Farm Share: Final Verdict

It occurs to me that my weekly postings describing my Farm Share bounty have completely fallen off.  Sorry about that, but since we've reached almost the end of the summer growing season, I'm going to look back on this whole experience and try to figure out whether or not it was worth it and how I feel about it.

-1 for extra food waste.  Despite sharing my share with another person, I really did end up with extra food waste over the course of the summer.  I'm the type of person who eats the same thing every day, and making several meals a week is just not how I operate.  Because of that, I would often use up one of the strange new ingredients I'd get, and let the other one rot.  I feel terrible about this, but really don't know what's to be done about it.

+1 for learning how to cook new things.  Yes, having a farm share did force me to expand my repertoire, and I'm really happy about that.  Admittedly, I did not end up eating that kohlrabi, I just stared at it until it rotted, but I feel less intimidated by kohlrabi now and regard it as a friend (that I would like to eat).

+1 for eating local.  All the food from my farm share came from Rehoboth, MA, which is 13 miles from my house.  That's pretty awesome.

-1 for sharing drawbacks.  I'm very very glad that I shared my share with another person because it would have been waaaaaaaaay too much for just me.  However, because I shared, it meant that I would frequently wind up with very little of something, and it would almost seem too much work to prepare it.  I mean, who wants to turn on the oven to roast just half a bunch of turnips.  So, I should have been more creative, but trying more than one new recipe a week is just too much for me.  I'm fragile, people.

-/+1 for value overall.  I cannot really decide if doing this farm share was actually a good value.  I missed two week's worth of deliveries while I was on vacation, and while I was away, there was a freak hailstorm that damaged many of the crops and structures on the farm.  Because of that, shares have been significantly lighter, which is obviously not the farmer's fault.

The hail that hit the farm--from their facebook page

So I go back and forth.  Yes, it was rather expensive, but I learned a lot and tried many new things.  But if I hadn't done this, I would have saved money and wasted less food, but then I would still be scared of bok choy.  Actually, now that the vegetables are shifting to the fall variety--i.e. tomatoes, squash, zucchini, I'm starting to think I should keep it up.  I love root vegetables, people.  But if I did that, it would be another $200.  Would I spend that much if I actually went to the store and bought my veg there? Or is it less about the money and more about supporting a local farm?  Gah!  It's too hard!  Just tell me what to do, internet!

-/+1 For realizing how superficial I am when it comes to vegetables.  I read a book a while back about food waste, and the author talked about how people are really concerned with how their produce looks and stuff that looks slightly weird often gets thrown away.  I read this and though, what's wrong people, didn't you read that Berenstein Bears book where they show that the weird-looking apple is better on the inside?  Except I am the same way, apparently.  The broccoli I got from the farm looked different than the broccoli I get in stores, and that scared me, even though broccoli is one of my favorite foods!  Vegetables straight from the farm can look kind of strange, y'all, and apparently I am a bit shallow.

This is one of the results when you google image search
"strange vegetable"

-1 for lack of eggs.  One of the things I was most excited about, was eating farm-fresh eggs all summer, but they were only available for purchase one time when I went to my pickup place.  A friend who has a co-worker with chickens said that his chickens haven't been laying much this summer, so maybe that's it, but I have a hunch that since the food gets dropped off at 3pm, and I can't make it until after 6pm, someone is buying up all the eggs.  Harrumph.

Overall, I'm glad I did it because I would have continued to wonder otherwise.  There is something nice about going to get groceries and not have to pay for them (because I paid upfront), but I just don't know if this system is for me.  Perhaps next year, I'll just grab something new each time I go to the farmer's market--or every other time.

It's a Kohlrabi

Farm Share Week #5 is upon us, and I have to say, I think I'm getting the hang of this.  This week's bounty included:

head lettuce

broccoli

kohlrabi

parsley

beets

shelling peas

fennel

collards

radishes

The only vegetables in that list that I'm afraid of are kohlrabi and collards.  I've eaten collards before, but never prepared them; kohlrabi, I think I've heard of it.  It certainly is pretty though.

