Just me, trying to live a healthy and happy life
Unfortunately I’m not growing a veggie garden this summer, but I do have some wonderful strawberries from last season’s plantings (from Farmer Dave).
What a difference compared to my older strawberry plants. The worms still attack the leaves, but the plants are strong enough to fight them to still be healthy.
In just two days, I’ve netted almost 1/2 pound of strawberries.
For the past couple of years, I’ve been looking forward to experiencing the Newburyport Farmers Market in Newburyport, MA. I am on their e-mailing list and it always seemed like an exciting market with lots of vendors, even in the colder months. Unfortunately, it’s about 35 miles from home, a little too far for a casual Sunday drive.
A few days ago, I was lucky enough to get my chance to visit the market on the way to visit Maine. It was incredible and I wish it was closer, as I’d be dropping by more often!
Heron Pond Farm – 1lb potatoes $2.50 and small lettuce for $2
New Hampshire Mushroom Company – $4.80 for blue oyster mushroom at $16.99lb
Farmer Dave’s – $4.50 for mix-your-own-bag of baby greens for $12/lb
Arrowhead Family Farm – $3 for huge bundle of green onion tops
No, I didn’t sign up for Farmer Dave’s vegetable CSA this season.
Part of me is experiencing remorse, reading their newsletters, remembering the exciting “countdown” to the first pickup.
I remember the first joy of eating raw snap peas fresh from the farm. Because of the CSA, I learned about so many cool veggies like garlic scapes, husk cherry tomatoes, and kohrabi. In fact, one of my favorite foods is now tatsoi, a vegetable that’s rarely sold in conventional grocery stores. I also realized that I really like the taste of radishes and turnips.
Yes, I am a little regretful that I didn’t register, but another part of me is thrilled by the freedom to try other local farmers markets and the ability to purchase exactly what I need when I need it.
I’ve participated in the CSA for the prior two years, and while it was totally worth the $ spent, I couldn’t ignore the negatives were beginning to outweigh the positives.
My reasons for not joining this season:
Don’t get me wrong, I still do highly recommend CSA’s, especially if you haven’t tried one before. They are a wonderful way to support your local farmer and you really do get to experience a vast amount of awesome (and unique) produce!
It’s just, for me, after two years, I needed a break.
We’ll see how it goes this season. I might be begging to come back to Farmer Dave’s CSA, but then again, maybe I’ll have found my gardening niche and next year, I’ll be self-sustainable. Ha, now wouldn’t THAT be cool!
Want to learn more about Farmer Dave and their CSA? Read my reviews from 2010 and 2011:
Last year, I wrote a detailed review of my first CSA season with Farmer Dave’s in Dracut MA. We just finished this season’s CSA and the veggies were just as plentiful and delicious!
If you are new to CSA’s, please read last season’s review as it includes a lot more detail about CSA’s and their benefits. There is also information on the Farmer Dave web site.
I won’t repeat too much information here, but to summarize, Farmer Dave offers small & regular sized vegetable CSA shares with pick-ups in Beverly, Burlington, Lanesville, Dracut, Lawrence, Tewksbury, Somerville, Putnam Investments (for Putnam employees only), Downtown Gloucester, Boston Medical Center, Jamaica Plain, and newly added Reading.
They also offer summer fruit shares, as well as late fall and early spring shares.
Here are the details for the 2011 weekly “small” vegetable share pickup:
Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.
Peas, Spinach, Turnips with greens, Beets with greens, Red leaf lettuce, Garlic scapes, Tatsoi, and Pea tendrils; I also bought 3 pickling cukes for $1.17
I originally swapped the tendrils for more lettuce, but as I left I decided to go back and grab them back. Why shy away from something different and cool! They are tiny little flowers and lots of green stems leaves and tiny squiggly bits.
