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 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.)