It's like a vegetable sculpture!

But what the hell do I do with it? The internet tells me that kohlrabi is otherwise known as a German turnip, so I may just treat it like other root vegetables and roast it. Suggestions are welcome, as always.

Another few things I've learned recently with the farm share:

1. I am not emotionally ready to deal with beet greens. I roasted the beets I had last week and ate them on a bed of arugula. It was fab, and I felt very pleased with myself. I know that you can also use the beet greens in salad etc., but I'm still scared of them, so I've been throwing them away.
2. I'm sad that this week's share didn't include bok choy! What the hell has happened to me? At least, if nothing else good comes out of this crazy experiment, I now know that bok choy is pretty awesome and is not an onion (it really looks like an onion after it's been chopped and stir-fried).
3. I've got to figure out what to do with the radishes. I picked some, but I have two bunches on deck and no clue what to do with them. I've read that the French eat a ton of radishes, and I am trying to be more European, and I'm at a bit of a loss right now. I shall do some googling.
4. How the hell did people ever learn to cook strange things before the internet? I know there have always been cook books, but I feel like I've never seen a cookbook as comprehensive as what I would need to deal with all this veg. I love you, the internet.

 I'm off to solve the radish/kohlrabi conundrum. Wish me luck!

Farm Share: Week 2

Look at all that stuff!

Now you're probably saying to yourself: it's been three weeks since she started this farm share!  Why is she saying it's only week two?  First off, I'd like to thank you for being so observant--don't let me think I can get away with anything.  Secondly, last week was the week of the non-working fridge/ mini-vacation, so I gave all my veg to my farm sharing partner.  Let me say though, this week certainly made up for the shortfall, and now I'm really, really glad I'm sharing all this bounty with someone else.


This week's offerings are:

garlic scapes
red mustard buds and leaves
rainbow lacinata kale
english shelling peas
broadleaf endive
cilantro
bunched french sorrel
prize choy asian 
cooking greeneaster egg radishes
lettuce mix with some claytonia (the small white flowered plant)
fava shoots
tall top beets

I totally traipsed up to the pickup place with my single grocery bag expecting it to be half full like the last two weeks--not so.  I didn't even take everything, and I still was panicking about how to get it all back to the car.  Also, last week, they were out of radishes by the time I got to the pickup, so I this week, I took two!  Brazen, I know, but pickup is from 4-7pm and I can't make it til 6:15!  All the best veg is gone by then!
My radishes are currently pickling away in the fridge--I'm really, really excited about this.  

I've also pushed past my fear of the bok choy, or prize choy as it's called in that list up top.  A little internetting and asking google the question "What do you do with bok choy?" "and how to you cut bok choy?" Made me realize that I've eaten this scary vegetable many, many time in Asian and Pan-Asian (same thing, different thing?  I don't know, but I want to be inclusive) cuisine.  It's that onion-looking thing that doesn't taste like an onion, but has a satisfying crunch!

I stir-fried my bok choy with some olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, barley and sriracha and damn if I don't just feel like the smartest girl ever.  Therefore this is the week where I learned:

Scary vegetables can be stir-fried and they will become familiar--and tasty!

This is similar to the day when I realized that everything tastes good oven roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.

What a relief, I tell you.  Next adventure--what the hell to do with the fava shoots.  They're pretty, they smell good, but they have flowers and I've been trained not to eat flowers (by eating flowers as a child and finding them bitter--you did it too, admit it).

Flowers!  Are flowers food?

Maybe I'll just stir fry them and hope for the best?  Suggestions welcome.

From Out Of The Ashes

I created a dramatic image to go with my title

My fridge died this week, so I decided to write a blog post with a really dramatic title.

