Week Thirteen Share

Week 13

I finally got some corn this week!



We did a couple special orders this week. I don't eat pork, and we are so behind in our eggs. I traded Hinkebein Hills Pork Bratwurst and Pilgrims' Acres Eggs back for butter, cantaloupe, and another red onion.

Ozark Forest Fresh Mushrooms
Lee Farm Cucumbers
Lee Farm Green or Gold Zucchini
Eilerman Bros. Eggplant
Marble Creek Tomato
Kopmann Sweet Corn
Sunny Ridge Farm Blackberries
Ozark Mountain Orchard Blueberries
Heartland Legacy
Companion Baguette
Cantaloupe – special order
Butter – special order
Red onion – special order

Roy says the blueberries and blackberries this week are among the best he's ever eaten.

That tall stem seen in the picture up above is garlic. Here's Roy with a closeup of it.

Week Twelve Share

Week 12


Seven Thunder Bison--ground
Claverach Shoots
Thies Farm Beets
Lee Farm Yellow Squash
Berger Bluff Tropea Long Red Onion
Grass Farm Irish Cobbler Potatoes
Nermina's Sweet Peppers
Lee Farm Cabbage
Ozark Mountain Orchard Blueberries
Ozark Mountain Orchard Peaches
Mangia Angel Hair Pasta
Tomatoes - special order

I'd never cooked or even eaten beets before, so that was going to be interesting. I read that the leaves were edible, but I didn't want to deal with it, and I didn't have space for them. I cut the leaves off and tossed them.

The bison went right into the freezer. I've gone back to cooking a lot of chicken lately, but thankfully, the meats stay good in the freezer until I'm ready for them.

I was glad to get potatoes, pepper, and onion, since I've been buying them at the market throughout the time we've been with Fair Shares.

Isn't this the prettiest onion? It was almost a shame to eat it.

Week Eleven

Week 11

This feels like a missed week with the Fair Shares food. Roy and I went on another trip, away from home for four nights. This time, we left on Wednesday night, which is the day of our Fair Shares pickup.

My neighbor Alicia offered to pick up the food for us. She was curious about the "underground food thing" we do and she works just down the street. We told her she could keep all the produce and just give us the meat and specialty items. No picture for this week, but we did come home to a whole chicken and tortillas in the freezer, eggs in the fridge, and onions and pancake mix sitting on the counter. Thanks Alicia!

This was the share for Week 11:

Pilgrims' Acres Chicken
Ozark Forest Fresh Mushrooms
Lee Farm Cucumbers
Lee Farm Green Zucchini
St. Isisdore Head Lettuce
Nermina's Yellow Onions
Yellow Dog Pimientos de Padron
Eilerman Sweet Corn
Ozark Mountain Orchard Blueberries
River Hills Poultry Alliance Eggs
San Luis Flour Tortillas
Kimker Hills Pancake Mix

I felt bad missing the first corn of the season, but we got some in week 13 anyway. I didn't do much cooking this week between being gone most of the week and recovering from the trip for a few more days after that.

Week Ten Catch-up

Week 10


Biver Farm Basil Bouquet
Lee Farm Gold Zucchini or cukes
Biver Farm Cabbage
Yellow Dog Cherry Tomatoes
Eilerman Raspberries
Mangia Whole Wheat Radiattore
Hilty Honey
Companion Organic WW Chive Ciabattini
Ground lamb

Roy and I did a trade this week. Two of the items in our share were things we didn't want - ground pork and coffee. We got two frozen packages of ground lamb their place.

Raspberries - Roy thought the raspberries were past their peak - not nearly as good as some of the other berries we've gotten recently


Honey


Cherry Tomatoes


I loved having the fresh basil on hand. I even bought pine nuts at the market and made pesto sauce. We used it on bread, with pasta, and as a hamburger topping. I froze some so we'd be able to use it up after our next trip.




This was another success. I used this recipe for pasta primavera that turned out well. I used a bunch of vegetables on hand: cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, squash, carrots, basil and mixed it in with the whole wheat pasta we got that week.



It was even good cold as a side dish the next day. I liked it so much, in fact, that I made it again for Roy's family reunion picnic that weekend. I was able to buy the same pasta at Whole Foods. This is the first time I brought a home-cooked dish to this picnic, usually I get something from the deli at Straub's. I was really happy with it.

Week Nine Catch-up

Week 9

Roy and I went on vacation for most of this week, to Bethel, NY (home of the 1969 Woodstock festival) and Bethlehem, PA (home of a current progressive rock music festival NEARfest). I didn't do much cooking.