Bag of lettuce, Pea tendrils, Peas (bought extra 2 bags), Romaine lettuce, Arugula, 2 lettuce (Boston?), Tatsoi (choice of bok Choy), 2 zucchini squash, Beets with greens (or choice of turnips with greens), Garlic scapes
Fennel (with extremely long fronds over 2 ft I think), Beets (or choice of radishes or turnips), Tatsoi (swapped for more beets), Gorgeous kale, Gorgeous chard, Red leaf lettuce, Spinach, Shelling Peas, Garlic scapes.
Fennel:
Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.
red leaf lettuce, snap peas (choice of snow peas), fennel, scallions, beets w/ greens (choice of radishes, turnips), swiss chard (choice of arugula or spinach), (2) zucchini (choice of squash), pickling cuke
sugar snap peas, kohlrabi, zucchini (choice of summer squash), pickling cuke, corn on cob, lettuce, basil, radish with greens, scallions, swiss chard
cilantro (choice of parsley, basil), arugula (choice of mustard greens, option to take extra mustards, I didn’t take any), kohlrabi (swapped for extra onion), spring onions, kousa squash (choice of summer squashes), carrots (choice of beets), pickling cukes, (choice of) lettuce, 4 corn on cob
Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.
(4) corn on cob, scallions, cilantro (or choice of basil, chives), swiss chard, beets with greens (or choice of carrots), wax beans, green pepper, (3 total) slicing cukes and pickling cukes, (3 total) choice of summer squash: yellow, zucchini, or kousa, take up to 4 jalapeno peppers, green leaf lettuce
I love me some Jalepeno Peppers!
On vacation, no pickup, but the newsletter stated Pickling or slicing cucumbers, Zucchini, kousa, patty pan or summer squash, Lettuce, Carrots, Beets or Kohlrabi, Bok Choy, Kale or Swiss Chard, Scallions, Green Beans or Wax Beans, Asian Eggplant, Cubanelle Peppers, or Green Bell Peppers, possibly Cherry Tomatoes or Slicing Tomatoes
cilantro, green leaf lettuce, green beans, (2) jalapeno peppers, (2) zucchini squash, eggplant, scallions, garlic, 1/2 pint cherry/grape mixed tomatoes, (2) slicing tomatoes, (3) cukes, batch of carrots
I love larger sized scallions, and I love purple scallions even more!
This week we received a huge delivery! 3 heavy bags full!
(4) cukes, scallion, eggplant (choice of smaller round Thai, regular black/purple, & long thin purple), (2) summer squash (choice of yellow, zucchini, kousa), green bell sweet pepper (of choice of cubanelle pepper), romaine lettuce (or choice of kale), beets with greens (or choice of radish with greens), cilantro (or choice of basil), pint of mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, (2) slicing tomatoes, (1) heirloom tomato, (4) corn, small bag of cranberry shell beans (or choice of green beans), purple or green kohlrabi – swapped for more scallions, Take extra (4) seconds tomatoes or chile peppers
On vacation, I didn’t pick up, but the newsletter stated Corn, Slicing Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Plum Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes (if we’re lucky!), Cucumbers (pickling or slicing), Zucchini, kousa, or summer squash, Bell Peppers or Cubanelle Peppers, Swiss Chard, Kale or Lettuce, Hakurei Turnips, Scallions or Kohlrabi, Chives or Cilantro
Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.