Our fridge has been acting funny for a while.  I'd noticed that it didn't feel as cold as it used to, and I noticed increased rates of food spoilage.  Yes, that is something I notice because I'm the coolest person out there!  Anyway, I chalked it up to the warmer weather outside, and bumped up the temperature in the fridge, which promptly made some things freeze, while others stayed warm.

A couple days ago, BF announced, proudly, that he had fixed the fridge.  "The fridge is broken?" I asked.  Apparently, it had seemed that the fridge was shutting itself off, and he had somehow figured out how to fix that.  But, naturally, the problem was bigger than that, and the fridge continued to not be cold and started to make alarming 'I'm working too hard!' noises.

Thankfully, my landlord is in Sweden and his subletters haven't moved in yet, so we stuck our food in his fridge and didn't lose much, but we're in an odd predicament right now.  The fridge will not be replaced until next week because we're going to be out of town all weekend, and the subletters move in on Saturday, so we need to get the food out of his fridge.  This spurred me into frantic eating to reduce food waste mode, and it's been a little fun.

For example:  Our milk and half and half spoiled right away.  I found this out after pouring some half & half into a cup, filling it with coffee, walking away briefly and coming back to find that all the half & half had separated into this gross looking film.  No thank you.   So I've been drinking my coffee black, which I haven't done in years, and I don't hate it!

Last night, I was sitting at work thinking about what I'd like to have for dinner, and I tried to recall what we have left that needs eating.  Conclusion: Polenta, pea greens and eggs.  Enter the wonderful world of Pinterest and boom--

Mine was not this pretty, but you get the idea

Delicious, healthy dinner!  I would really never have thought to put egg with polenta, mainly because I'm still learning what to do with polenta, but now I have one less egg to worry about, much less polenta and I may make this again for dinner.

To that end, I am reminded how much fun shopping the pantry is.  I've mentioned before that our grocery bills have been astronomical and that that makes me quite sad, but being forced to make meals out of odds and ends is an awesome adventure!  Sometimes you just need a little inconvenience to spark your imagination.

My plan for the rest of the month is to buy minimal groceries.  Instead, I'm going to pair my pantry items with my farm share items and hopefully come up with some fun new treats and save some damn money.

Things I Learned From Last Week's Farm Share

It's time for me to pick up farm share #2, and I actually did pretty ok with share #1, but there are some things I need to be careful of for the future.

1. Apparently farm-fresh veggies don't last as long as store-bought?  I left my turnips and radishes sitting out for a couple days, and the radishes got all soft and squishy before I could use them.  I had also been hoping to use the turnip greens in a soup, but they were completely wilted and sad.  So that was a total bummer because I was really looking forward to pickled radishes and turnip soup!
2. Garlic scapes have more scent than flavor.  I took four garlic scapes this week, and used the first one in a kale stir fry.  I sliced it lengthwise, then chopped it up, because that's what the internet told me to do, and even though I could smell garlic scape on my hands for days, I couldn't really taste in my stiry fry.  Second round, I made a white bean and kale soup using three garlic scapes.  Blandest soup ever.  I had some for dinner last night, and it just tastes like nothing--and I made a whole pot.  Guess what I'm having for lunch today!
3. I'm as intimidated by joi choi as I am bok choi.  The newsletter said that this veggie is "great for braising." Well, that threw me into a panic as I have never braised anything!  Don't people usually braise meat?  Joi Choi is still sitting in the crisper.

Other than those issues, first week is a moderate success.  I just have to remember to pop everything in the fridge right away, which is a bit of an issue this week because our fridge is currently dying i.e. not making things cold.  But I'm going out of town this weekend, so my farm share partner will be taking most of the food.  If I do get more radishes though, I'm pickling them right away!

Any suggestions on the joi choi?

First Farm Share!

