CSA and National Day of Action

Well, Isaac put away the veggies too quickly on Sunday for me to get a photograph and then I was too lazy to pull them all out of the fridge again.  So, here is this week's list: One head of lettuce, one cabbage, one head of broccoli, zucchini, beets, new potatoes, carrots, a bulb of fennel, and green onions. I am doing this from memory, so I may have missed something, but I think that is it. 

Isaac and I had a cooking marathon on Sunday, we made him a lot of food to take to Yellow Springs such as egg salad, cole slaw and Five Spice Beet Soup.  The soup was very easy, we cut up the beets as the recipe describes and roasted them with olive oil in a covered casserole dish in the oven at 375 for about an hour.  We decided to add some mushrooms for more flavor so we reconstituted some dried chanterelles in red wine for about an hour.  We got two beautiful red onions from Smaller Footprint so I sauted them in some olive oil. I added the beets, the mushrooms and the ginger and the vegetable broth to the pan and let it all simmer.  We didn't have pre-blended Chinese five-spice, so I "Googled" the ingredients and found that we pretty much had all the whole spices. So I ground those up in a mortar and pestle and threw them into the pan.  We didn't have any celery but we do have lovage, so I tossed in a small handful of the leaves at the end. Lovage is similar is taste to celery but a bit stronger. We use the stalks like celery sometimes as well in tuna and egg salad.  After all the ingredients simmered for about 10 minutes, I used an immersion blender to smooth everything together. I love this thing; it is much easier than moving hot liquid into a blender or food processor, but if you don't have one, you can use the others.  I ended eating the soup cold with a dollop of sour cream, it was very good. I was pretty aggressive with the spice, but I think I would still add more if I made it again. If you don't like beets, you may still like this soup, the "earthiness" of the beets and the rich texture is muted by the other ingredients. Plus it is a beautiful reddish color.

For dinner we grilled some fresh sausage and some thick slices of zuchinni that were marinated in olive oil. So simple and delicious!

I have to get on my soapbox for a moment once again, so please bear with me.  As many people know the federal budget is in deliberation in the Senate right now.  The Senate is proposing to cut "$1 billion for fiscal year 2012 to the Conservation Stewardship Program, the Environmental Quality Incentive Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program.  These cuts will require USDA to break contracts with farmers who have committed to conservation practices and they are disproportionate to other spending cuts"

Please call your Senators today! Here are some talking points.

Now, I know we can expect the government to fix all of our agriculture problems.  I am a big supporter of grass roots support, where the people make choices about their food and support their local farms. However, a lot of local farms rely on some sort of government program and we can't let the government undervalue the importance of sustainable, small and local farms. I understand that this country is in a financial crisis, but there are other ways to make sure that the budget is balanced without taking steps backward when it come to sustainable agriculture.

Stepping off soap box.
Thanks for letting me add that! I will be back with more photos soon. I'm  planning on taking some pictures of the garden for an update. We will also be taking a trip to look at more land this weekend, so I hope to have an update on that as well.

CSA Week 4 and Butter!

Our CSA bag is getting heavier each week.  The fare is changing from Spring to Summer vegetables.  This week's share includes: one head of red leaf lettuce, a bunch of kale, a quart of new potatoes, snap peas, broccoli, two heads of green garlic, beets, a head of cabbage, carrots, green onions and one zucchini.  I roasted the new potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. They are yummy just like that but you could add sour cream for dipping to make it even more fabulous.  I'm planning on making cole slaw with the cabbage and the carrots that seem to be multiplying in the fridge. I like to make a similar dressing to the creamy one I mentioned in a previous post. I want it to be a little creamier than the dressing, so I may add a little sour cream to the mayo and yogurt.  I love cole slaw the best when it is fresh and crunchy.

 

We bought duck eggs last week and I am going to try them in pancakes tomorrow morning.  Apparently, duck eggs are good for baking, making cakes extra fluffy and moist, pancakes included. I may try making some cupcakes later this week so I can share them with Isaac this weekend.  Also, they will probably make it into my now becoming, weekly frittata.  Here is more information about duck eggs for you to consider until my next post.

