The Great Utah CSA Experiment - Week 14!

Week 14 came with more of the same, and all of it good. There was one thing that truly jumped out at me, though. Can you see it?

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
0.38 lb Green Pepper (1)		1.99/lb				1.29/lb	$0.78
0.83 lb Mixed Peppers						1.99/lb	$1.65
8.8 lb Green Cabbage		1.49/lb				0.69/lb	$13.11
0.93 lb Onion		1.99/lb				0.99/lb	$1.85
1.15 lb Eggplant		1.99/lb				1.68/lb	$2.29
1.23 lb Zucchini						1.29/lb	$1.59
1.81 lb Roma Tomatoes		1.99/lb				2.99/lb	$3.60

In the past when I picked up double shares I had a chance to compare one share to another - and it was clear they were pretty similar in content. Even so, sometimes it is hard to resist the temptation to peek into one box or another and see if they were different. And sometimes it doesn't take much peeking to notice some things. This week I quickly saw that all the shares contained a head of cabbage. But one of them looked as though it contained a truly massive head. As you can see from the weight listed, it was more than 2x the weight of any other cabbage received so far - and even those cabbages were much larger than the storebought variety. This one was a M-M-M-Monster Cabbage! (Cue the monster truck rally radio voice here). Everybody who saw it plainly agreed it was massive. I was excited to take it with me to the Chinese party for potstickers. This would make a ton of potstickers. I stuck in in my refrigerator for the party.

The peppers, zucchini and eggplant were stashed in the refrigerator, the onion went to the pantry, and the tomatoes were left on the counter (They have much more flavor when they're not refrigerated, though they go bad faster).

As for peaches, my peach train stopped last week and I had a lot of peaches that even I couldn't eat fast enough. They were going soft and I didn't bring them home to rot on my table. I cut up all but a few and stored them in the freezer. I'm looking forward to using them in shakes, on oatmeal, and in desserts for a few weeks more.

Unfortunately, not only did my train stop, but my Borski CSA share lacked peaches this week too! In light of that, my little store of frozen peaches seems pitifully small, indeed! Even the advent of more and different fruits (nectarines, plums, and apples) is not sufficient to completely make up for this tragedy.

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
0.22 lb Plums						1.99/lb	$0.44
0.73 lb Nectarines						1.99/lb	$1.45
0.27 lb Golden Delicious Apple (1)						0.99/lb (Red Delicious)	$0.27
1.16 lb Delicata Squash (1)						0.99/lb (assorted squash)	$1.15
0.93 lb Eggplant		1.99/lb				1.68/lb	$1.85
1.5 lb Blue Potatoes						1.49/lb (Red)	$2.24
1.43 lb Roma Tomatoes		1.99/lb				1.99/lb	$2.85

The fruit was eaten the first week as snacks, and the eggplant given away. Tomatoes were stored in the refrigerator for use next week. This week also brought more fun blue potatoes. I did a mixed-potato oven-roasted potato recipe for a tasty colorful dish. I would post the recipe, but it's the same as previously listed in week 8.

As promised in last week's newsletter, this week also contained the first winter squash of the season. It was labeled at the pickup location as 'delicata' variety. That's good because I've visited quite a few supermarkets recently and nearly all of them sell their squash in a bin with an 'assorted squash' tag. I don't think they know what varieties they are! And in fact, I suspect quite a few shoppers don't care what varieties they are: they buy them as fall decorations, missing out on a great easy-to-prepare vegetable.

Winter squash are very easy to prepare - usually by splitting open, scooping out the seeds, then roasting the pieces until tender. They also tend to have very good flavor. But one of the best things about winter squash is that they store very well in a cool, dry environment - from 8 weeks to 6 months storage, depending on the type of squash. This is good, because I'm anticipating receiving a lot of squash over the next couple of weeks, and based on the amount of produce I have now, I'll need to store everything I can (including this one).

No recipes this week - more of the same, and we weren't feeling well either. More for next week!

The Great Utah CSA Experiment - Week 13!

Week 13 came with the first tomatoes of the season! I received tomatoes from both CSAs - Romas from the East Farms and slicing tomatoes from the Borski. They were orangey, mottled, and showed slight signs of scuff and/or bug damage. They were definitely not the gems I get from my father's plants, but I know this season has not been a good one for tomatoes so I can be forgiving.

The rest is all produce I've seen before over the last few weeks. Here's the scoop:

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
0.12 lb Green Pepper (1)		1.99/lb				1.29/lb	$0.24
0.32 lb Jalapeno Peppers						1.99/lb	$0.64
4.03 lb Green Cabbage		1.49/lb				0.69/lb	$6.00
1.45 lb Onion		1.99/lb				0.99/lb	$2.89
0.68 lb Eggplant		1.99/lb				1.59/lb	$1.35
3.90 lb Cantaloupe		2.99 ea				0.89/lb	$2.99
0.92 lb Roma Tomatoes		1.99/lb				1.99/lb	$1.83

The cabbage is going in potstickers I am making for an upcoming china-themed party for the volunteers I went to China with through International Language Programs. Of course, I had to do a couple test runs to make sure I was doing it right. Below is my recipe for simple vegetarian potstickers.

