The Great Utah CSA Experiment - Week 5!

Week 5 was a little worrisome! I was preparing to attend a week-long conference and knew that anything that wasn't eaten or stored would most likely not be touched while I was gone (I knew my husband well enough to stock the freezer with quick and easy 'bachelor' foods). In addition, I needed to make arrangements for the food I would not be available to pick up.

As you might imagine, having a share of fresh produce every week all summer long might conflict with things like conferences, family vacations, and even day-long outings to places like Lagoon. Sometimes, arranging for a neighbor or a family member to pick up the share for you is not a big issue, but other times it might be nice to defer it and pick up a double share during a different week (so long as this is not done on a regular basis). That's exactly what both these CSAs do, so I contacted them both and asked if I could have my double share moved to mid-August. I'll be honest - I picked August because I hope to get a lot of tomatoes!

So here's my haul for the 4th week of July, East Farms share:

	CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
	0.43 lb Rainbow Chard						3.54/lb (Red)	$1.52
	1.07 lb Green Beans						5.32/lb	$5.69
	1.18 lb Mixed Lettuce		5.31/lb				3.54/lb	$6.26
	1.06 lb Zucchini						1.49/lb	$1.58
	0.46 lb Beets						1.99/lb	$0.91

I knew what to do with the chard and lettuce, and I had suspicions about the beans and the zucchini, but the only dish I know of with beets is Borscht and I know it's not a family favorite. I parked my car and pulled out the box of goodies when I saw my neighbor sitting on his front porch. I asked him if he liked beets with my winningest smile, and to my surprise his face became very solemn. "Are you kidding me?" he asked. "I LOVE beets!" I put down the box, pulled them out, and asked him how many he would like. (He took the lot).

Then, because he seemed so genuinely excited about the prospect of fresh beets I ventured to see if he'd like some of zucchini, beans, and greens, to which he also responded with delight. This man is more excited about fresh locally grown produce than I am! Of the whole I kept only a portion of the lettuce, with which I made Caesar Salad (pictured at right). I think I had more fun giving the food away than getting it. I told him about the program and he asked me to set him up with the information. I feel like a CSA missionary!

The Borski share came several days later with more beans, zucchini, and squash; so I didn't feel terribly bad about having given away the first zucchini of the season.

	CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price 'Normal')	Value
	1.0 lb Green Beans						5.32/lb	$5.32
	0.91 lb Summer Squash						1.99/lb	$1.81
	0.75 lb Cucumber (1)						0.79/ea	$0.79
	1.19 lb Apricots						1.99/lb	$2.37
	2.0 lb Corn (3 ears)						0.50/ea	$1.50
	1.0 lb Zucchini						1.49/lb	$1.49

I'd tried the green beans just steamed with butter, salt, and pepper a week ago and Craig wasn't impressed. This time I pulled out a recipe for glazed green beans and tomatoes given to me by my sister - they were fast to make, fabulously tasty, and received a thumbs up for 'will eat again'. Bonus: the recipe gave me a chance to use fresh basil and garlic I received in week 3!

The apricots became midday snacks and what I couldn't finish by snacking before the trip I tossed into apple-carrot-bran muffins which made great snacks for the plane. The (very) sweet corn was eaten on the cobb with butter and salt and pepper. The zucchini and squash just weren't going to be eaten before the trip so I took them upstairs to my neighbor, who was just as excited to get another stash of fresh veggies as he was a few days beforehand.

Frozen greens update: I made spicy sausages on wheat hot dog buns the other day with saurkraut and spicy mustard, and couldn't help myself but to put some cooked arugula on top (a la Peppery Pastrami Sandwiches from week 3). It just didn't taste the same without the greens. I've come to the conclusion that. . . I'm an ADDICT! No, really. I don't have greens coming any more with my shares, but I still have a delicious compulsion to put them on everything. What will I do when my stash in the freezer runs out?!

Recipe for Week 5:

-----Glazed Green Beans and Tomatoes-----

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
2 T. butter
2 T. sugar
1 t. garlic powder
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 1/2 t. dried basil
6 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved

Cook green beans to desired firmness; dreain and place in a serving bowl. Return pan to heat, add butter and stir in the next 6 ingredients. After butter is melted and mixture is heated through, add the tomatoes and stir until they are seared off and some of the juice has made the sugar and butter into a glaze. (1-2 minutes on medium-high heat). Pour over beans in the serving bowl and toss until the beans are coated and tomatoes are mixed throughout. (Serves 3-4).