American Grassfed Beef - Ground
Double Star Cauliflower
Claverach Sunflower Shoots
Lee Farm Yellow Squash
Yellow Dog Lettuce
Yellow Dog Fennel
Berger Bluff Carrots
Ozark Mountain Orchard Blueberries
Ropp Green Onion Cheddar
River Hills Poultry Alliance Eggs
San Luis Tortilla Chips
Gringo's Salsa

Cauliflower


Carrots - I didn't get to use these during Week 9, but they kept very well. They're all used up now. I didn't have as much luck with the squash. When I got back from my trip, some of them were still usable, but not all.


Roy has really been enjoying the blueberries. I'm not a berry-fan, so he's had all of them.


This is cheddar cheese with little bits of green onion in it.


I made a cauliflower dish with cheese and breadcrumbs. It didn't turn out all that great. I labeled it crumbly (or crummy) cauliflower.

Week Eight Catch-Up

I haven't updated this blog in a while, but I've still been cooking and taking pictures. Here's what I got from Fair Shares for Week 8 (starting June 9th) and some dishes I cooked that week.


Troutdale Farm Trout
Ozark Forest Fresh Mushrooms
Lee Farm Yellow Squash
Lee Farm Green Zucchini
Lee Farm Leaf Lettuce
Girod or Dry Dock Green Onions
Blue Heron Radishes
DeMange Strawberries
River Hills Poultry Alliance Eggs
Centennial Preserves

Monster-sized mushroom!


I made a side dish by chopping up the squash and zucchini and cooking it in a little butter using this recipe. The secret ingredient is balsamic vinegar. Roy wasn't sure he liked the vinegar the first time we had it.


He had some leftover squash with the trout for lunch, and thought the vinegar worked really well with the fish.


I made oven-fried chicken for the first time, using a Fair Shares egg to bind the coating to the meat. It turned out pretty good.


I made my usual chicken spaghetti here, but I added a side of grilled squash. We've been getting a lot of squash and zukes lately, and it's hard to keep up.


This doesn't look like a very big meal, but it was enough. I sauteed the mushrooms in butter, grilled the asparagus, and roasted the chicken legs.


My favorite meal of the week was one I didn't cook. I'm a Facebook fan of the Pi Pizza restaurant. On the first day they used their new mobile pizza truck, they announced that they'd be giving away free pizza from it. It was in the Central West End, not too far away. I sent Roy out to get some, with the thought that we could maybe get a slice each for an appetizer. He brought home almost a whole pizza, for free. I love Pi.

Week Seven Share

Week Seven

Lots of new and strange-looking vegetables this week.


I placed a special order this week. The meat option this week was cube steak. I tried it a couple weeks ago and didn't really care for it. I got ground beef instead. I also ordered asparagus; we've been enjoying it, and the newsletter said the season for it is coming to an end.

Our Garden Butter
Biver Farm Potted Herb (Thyme)
Claverach Sunflower Shoots
Biver Farm Kale
Berger Bluff Kohlrabi
Lee Farm Pac Choi
Ivan's Head Lettuce
Sunshine Strawberries
Yellow Dog Fennel
Hilty Egg Noodles
Billy Goat Potato Chips
Ground Beef
Asparagus
Kreta Reserve olive oil

Several things I've never eaten or even seen before:

Kohlrabi

Bok Choy

Fennel

Week Six Share

Week Six

New York Strip Steak
Berger Bluff Cilantro
Ozark Forest Fresh Mushrooms
Yellow Wood Turnip Greens
Blue Heron Head Lettuce
Yellow Wood Broccoli
Sunshine Strawberries
Pilgrims' Acres Eggs
Sappington Market Honey Roasted Peanut Butter
Marble Creek Maple Syrup

I did a trade this week. Our meat selection this week was pork sausage. I don't eat pork, so we were able to put the cost of the pork towards any of the extra frozen meats in the cooler. I chose a NY strip steak. I've never cooked that before, but we'll see how it goes.

I've also never bought cilantro, turnip greens, and broccoli before. (The same was true of mushrooms a few weeks ago!)

Week Five Share

Week Five

This bag looks like it belongs to one of those stereotypical movie characters, walking home from grocery shopping with a loaf of bread and greens sticking out the top of the bag.