The peppers and eggplant were stashed in the refrigerator, and the cantaloupe eaten (sooo good). The onion went, like all the other onions, into my pantry. I'm collecting quite a stash of them, which is great. Hopefully they will last until I eat them well into the winter. This particular onion was quite a monster - at 1.45 lb it was just shy of an oz. lighter than the biggest one I received this year during week 10. But since I neglected to record the larger one, here's a picture of the new one on a small plate next to one of my peaches. I hope it conveys just how massive these onions are.

Speaking of peaches, when I stopped by my mother's house this week I thought I'd go check out the forbidden tree. I know my mother has been busy, and I wanted to see if she'd gotten around to her own peaches. What did I behold but a slew of peaches on the ground! This poor tree never had the peach crop culled, so the branches are loaded with heavy fruit and as a result are bent ~ 6" from the ground, which is mulched quite heavily with soft bark. The weight, combined with the ripeness meant that at every gust of wind, a few would fall gently down onto the bed of mulch. Well, I thought. . . I'm forbidden to pick the peaches, but surely she didn't mean I should let good fruit spoil! I hauled home 2.5 dozen perfect peaches, and I didn't pick a one. I did later tell her though that she needed to be sure not to let any drop. She quickly ensured that her spoils were well protected (i.e. she had my father bring the remaining peaches inside in a box) for canning that week, and I suppose that's the end of the peach train for me. At least I can still count on the Borski share to supply a few!

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
1.15 lb Tomatoes (Slicing)						1.99/lb	$2.29
1.25 lb Peaches						1.99/lb	$2.49
1.39 lb Zucchini (2)		2.99/lb				1.29/lb	$4.16
0.54 lb Onion		1.99/lb				0.99/lb	$1.07
0.45 lb Red Onions (2)		1.99/lb				0.99/lb	$0.90
1.97 lb Blue Potatoes		1.99/lb (Red)				0.69/lb (Red)	$3.92

This share came with a variety of potatoes I've heard about, but never seen before - blue potatoes! They are actually more purple potatoes than blue, but both names are correct. And yes, the color goes all the way through. It's the same beneficial compound (antioxidant) that colors blueberries as well.

In addition to the blue potatoes, I received a newsletter from the farm with a recipe for a potato casserole. I made it (with golden potatoes - haven't yet decided how to best cook the blue ones), and have included the recipe here. Craig specifically asked if I could send him leftovers the next day for lunch, so I know he liked it!

The newsletter also promised a lot of winter squash coming in, starting next week. Hurray for squash!

Recipes for Week 13:

-----Borski CSA Casserole-----

1 large onion, sliced
2-3 potatoes, cut into 1/4" slices
2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. italian bread crumbs
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese (opt.)

In a casserole dish, cover the bottom with the sliced onions. Then layer on potatoes, chicken, and tomatoes in that order. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake at 325 F for 1 hour. Remove foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.

-----Simple Vegetarian Potstickers-----

1 1/2 c. shredded cabbage
1/2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. minced scallions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. ginger
1 T. soy sauce
1 pkg potsticker rounds
cold water

To make filling, combine in a bowl the cabbage, carrots, scallions, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce, and mix thoroughly. Place ~ 1 Tbsp filling in the middle of a potsticker wrap, then dip your finger into the cold water and spread it around the edges. Fold both sides together to create a half-circle, then press the edges together to seal.*

To cook, heat 2 T. oil in a non-stick skillet, then add just as many potstickers as can cover the bottom of the pan (they will stick together if you layer them on top of one another.) Cook 2-3 minutes until the undersides are lightly brown. Add 1/2 cup water, then cover and let cook until all the water is absorbed. Remove when potstickers are again crispy and golden brown on the bottom.

*To make a more attractive (read: complicated) seal, you can accordion fold one side before you fold them together. Alternatively, for these potstickers I folded the pastry in half, pressed and sealed together the middle, then pushed in the edges to make a triangle and folded them up, making a three-way fold. Then I folded the extra flap down onto the body of the pastry.

The Great Utah CSA Experiment - Week 12!