Tonight I was feeling a tiny bit ambitious.  I have had two pints of heavy cream kicking around in the refrigerator for quite a while now-past their "expiration" dates even.  We have a friend who makes his own butter so I count him as inspiration.  For additional information, I use the book Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century by Dick and James Strawbridge.  It is a very interesting book with many different instructions to help you become more self-sufficeint-from making butter to farming to collecting and filtering rain water to making your own composting toilet. (yay!)  The section on making butter was very easy to follow with lots of photos explaining the details of making butter from cream.  One thing I didn't realize is that I did myself a favor by letting the cream sour a little as you want that characteristic for making butter. In the book, they don't really explain why so I found out more information.  I must admit that the cream I used was not grass fed or organic, it was ultra pasteurized heavy cream that I bought while it was on sale in the late winter. I plan on using more local and grass fed cream in the future, but you don't have to, the cream I used worked just fine.

I used a stand mixer, but you can use hand beaters, or even just shake it in the container in which it comes. I added the cream to the mixing bowl and turned it on medium high.  I let it beat until the cream broke down into little butter clumps and the buttermilk began to separate from the butter.  I drained the buttermilk, added a little cool water and beat until the butter began to come together.  I strained more butter milk and turned the butter out onto a wooden cutting board.  I then added more water and began to mix and knead it with the spatula.  This is called "washing" the butter.  You are removing the remaining buttermilk. When the water runs clear (about three series of kneading the butter and draining the buttermilk) add salt to the butter (the book recommends 2% of its weight, but I just threw some in there). 

Kneading the butter

I then added chopped fresh herbs to the butter and incorporated it all together.

A combo of parsley, thyme and sage

I then rolled it up in waxed paper and put it in the freezer to firm it up a bit.  I made another batch with lemon balm, lemon verbena and lemon zest.  I plan on using the buttermilk in the pancakes and the lemony herb butter on top when they are ready to eat.  I don't have a fancy butter mold, but maybe I'll come across one someday!

CSA Week 3

We had a busy weekend so this is the first chance I have to do our weekly CSA update.  It still looks like spring in the CSA share: two heads of lettuce; one red, one romaine; three small heads of broccoli, a large bag of those peas that I am loving, green onions, carrots, fennel (yum!) and apple mint (super yum).

We also get a share from Smaller Footprint, but I didn't take a photo of that for the week. It is pretty similar except for the addition of radishes, swiss chard, and strawberries!

I went to the farm on Friday and helped out for the day.  One of the tasks was to pick strawberries for CSA shares.  After competing with spiky thistle, very tall grass and one angry bird squawking at us the whole time, we got to take home some literal fruits of our labor.  Tart and sweet. They didn't last long enough for me to consider what to do with them. We just ate them as is.

I made a frittata with spinach, garlic scapes, green onions and feta cheese last week.  Fritattas are easy to make and easy to take to work for lunch.  I'm planning on making another one tomorrow morning using the broccoli, onions, scapes and swiss chard.  I don't use a recipe, I just cook the vegetables first, remove from the pan, add the eggs (about 6) whipped with a little bit of cream to the pan, let them set in the pan and then add the cooked veggies and cheese.  Put under the broiler for a few minutes until set. I'll try to take a photo of my creation tomorrow. Here is an inspiring recipe for those who would rather have one. 
I haven't forgotten about the fava beans! I will make something with them soon.

Isaac and I are in the process of looking for our own little piece of land; 6-12 acres to be exact.  If anyone has any leads, or has a friend of a friend etc., please let us know!

CSA Week 2/Farmer's Markets

This is the first week that the Hyde Park Farmer's Market is on Hyde Park Square. This creates an increased visibility for the market, more space for everyone to walk around, more shade as the square had many lovely well established trees and possibly more traffic to the stores that flank the square if they are open on Sundays.
We don't live in Hyde Park, so why do we go to this Farmer's Market versus others? It really is mainly because Hazelfield Farm sells there and that is where we pick-up our CSA every week. We have met other farmers that we like and buy from every week.  The market is on a Sunday, so that helps too as I work on some Saturdays.  There are plenty of other Farmer's Markets to visit in the city and I would like to try to go to others sometime this summer.  Here is a list of just a few.
Not just a Farmer's Market but definitely worth mentioning: Findlay Market. The busiest day is on Saturday and there is a whole wing devoted to local farmers during the growing season. There is also meat vendors, bakeries, cheese shops etc.
Anderson: Saturday's 9:00-1:00
Loveland: Tuesday's 3:00-7:00
Sayler Park: Tuesday's 4:00-7:00
Wyoming Farmer's Market: Tuesday's 3:00-7:00
Northside: Wednesday's 4:00-7:30
College Hill: Thursday's 3:00-6:30
Cheviot:  Friday's 3:00-7:00
Here is a link to even more!
What/Where is your favorite farmer's market? 

