The Great Utah CSA Experiment - Week 16!

Week 16 came with more surprises, beginning with yet another variety of winter squash. The East Farms CSA brought in quite a haul by itself, valued at nearly $17 at non-organic prices.

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
0.70 lb Green Peppers (2)						1.29/lb	$0.90
0.80 lb Onion						0.99/lb	$0.79
1.77 lb Roma Tomatoes						1.99/lb	$3.52
2.02 lb Eggplant (2)						1.60/lb	$3.23
1.71 lb Gold Potatoes						1.49/lb	$2.55
2.00 lb Acorn Squash						0.99/lb (asst. squash)	$1.98
4.03 lb Spaghetti Squash						0.99/lb (asst. squash)	$3.99

The onions and potatoes and squash go into cold storage for use as I need them. I have so much perishable produce in my refrigerator and on my counters that I can't possible think of using the nonperishable ones anytime in the immediate future. But it was nice to see a new squash, the acorn squash pictured at right, with the share.

These peppers I used for another batch of white chili, but I've still got quite a few. I've started freezing them all so they don't go bad, but there are far too many spicy ones. By spicy I mean each time I cut up a batch for the freezer I must refrain from touching my nose or eyes for 48 hours (OW). In the future, I'm using latex gloves.

The eggplant and tomatoes went into the refrigerator for later use. I still can't get to the eggplant fast enough, and the tomatoes are backing up as well. If this keeps up I'm going to have to start freezing them.

Speaking of freezing, this week also marked the first snowfall of the season! I had to clean off 6" of snow from my car at 9:00 am Sunday before I could go to church. By 1:00 pm when I came out, it was all melted. It came and went quickly, but I'm pretty sure that any life remaining in my little basil and parsley plants was snuffed out. =(

The second share here is the last share of the year for the Borski Farms CSA program. It is a very sad prospect, but on the other hand it has begun to be very difficult to make it with my work schedule as well as Craig's new school schedule. Again, I got the share with only 5 minutes to spare on the 6:00 pm pickup time.

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
1.10 lb Green Peppers (2)						1.29/lb	$1.42
0.48 lb Peach (1)						1.99/lb	$0.96
0.93 lb Apples (Golden Delicious, 3)						1.49/lb	$1.39
0.82 lb Yellow Onions						0.99/lb	$0.81
0.67 lb Red Onions (2)						0.99/lb	$0.66
1.48 lb Blue Potatoes						1.49/lb (Gold)	$2.21

Again, the onions and potatoes went into cold storage. The apples I used in the dessert recipe provided (below), and the peach sat on my counter: a lonely reminder that there would be no more. The peppers went into my refrigerator for later use.

The share also came with a newsletter thanking us for participating and informing us of the Borski Farms produce stand in Kaysville on 315 N Main (open through Oct 31). Information on registration for the 2009 season will be available on their website in January. In addition, the newsletter came with a recipe for a baked apple dessert, which I have included below.

Overall, I found this CSA provided good variety of quality produce. The value was reasonable, the share distribution was flexible, and for the most part the pickup times worked well. For the total spread of 15 weeks, the conservative estimated value adds up to $193.05. That is of course treating most of the produce as non-organic grocery store fare, and often including the only available price substitutes on some produce I couldn't find anywhere (blue potatoes, for instance) which most likely would have gone for more. Even so, I paid a price of 190.00 for this share on April 23rd (the late price - earlier comers paid slightly less), and I've been extremely pleased with the results. I would highly recommend this CSA to anybody for whom the pickup location, days and times work - which was my only issue.

Looking back, the biggest highlights of the Borski season for me included finding completely unexpected produce: anasazi beans, local cheese, blue potatoes, and delicata squash. The herb starts at the beginning of the season were also unexpected, and I used the fresh basil and parsley throughout the season in many dishes. In addition to the surprises, I loved the outstanding flavor of the produce - for instance, the potent garlic which overwhelmed the whole shopping bag. Finally, I cannot close without mentioning again how happy I was for the regular shares of (really good) peaches for weeks on end.

Recipe for week 16:

-----Baked Apple Dessert-----

1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. butter, split into 6 pieces (1 t. each)
6 apples

Heat the oven to 325 F. Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and set aside. Core the apples without puncturing the bottom. Fill each cavity the cinnamon mixture, then top off with 1 t. butter each. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes-1 hour.