Week 12 arrived with lots more of everything, and all of it looked fabulous! East Farms brought the following:

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
0.85 lb Green Peppers (2)		1.99/lb				1.29/lb	$1.69
1.04 lb Mixed Peppers (5)						1.99/lb	$2.07
3.44 lb Green Cabbage		1.49/lb				0.69/lb	$5.13
0.68 lb Onion		1.99/lb				0.99/lb	$1.36
1.25 lb Eggplant		1.99/lb				1.59/lb	$2.49
3.06 lb Corn (4)						3/1.00	$1.33

This was the second cabbage in 4 days, and that's a lot for us: my household has never eaten one whole cabbage in a month, much less two in one week, so I passed this head on to my mother who was happy to use it in her Asian Salad, pictured at right. (My other cabbage remains parked in the back of my refrigerator, awaiting a reunion with my pot sticker wraps).

I made more Eggplant Parmesan, but the peppers were piling up, so I donated them to a neighbor cause. Also, I am sad to report that all the extra dark greens I stored in the freezer this spring are now gone, and I used the last bit of arugula for an awful pasta salad that also consumed an entire 4 oz. container of crumbled tomato and basil feta. Not all of my culinary experiments work out - I was very disappointed in this one to say the least.

I split the corn with my mother and cooked the rest in my oven in an attempt to semi-recreate the flavor of grilled corn-on-the-cob-in-the-husk that is offered at Lagoon. I just stuck the corn, husk and all, into the oven at 325 F for 10-20 minutes, then checked one by peeling back the husk and checking the consistency of the kernels. The flavor wasn't as good as the grilled kind (surprise surprise) but it was pretty good. In fact, when I asked Craig, he said he preferred this method to my usual (boiling shucked corn) and requested that I make them this way again in the future.

The Borski share arrived a few days later, with again, more of the same. Not a lot of variety in the late summer offerings, I suppose. And curiously, halfway through September and still no tomatoes. It's rather odd - I don't know what to do with peppers without tomatoes. Maybe that's why I keep having to give them away.

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
2.5 lb Red Potatoes		1.99/lb				0.69/lb	$4.98
1.06 lb Mixed Peppers						1.99/lb	$2.11
1.63 lb Peaches						1.99/lb	$3.25
0.94 lb Green Beans						5.32/lb	$5.00

You might think I've had enough of peaches after 4 weeks of them. If so, you are wrong! After all, I only ever receive 3-4 peaches each week. Well this week when I visited my mother to weigh in my shares, she offered me my pick of Utah peaches from a box dad purchased at a local food stand (these ones came from Utah, yes - not Oregon). After picking up a good dozen peaches there, I discovered their peach tree in the backyard had ripe fruit on it too, and snitched another dozen. (She has since forbidden me to pick anymore peaches from her tree - something about canning her special peaches).

Elated, I stopped by the local grocer on the way home and purchased a pint of heavy cream. Oh, yes. Peaches and Cream. In the first 24 hours afterward I ate 4 servings of peaches and cream, each using ~ 2 peaches. I caught myself feeling extraordinarily happy that day - I wonder why? Craig also enjoyed the peaches and cream, but I think he was a little confused as to why I behaved as though I grudged him every peach he chose to eat when we had dozens on hand. Well, maybe I did begrudge him for eating my peaches. Just a little.

I've included the recipe for my mother's Asian Salad, which I also made recently (Craig happily ate leftovers for lunch, so it's good!) Stay tuned next week to see if the last week of summer finally gets her tomatoes!

Recipe for week 12:

-----Asian Salad-----

2 T. sugar	1/2 head cabbage
3 T. raspberry balsamic vinaigrette	4 green onions, sliced
1/4 c. vegetable oil	1 pkg ramen noodles, dry
oriental flavor ramen spice packet	2 T. sesame seeds
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded	1/2 c. honey sesame cashews

Mix together the first 5 ingredients (sugar through chicken). If possible, refrigerate for 1 hour (longer is better.) Chop the cabbage coarsely. Toss with the green onions, crushed noodles (uncooked), sesame seeds, and cashews. When ready to serve, combine the dressing with the tossed salad. This recipe is even better the second day! Serves 4.

-----Peaches and Cream-----

2 fresh peaches
2 T. sugar (optional)
1/4 c. cream (not optional - though if cream is impossible then milk may be substituted for a lesser product.)

Rinse peaches thoroughly. Cut each peach into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl. Sprinkle sugar over the top, then distribute cream evenly over the surface. Eat and enjoy! (Serves 1 - me. It might serve 2 if you feel like sharing.)

The Great Utah CSA Experiment - Week 11!

This weekend we went camping with my family, and took along the fresh edamame (pictured at right) so they could all experience the vegetable with us. Overall, my family heartily enjoyed the beans, and they were gone quickly. I tested the pods, because I hated to see them go to waste and they tasted like normal green beans. I probably wouldn't eat a lot of the shells but one or two certainly didn't hurt me.

