The result? I have spent a lot of money on tomatoes, lettuce and peppers - things I would have typically bought at the market or grown myself. No okra, kohlrabi, or other produce that would have branched us out of our culinary comfort zones.
The last two week's shares have been particularly disappointing in terms of size - about half of what was expected when I signed up. It seems, though, that the produce may be picking up.
This week's e-mail from my CSA stated:
Well, we are about out of our slump this week. We expect the shares to be approx
30% below this week and beginning to get back up to size on week 9. We envision
our shares to be up to full size and value again on Week #10. ...We
understand not every farmer is having a slump right now, however we feel it’s
pretty common for each produce farmer to have a lull or two throughout the
season.
My share included some green tomatoes, more peppers (I am to the point of freezing "fajita kits" now) and lots of dill and basil.
Facing company this weekend, my little chef and I took an "everything in the pot" approach to dinner Friday night.
Everything in the Pot pasta
We tossed a package of pasta with the following:
- roma tomatoes from our container garden
- ice tomatoes (a yellowish white tomato the size of a cherry tomato) from our container garden
- yellow onion
- olive oil to sautee
- can of white northern beans
- garlic, garlic, garlic
- basil from CSA (and purple basil from my pot)
- oregano and rosemary from the pots
- splash of marsala
- 1/2 package leftover shaved carrots
- parmesan cheese
It was a success - even with my father, who cringes at the site of anything remotely resembling a casserole.
As for the rest? The little guy is getting zucchini this week at day care, and the sitter and I plan to put my dill with her cucumbers to make some pickles.
Link to the CSA blog removed Jan. 30, 2009. Want a CSA for 2009? Find CSA programs in Indianapolis or Bloomington, Indiana, by visiting this posting, or visit localharvest.org to find one near you! ]
I love the pot meals. It's amazing how good most of them turn out and no two are ever quite the same.
ReplyDeleteMy toss-it-in-the pot meal last night included onion, yellow squash, kale, sweet potato, cooked pinto beans, salsa, garlic, and olives I cured myself last year. Everything else was from the CSA except the store-bought salsa. The stock was homemade from the freezer and I added whole wheat couscous at the end to thicken it all up.