We are beginning to experience first hand how much work goes into bringing food to market.  10-12 hour days are the norm for a farmer during the growing season.  There is constantly something that needs attention, whether it is mulching to keep the weeds down, or chopping weeds; preparing beds, feeding animals, sowing seeds or planting seedlings and much more.  This doesn't even include harvest days.  All of those portioned out pints of peas, or bunches of radishes were most likely be done by the farmer or their family.  All of this and then they still have to go to market and sell the product. Then finally they will get paid for their work.  Vegetables at the grocery store may be slightly less expensive, but most of it comes from large farms with large machinery and cheap migrant labor to help. Even then, those farmers don't make a lot of money based on the amount of work they put into the crops.  What I'm trying to say is that if you go to the farmer's market, know that most likely the money you hand the farmers goes into his or her pocket to take care of their farm and family.  This is the essence of a local economy that is waning in the time of large corporations.  Don't think for a second that a lot of farming isn't  part of a large corporation.  If you have ever heard of Monsanto, Cargill, Conagra-to name a few- these are agri-businesses that are pushing small family farms out of business.  By supporting local farmers, and other businesses you are investing in your community and getting fresh, healthy food in the process. By local I mean a 100 to 200 mile radius of where you live. Some people would even say buying American is akin to buying local.
Ok, I will step off my soapbox, in a moment.  It is not my mission to preach to people I don't want anyone to feel bad that they are not doing anything that I mention.  I just feel the need to let you know my viewpoint, where I am coming from. I am not an economist, I don't have statistics or fancy charts to back up my opinions. I am just trying to communicate what makes sense to me.  I encourage discussion, so please do not hesitate to ask questions and continue the dialogue.  Everyone has a different perspective there is no one right answer for everyone. Not everyone can have a garden, not everyone has access to farmer's markets, however, there is no denying that Americans need to eat more fresh food.  We are all creative and thoughtful human beings and it is important to discuss how we can try to create a healthier life for ourselves, our children and future generations.

Moving on!  This week's CSA varies a little bit from last week's.

Two heads of Red Leaf Lettuce, a bunch of green onions, swiss chard, carrots, garlic scapes, broccoli, snap peas (the sweetest I have ever eaten, I have to restrain myself or they will be gone in a day!), and fava beans.  The lettuce is cleaned, dried, chopped and put in a bowl in the fridge with a damp paper towel over it. I cut up a carrot, radishes from Smaller Footprint, green onion and scapes. Add some walnuts, Craisins and Parmesan slivers and we had some delicious salad! I made a new salad dressing this week, sort of like a ranch, but better. I added the following ingredients into medium mason jar, largest quantity to smallest. I don't measure, so the amounts are approximate. You can change the ratios to make more or less.

1/2 c. whole milk yogurt

1/4 c. mayonnaise

1/4 c. olive oil

2 Tbl. white wine vinegar (or lemon juice)

1 Tbl. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. honey

1 large garlic clove finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Any fresh or dried herbs you like 

( I added fresh oregano, apple mint, lemon and regular thyme)

Shake it up vigorously until emulsified. Enjoy!

I am still deciding what to do with the fava beans.  We bought a whole chicken at the market today, so I'm thinking about making this.  We have radishes, and the arugula in our garden is quite abundant, so that would use some of it up.  Or maybe I will just do something simple like this subbing the creme fraiche with yogurt or sour cream. I want to use what I have on hand, not buy extra stuff for a recipe. I know this will not always be possible, but I'll do my best.  I'm also thinking of a puree of some sort, like a hummus with the fava beans. I'll report back when I make up my mind.