These next few weeks I head back to work nearly full-time, so it will be interesting to see how I manage the CSA process while juggling other obligations. This first share can be picked up after 4:00 pm on Thursdays, which shouldn't normally be an issue with my work schedule; unfortunately, I had to work late this Thursday so I asked my father if he would pick up my East Farms share for me and keep it at his house until I could pick it up later that evening. I arrived at ~10:30 pm to find the following:

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
0.68 lb Green Peppers (2)		1.99/lb				1.29/lb	$1.35
0.73 lb Onion		1.99/lb				0.99/lb	$1.45
1.07 lb Beets		1.71/lb				2.45/lb	$1.83
0.07 lb Anaheim Peppers (1)						1.99/lb	$0.14
0.63 lb Eggplant		1.99/lb				1.59/lb	$1.25
0.55 lb Green Beans						5.32/lb	$2.92
3.65 lb Corn (6 ears)						3/1.00	$2.00
5.65 lb Zucchini (1)						****	****

More of everything, and all veggies we enjoy. The zucchini was a puzzle, though. The CSA has given me a lot of zucchini, but never any that wasn't still small, young, and tender. Once zucchini gets to be the size of this monster it's really starchy and only good for a few things, mostly to be shredded and disguised as other things in dishes like breads or cookies. Also, it was stuck on top of the rest of the food, which was odd placement given its size and heft (I hope the picture included conveys the size of it accurately. The peaches and bottle are included for size comparison). I wondered if my parents had any need for zucchini, since this one was clearly much more than I needed. I looked around their kitchen counters to see if they had any (and might possibly want more). What did I behold? Only two more monster zucchini, suspiciously like the one in my box. "Hmmm. . ." I thought. When confronted, my father smiled guiltily and admitted to planting the veggie in my box. I don't think he thought he'd get away with it, but it was funny anyhow. I was happy to add a 6 lb zucchini to my load - I was delighted to have material with which to experiment on zucchini chocolate chip cookies. They turned out very well and were quickly devoured at a family party.

One note on the prices: I regret to inform you I've been lax in my duties of keeping this blog so the prices from store values are actually values from several weeks after this share came. It is my experience that as the season goes on, the prices fall, and I suspect the 'value' of this share was higher when it came. Regardless, I've given the values I have and hope you will forgive me. Also, I wanted some real sense of the value of this food as 'organic' which I haven't had in weeks, since my local grocer mostly carries only early spring greens and the like in organic. I went out of my way to get prices for organic goods from Whole Foods in this case. The story is the same on the Borski share I received, as follows:

CSA SHARE		Price(Organic)				Price ('Normal')	Value
2.29 lb Red Potatoes		1.99/lb				0.69/lb	$4.56
0.53 lb Green Peppers (1)		1.99/lb				1.29/lb	$1.05
1.42 lb Peaches						1.99/lb	$2.83
3.21 lb Green Cabbage (1)		1.49/lb				0.69/lb	$4.78

This share usually needs to be picked up between 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm on Monday, and I suspect it might prove a challenge to me with my work schedule in the future, but this week I was lucky and had the day off. We'll see how easy it is for me to meet the pick-up deadline as the season wraps up.

We were excited for our first red potatoes, and the peaches of course. The cabbage I tucked back into my refrigerator for use in my potstickers recipe in the upcoming weeks, and otherwise I forgot about it.

Recipes for Week 11:

-----Fresh Veggie Pizza-----

1 recipe pizza dough*
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 jar favorite marinara sauce (~10 oz)
1/2 medium onion, chopped coarsely
1/2 large bell pepper, chopped coarsely
2 large or 4-6 small tomatoes, sliced
1/2 lb. spicy franks, sliced**

Roll out the pizza dough to cover a cookie sheet size pan. Prick the dough with a fork and bake at 350 F for ~10 minutes until dough begins to set. Remove pizza bread from the oven and spread marinara sauce to cover. Sprinkle cheese over the pizza, then layer on the chopped onions, peppers, tomatoes, and sausages. Bake at 350 F until cheese is bubbly and begins to brown (~10-15 minutes). Serves 4.

*As you can see from the picture, my pizza dough recipe isn't worth printing. Maybe another day I'll experiment enough to get one worth posting. Or anybody who reads this can feel free to contribute!
**You can really use any meat you like, from cooked sausage to shredded chicken. I often substitute sliced spicy beef franks for the traditional pepperoni.

-----Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies-----

This recipe comes from the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It, and many other delicious recipes are available online through the website for the book.

1 egg, beaten	1 c. white flour
1/2 c. butter, softened	1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. brown sugar	1/2 t. baking soda
1/3 c. honey	1/4 t. salt
1 T. vanilla	1/4 t. cinnamon
1 c. finely shredded zucchini	1/4 t. nutmeg
12 oz. chocolate chips

Mix the wet ingredients together (egg through vanilla) and blend well. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg) and mix well before blending it with the wet ingredient mixture. Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful onto greased baking sheets and flatten the drops with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350 F 10-15 minutes. Makes ~ 2 doz.