This week we got some nice specialty items, fresh pasta and nice bread. The complete list is
American Grassfed Beef Wildcard (we got cube steak)
Claverach Pea Shoots
Biver Farm Head Lettuce
Yellow Wood Collards
Girod Radishes
Girod Green Onions
Sunshine Strawberries
Mangia Fettuccine
Morningland Cheese Choice - (med. sharp cheddar)
Mel's Spaghetti Sauce
Companion Sundried Tomato Bread



I've always washed all the produce we've gotten from Fair Shares, but this is the first time any had actual dirt on it. The head of lettuce was pretty bad, and I threw out some of the outer leaves. My mother-in-law says it's best to wash the greens just before I use them, but I know I will never wash a single leaf of lettuce to add on a sandwich, in the morning when I'm making lunch for work. It's better for me to wash it all now and stick it in a Produce Keeper to keep fresh. I washed each leaf individually to make sure I got them all clean. As I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm spending the time on this. I miss pre-washed lettuce!

Week Four Share

Week Four



This week we got:
Greenwood Farms Chicken
Ozark Forest Fresh Mushrooms
Biver Farm Lettuce
Thies Spinach
Lehr Green Onions
Sunshine Strawberries
River Hills Poultry Alliance Eggs
Salume Beddu Mostarda
Companion Bagels

I've purchased whole chickens before, but I was a little scared of getting one from Fair Shares. I didn't know how whole they'd be exactly and what kind of prep work I'd need to do. Thankfully, they come with the giblets removed, just like they do at the grocery store.

I've never bought a frozen whole chicken before. The Fair Shares people said it would take three days to defrost. We're going away this weekend, so I won't be able to try it until we get back.

I was tired when I got home from Fair Shares. We walked there, and it was too muggy out. The humidity just zaps me of energy. I started to put the food away. Roy reminded me that I hadn't taken a picture of it yet. I had to pull things out of the fridge to document them.

Week Three Share

Week Three



This week at Fair Shares, we got asparagus, two types of lettuce, mint, trout fillets, kale, strawberries, strawberry poundcake, pasta, and some trades.

It was a nice day out, and Roy and I walked to the Fair Shares distribution location. I know some people love living out in the country, but I've always been a city-person. I love being around shops and restaurants and culture. Just being so close to something like Fair Shares makes me feel a part of the community. I live someplace cool. I won't be walking to pick up my food when it gets much hotter than this, or if I just stop on my way home from work, but I will take advantage of it when I can.

The pasta was a surprise. There was something on the list called "whole wheat and beet cresta". I thought it would be some type of vegetable, but it was really Mangia Italiano's Cresta Di Gallo pasta. I've never eaten beets, and I was kind of relieved that I wouldn't have to cook one yet. I'm excited about getting some things like fresh pasta. I've only bought it for myself a couple times before, and I never would have picked out this variety.

I am a picky eater. Fish is one of those things I just do not eat. But Roy likes fish, and he offered to cook it for lunch for himself. So we got it and divided the fillets up. One is in the fridge defrosting. The other, we'll keep in the freezer until he's ready. (I'm not a big strawberry fan either, but right now, Roy is slicing and mashing up some fresh strawberries to put on the shortcake.)

We did trade one item. Neither of us drink coffee, and one of the items this week was $10 worth of coffee from Kaldi's. We got some more olive oil and a pecan brittle candy instead.

All of this new lettuce is stretching my storage capacity. I have four produce keeper containers that are supposed to keep foods fresher longer. I still have some lettuce from the first week and some spinach and radish shoots from last week. I consolidated those into two containers and put the kale and strawberries into the other two. I put some of the new lettuce mix into a regular storage bowl, and I left the other lettuce in its plastic bag. The mint went into a ziplock bag.

Week Two Share

Week Two

This is my second week at Fair Shares.
This week had a Southwest/Mexican theme. The foods include tortilla chips, salsa, torillas, and Black Bean soup. There's also eggs, ground bison, gouda cheese, spinach, lettuce, and radish shoots. These radish shoots look more like rabbit food than anything else I've gotten so far.


There was one item in this week's share that I knew I wasn't going to like. I don't do spicy food. One of the items was a jalapeño marinade/dip. I was able to trade it in for another item, so I got an apple syrup. Not sure what I'll use it with, but it should taste good.

Week One Share

Roy and I picked up our first share of food from Fair Shares on Wednesday.

They have distribution points at several locations in St. Louis and the suburbs. The main location is in the city, near I-44 and Kingshighway. We pick up our food just a couple blocks from home, at the Trinity Presbyterian Church in University City. Roy and I went there, met some of the organizers and volunteers, and packed our new grocery bags full of fresh food.

Two reusable grocery bags


Two types of lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, eggs, goat mozzarella, ground lamb, olive oil, brown rice, whole wheat rolls.

We got so much lettuce, but I didn't have any other salad ingredients on hand. I hope I don't end up spending as much in the grocery stores as I did before the CSA! I've been buying a lot of new gadgets and different foods to go along with the Fair Shares food. I've bought a salad spinner, garlic press, an olive oil mister, and some new cookbooks.