(2) cukes, waxed beans, (2) corn, (1) onion, (1) red pepper (cubanelle?). (2) poblano peppers (or choice of green bell), 1/2 pint cherry/grape mixed tomatoes, (1) heirloom tomato, (2) plum tomatoes, (1) slicing tomato, (2) summer squash (choice of zucchini, yellow, kousa), arugula (or choice of chard), scallions (or choice of kohlrabi), cilantro (or choice of chive), eggplant (swapped for chive), radishes (swapped for 2nd cilantro)
(2) cukes, (3) choice of peppers (poblano, red bell, or green bell), (1) carmen red sweet pepper, 1 pint box of 7 aji dulce mild chile peppers, (3) plum tomatoes, (1) slicing tomato, 1/2 pint mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, bag of green beans, beets (or choice of radishes), parsley, kale (or choice of chard) – swapped for 2nd parsley, (2) corn, as many as you can use – chile cherry chile pepper (medium hot), as many as you can use – 2nds tomatoes
Celery with greens, bag green beans (or choice of wax beans), (4) corn, small onion, (1) bell pepper, eggplant, pea tendrils (or choice of chard or kale), parsley (choice of chives or basil), beets with greens (or choice of radishes w/greens or purple topped turnips), (1) slicing tomato, (4) plum tomatoes, pint of mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, as much as you can use: chile peppers – aji dulce, jalapenos, and very hot (did not take very hot), as much as you can use: 2nds tomatoes
The pea tendrils didn’t have very many blossoms this time, but they seemed hardier and fresher than the spring batches, with lots of leaves and stalks.
Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.
beets (or choice of turnips or radishes), bok choy, chard or arugula or pea tendrils(?), kale, chives (or choice of parsley), (2) plum tomatoes, 1 onion, green beans, eggplant, 1/2 pint mixed cherry grape tomatoes, aji dulce or jalapeno peppers as much as you can use.
a lot of goodies this week!
large cabbage, carrots with greens or choice of beets, radishes or choice of turnips, large bag of green beans, carmen red pepper (horn shaped), (2) plum tomatoes, 1/2 pint mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, garlic, parsley or choice of basil or chives, celery or choice of scallions, arugula or choice of chard – swapped for 2nd celery, eggplant, butternut squash, aji dulce peppers (7) as many as you can use
Huge heavy cabbage!
small head of green lettuce or choice of arugula, tatsoi or choice of chard, cilantro or choice of basil chives or parsley, (2) onions, beets or choice of radishes, poblano pepper or choice of cubanelle, 1/2 pint mixed grape/cherry tomatoes, acorn squash, cranberry shell beans, large bag of green or choice of waxed – swapped for 2nd bag of shell beans, as many as you could use of habanero very hot peppers (didn’t take any)
and as much as you can use of plum tomatoes (took 8)
Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.
1/2 pint mixed Cherry grape tomatoes – choice of green beans, Red leaf lettuce or choice of arugula
Carrots with greens or choice of beets or scallions, 2 poblano peppers or choice of green bell, Eggplant or choice of other eggplant, Radish with greens, Butternut squash, Tatsoi or choice of chard or collards, Parsley or choice of cilantro or chives
Green bell pepper, Small bag of potatoes, 2 onions, Carrots with tops or choice of beets, Kohlrabi or choice of radishes – swapped for 2nd cilantro, Cilantro, Small bag of broccoli crowns, 2 Boston lettuces or choice of chard kale or arugula, 1/2 pint cherry/grape tomatoes, Butternut squash, Sugar snap peas or choice of green beans, Jalepeno peppers- As much as you can use (took 3)
I was psyched at the cool choices this week. Potatoes and broccoli are exciting!
Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.
Last week! :(
Huge sweet potato, Garlic, Leek, Carrots or choice of beets, Romanesco or choice of broccoli or lettuce, Green leaf lettuce or arugula, Green bell peppers or choice of jalapeño or carmen red peppers, Bag of cranberry shell beans, Radish or purple top turnips swapped for extra bag of shell beans (I’ll have enough shell beans to last in freezer for many months I think!), Cilantro, Chard- as much as you can use
Romanesco is a little bit broccoli and a little bit cauliflower…but 100% delicious and such a treat to look at!
Unfortunately, I do not plan on joining the CSA for 2012, and it has nothing to do with Farmer Dave’s, or the quality and price of the CSA.
I simply decided that it was just too much pressure, especially in the summer months. It was just too overwhelming to process, cook and eat all the vegetables we were receiving. I just couldn’t keep up with cooking ideas, and I felt like I was missing out on other vegetables that I was craving (like broccoli) but couldn’t buy because we already had so much food from the CSA.
