expensive than summer CSA shares (for good reason!).  And, now that I have an actual income, I don't have to take such a miserly approach to my expenses.

The newsletter that came with our share included recipes for Asian Avocado Salsa, Delicata Squash with Rosemary, Sage, and Cider Glaze, and Brown Butter Creamed Winter Greens that looked delicious and used some of our farm share but also called for far too many other [expensive] ingredients that we didn't have.  I think I'll make an effort to post simpler, equally delicious recipes that can be made mostly from farm share ingredients. We ended up making a delicious carrot puree soup using a recipe from Nava Atlas's 5-Ingredient Vegetarian Gourmet that utilized our carrots and some of our potatoes, not to mention gave us the opportunity to bring out our dusty Cuisinart food processor.  The recipe turned out well, though next time I think I'll add in some garlic or curry to give it an extra kick.  Basically all that was in it were carrots, potatoes, and a large white onion, with salt and pepper to taste. We complemented the soup with brazed cabbage, left over from Bazaar.  I also made a salad with some of the lettuce and used up the last of our red bell pepper and broccoli floret from Bazaar and served it with Annie's Goddess Dressing and my roommate's salad seasoning.  A delicious start, I thought.

Enterprise Farm Winter Farmshare

Some people eat to live, while others live to eat. I fall into the latter camp. Food is a passion and consuming locally is my goal. At Middlebury College, fresh, local food was plentiful and was readily available at dining halls, included as part of my meal plan. My boyfriend, who worked at the local co-op grocery store, would often bring back produce that was cosmetically imperfect but incredibly delicious. When I volunteered at the college's organic garden, I was able to bring home some of the bounty. It was easy to be a sustainable consumer when it required no effort and little cost.

Consuming local food proved to be more difficult when I moved back to Boston after graduating. I had no extra money to spare on things such as organic arugula or heirloom tomatoes. As summer rolled around, I started an internship and many of my colleagues signed up for a CSA share that was delivered to our office. As I drooled over the fresh, local produce that flooded in every Wednesday, I regretted not being able to eat like I used to at college. When my supervisor went on vacation for three weeks and graciously let the interns divide her share, I was in heaven. My roommates and I expanded our palates as we figured out how to incorporate rutabagas and radishes into our diets, since up until then we had mainly consumed pasta, rice, and beans. I was determined to sign up for a farm share as soon as I could afford to.

In August, my full time job started and for the first time ever I had a steady stream of income. And, as it turned out, a lot of spare time to catch up on my local food reading. As I pored over The Food Project's blog and the Boston Localvores blog the idea of a Winter CSA piqued my interest. I discovered that most of the farm share sign-ups were in September and October and since it was late November, I was glad to be able to put my name on a couple waiting lists.

When I got the email from Enterprise Farm letting me know that I could sign up late and they would pro-rate our share, I was thrilled. Up until now, my boyfriend and I have spent about $150 dollars a month on groceries. Signing up for a farm share was an expensive commitment, about $30 a week for 10 lbs. of organic produce. We were also uneasy about the fact that not all that was included in the share would be exactly local. The share would also include items from our "regional foodshed" (i.e. Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas). Rationalizing that this option would still be better than buying food from who-knows-where at Bazaar or Super 88, we decided it would be worth a shot, and, at the very least, good karma to practice what we preach in terms of eating sustainably and locally.

I have wanted to write about food for a while; chronicling my first foray into eating locally in Boston with my farm share seemed like a great opportunity to start.