Farm Share, week 2

Update: 

Used the spinach from last week to make yummy spinach soup--my picky son who hates veggies will always down a bowl of this very easy to make soup.

Stilll working on lettuce, and we've been eating it every day! 

Here is the list of what I'm supposed to be getting tomorrow--hoping they picked this morning before the rain!

Bok choy (leaving it at swap--hopefully Scott can pick up some beets or more kohlrabi)
Strawberries
Kohlrabi (I had to look up what this was)--they look like this:


And apparently taste kind of like broccoli stalks.

Beets (not sure how I feel about beets, but I found a grilling recipe, and one that used them to bake with)

Lettuce (still working on our lettuce from last week--might give some of it up to a friend or neighbor.)
Tai Basil (yum)--will be able to make a mean pesto with that and the basil I have in a pot on my deck.

Kohlrabi and beets are new to me, so I'm looking forward to trying to cook with them.

Farm share!

I have been dying to be part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for a few years, and last Dec., finally had the means to do so somewhere local, convenient, and affordable. I went with a farm in Rocky Hill, CT, Fair Weather Acres. A few of the reasons we went with them:

1. Easy to get to- the farm stand is a 5 minute drive from my house. Pointless to go to a farm where I'd have to drive a significant distance--defeats the whole purpose!
2. Affordable-they have 1/2 shares, and because I paid last Dec, I got a significant discount on our 1/2 share.
3. Variety- Not only do they offer up their vegetables, but they also partner with a local orchard to include fruit in their shares, which was very appealing.
4. A pro I found out after the fact--they box up everything for you, so I literally walked out of my car, they gave me the box and I was on my way. So easy!

The Friday before pickup, they send a facebook post about what they will have in your box the following week. I love that I could figure out recipes (and what else I'd need to grocery shop for) BEFORE I pick up the box. I created a Pinterest board to post recipe ideas so that I'd have easy access to them.

This was the first week of pick-up--I was looking forward to this for MONTHs, and it was finally here.
My box included:

• a gigantic head of red leaf lettuce (the size of 2 head!)-yum!Nothing like fresh lettuce!
• collard greens (never had them, but tried them-decent)
• kale (one of my favorites to make caldo verde, but made kale chips this week)
• spinach (love spinach, but haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet)
• bok choy (I'd be happy to never have this in my box again!)
• was supposed to get radishes, but they weren't ready, so they gave me an annual plant

They also have a swap table--if you don't like something you take it out and leave it, and you can pick up something else that you might like more of. 

If I get more bok choy next week, it is definitely getting left on the table.... hopefully someone won't want their kale!

I'm excited to see what the summer brings. We have a garden in our backyard, so I'll be interested to see if I will still want to plant vegetables after a summer of the CSA--I might be able to get some yard back, and just do strawberries, blueberries, and garlic next year.