So next season, I’ll continue to support and shop at Farmer Dave’s farm stand but also venture out to other farms and farmer’s markets. I’m excited that I’ll be able to choose exactly the vegetables I want, and it’ll be easier to plan my menus, especially when we’re on vacation.
It will be so helpful to shop earlier in the day if needed, which will give me more time to organize and process my produce before I needed to start dinner. I also hope this will help with maintaining a grocery budget and meal plans, since I can purchase exactly what I need in smaller or larger quantities.
I’ll play it by ear, and see how it goes, who knows I might miss it so much, I’ll go back the following season, or I might decide to sign up for their late fall CSA share. We’ll see.
I want to make it clear that I do not regret participating in the past two CSA seasons; I learned about many amazing new foods, and learned how to prepare them. For this reason and many others, I do not want to dissuade anyone from joining a CSA.
To those that want to try a CSA in the Eastern Massachusetts area, I highly recommend Farmer Dave’s! They have many pick-up locations and it’s a great bargain for all the food you receive. PLUS, you are supporting a local farm!
I have decided to try to eat what’s in my freezer before purchasing any more meat or seafood.
I have lovely scallops, shrimp, boneless chicken, whole chicken, ground beef, etc. and I think it’s important to save some money and just concentrate on eating what’s there first.
So far so good! I roasted a chicken on Sunday, and it’s given us 6 meals! 4 dinners (including soup!) and 2 lunches!
I can’t believe that I haven’t been to Whole Foods since the end of August! I did shop at the local Market Basket grocery store to pick up a few things, I desperately needed a bag of King Arthur white whole wheat flour, yogurt, and some bananas.
This week, I’m glad that there isn’t much on sale again at Whole Foods. I’ll just pick up a few necessities at Market Basket, and grab all my produce from the local farms and from my CSA share at Farmer Daves.
With our lower meat consumption, I could actually be sustained for a few weeks, and possibly not need to visit Whole Foods until October. Wow, now wouldn’t that be a feat!
But for now, one week at a time!
I think I’ll be skipping the CSA next season.
We’ll see how it goes, buying directly from the farm and other farmer’s markets, and then I’ll decide if I want to go back the following season.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with CSA, and I adore Farmer Dave’s and the staff, but I think I need a break.
#1, vacation. This year we will only miss two pick-ups, but there was a chance we’d miss four pick-ups if timing wasn’t perfect.
#2, pressure. There is so much pressure to process a large amount of food at once. Lettuce and other greens have to be washed then packed in towels & bags. Meals have to be planned around foods you might not be in the mood for. It’s tough, and it’s starting to get to me.
#3, cost and variety. Yes, I think I’m getting my monies worth every week, but it would be nice to spend the same amount (or even more) and get exactly the vegetables and fruit that I want. I will still promote and support Farmer Dave’s farm stands, but I’d like to maybe sample some of the other local farmer’s markets. Yes, it might be more expensive, but I’d be getting exactly what I want. And when Whole Foods has a sale on local veggies, I won’t feel like I have to pass it up because I have a full fridge.
#4, my garden. Sure, I feel ambitious now, but I’d like to expand my little backyard garden to include more vegetables and herbs next year. Right now, we’re growing 4 tomato plants, along with basil and oregano plants. I’m experimenting with potato plants too, but I don’t know what’s going to happen with those! I’d like to add hot and bell peppers, cucumbers, summer squash and possibly some lettuce plants. When the tomatoes die off, I’m hoping to plant some hearty greens.
I know it’ll be very difficult not to register for next year’s CSA. I will feel like I’m letting down a friend. haha. But it’s the best for me, and as I said, I will still continue to support Farmer Dave’s farm.
I will also continue to support the Groundwork Lawrence Share-a-Share program – it’s an important program that subsidizes CSA vegetable shares for those that can’t afford it.
Carrot roots are delicious, but what about the gorgeous green carrot tops? I received a batch of fresh carrots in my CSA share this week, and I didn’t want to waste the greens.