I picked up my first farm share last night, and I am so pumped!  Here's the list of things that were available for pickup:

garlic scapes

swiss chard

french breakfast radishes

spicy, sweet, and sour salad or cooking mix

lettuce mix

large leaf spinach

joi choi

kale

white turnips

oregano or parsley 

Thankfully, none of those things are terribly scary (though the joi choi is a mystery to me), I've never had turnips before, and I really like radishes but I never buy them because I'm not quite sure what to do with them.  I didn't take and salad because I didn't have any small bags, but I did buy a carton of farm-fresh eggs!

The plan right now is to pickle the radishes--I found this recipe and I like the sound of it, plus, I've been wanting to pickle something for a while now.

I'm going to make turnip soup with the turnips and the greens--very excited about this.  I may also add some of the garlic scapes to the soup.  The internet tells me that garlic scapes are quite versatile and can be eaten alone or added to things, so I'll try a little of both.

 

They're almost too pretty to eat!

One mystery right now is that I'm not sure of I grabbed a sour salad mix, or a bunch of flowers I wasn't entitled to:

Anyone know what this is?  It's certainly pretty, but I haven't tasted it yet...

One thing that continually cracks me up with I bring new leafy greens into the house, is the reaction Wee Watson (kitty) has to them.  Watson is a picky cat--does not care for wet food, won't eat treats, but he goes nuts for kale.

He comes running when I bring home kale.

Apparently, he's also pretty excited about turnip greens and swiss chard.  I had to put everything leafy out of cat reach, which seriously cracks me up.  Should be an exciting summer for both of us.

If anyone has any recommendations for the kale or swiss chard, let me know. I usually just pan fry the kale with olive oil and garlic (so good!), but I feel like I should mix it up a bit.

How Frugal is a Farm Share?

I've been making an effort, now that I'm not commuting all the time, to shop more locally.  I've been going to the independently-owned market more often instead of going to Stop & Shop; I've been patronizing local shops that sell goods made by local artists; and now I'm taking the final plunge: I'm getting a farm share.

For anyone who might be unfamiliar with that term, a farm share or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) means that for a pre-determined amount of time (like the summer growing season) you pay up front for a share of vegetables from a local farm.  After paying, you go to the farm weekly and pick up a mess of vegetables that were just plucked from the earth, and then you go home and panic because you have no idea what to do with them--at least that's what I'm predicting will happen for me.

The farm I chose to do a share with, is in Rehoboth, MA, which is about 15 miles from my house.  Once a week, they'll make delivery to Providence and I'll go pick up my stuff.  According to their website, one share will feed "2 avid vegetable lovers, or 4 moderate vegetable lovers with produce for the week."  Since BF is not an avid vegetable lover, and because of my 15+ years as a vegetarian who is mildly afraid if vegetables, I decided to share my share with a friend.  If I still wind up with way too much produce, I'll find people to take it off my hands, or I'll experiment with new methods of food preservation--or I'll just host a lot of potlucks.

The way this particular farm share works, my friend and I pay $400 ($200 each) for vegetables from June-August (13 weeks).  Some other farm shares that I looked into also had an egg or flower component, which sounds awesome.  This one had the flowers, but no eggs, which is what I really wanted (Wee Watson will just eat any flowers that come into the house).  I haven't really been keeping track of what I spend on just produce (I just spent $8 on brussels sprouts, to give you an idea), but it will be interesting to try this for at least a season and see how much food I get, whether it feels like it's worth it and figure out a way to use and enjoy strange new vegetables that I never would have been brave enough to buy on my own. Bok choy, anyone?

Seriously--this frightens me

Each week that I'm doing the farm share, I'll document what  I get, and share any recipes that I come up with.  Here's to a new, vegetable adventure!  Of course, it doesn't start until June, so I'm a bit ahead of myself, but I'm so excited!

Has anyone else ever done a farm share?  What did you think of it?  Admittedly, I picked this place because I liked their name and they deliver to Providence--perhaps I should have done more research?  Any tips are appreciated!