I thought about throwing them into the blender and mixing up a batch of greens for the dogs, but then I decided to google, to discover what others online are suggesting.
Carrot greens have a very bad reputation for being poisonous to humans but they are not actually toxic. Yes, some people can have a very bad allergic reaction to them! Some can’t even brush up against carrot greens without causing a bad rash, and others have reactions when eating the greens.
But it looks like in smaller amounts, most of us can enjoy carrot greens. They can be used in similar ways as parsley or other herbs and can make a tasty addition to soups and sauces. I took a bite of a raw green the other day, and it tasted similar to a carrot. I didn’t find much bitterness, as others have complained about, but perhaps I just ate a lucky leaf! LOL
I removed all the younger greens from the stalks and thoroughly washed/rinsed them. After they dried for a few minutes in a colander, I tossed them in smaller quantities in freezer bags, and stuck them all in the freezer. It will be interesting to add them to chicken soup next time!
It’s also possible to blanch them for a minute or two before freezing, but I assume that I’ll use the greens pretty quickly, before the enzymes have a chance to wreak havoc on the nutrients.
I bet it’s even a good idea to dry them in a low temp oven for a few hours and use like dried celery leaves.
Helpful Links:
http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/carrotops.html
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/archive/index.php/t-964649.html
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/harvest/msg1210074232050.html
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/422562
(NOTE: I also wrote a review for the 2011 CSA Season with Farmer Dave’s)
I was so excited to join the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at Farmer Dave’s this season.
So, what is a CSA anyway? Here’s a great explanation, but in my own words, you the consumer are prepaying for a “share” of the future growing season’s bounty. You pay in the winter/spring before the season starts, and in return, each week during the spring/summer/fall, you receive a generous portion of produce. There’s no further expense unless you want to purchase extra food. Both the consumer and the farmer benefits, so it’s a win-win situation! Granted, you are definitely taking a chance. If the growing season is poor, then your share will be smaller. But on the flip-side, if the growing season prospers, so will your share!
Farmer Dave’s in Dracut, Massachusetts offers several local pickup locations for 20 weeks, starting in mid June. CSA pick up locations include Beverly, Burlington, Lanesville, Dracut, Lawrence, Tewksbury, Somerville, Putnam Investments (for Putnam employees only), Downtown Gloucester, Boston Medical Center and Jamaica Plain.
There are several share options ranging from Small Vegetable (1-2 people) to Super Family Vegetable. There are also Fruit shares, plus Winter Vegetable shares.
I don’t remember ever eating a green (unripe) tomato in the past, but we received a few in our CSA share for the last couple of weeks. But how to eat them!?
I found a whole bunch of recipes online, and the chutney intrigued me, as did the green tomato jam. But I decided to go the simple route, and just roast them with some red tomatoes; I love roasted tomato and olive oil sauce.
So last week, I made a batch of roasted green and red tomatoes, and poured it over some quinoa pasta. The green tomatoes tasted sour, but they melded very well with the sweeter red tomatoes, giving a wonderful balance of flavors. I enjoyed it so much, I roasted another batch of red and green tomatoes last night. After cooling, I poured them into a freezer bag and added to my ever expanding freezer, so we can enjoy them at a later date.
Ingredients & Instructions for Roasted Green Tomatoes:
Tomatoes
Olive oil
Fresh basil leaves
Chop the tomatoes into large chunks, and arrange in a baking dish with basil leaves. Drizzle olive oil on top and bake in a 275° oven for 1-2 hours until shriveled and juicy. Enjoy!
If there’s room in the baking dish, you can also add a chopped onion and/or peppers. Yum!
I love Penzy’s Spices dried celery flakes, and I pay about $3.50 for a small bag.
This week, in our CSA share, we received a large celery loaded with fresh dark leaves!
So, I trimmed off all the leaves and dried them in my counter top convection oven – 150-200 ° for about one hour. Yay, I got a big batch of dried celery flakes, and saved a little cash!
