Week 20 Summary & Review

JYAEQM5GGHXA
Here is what we got week 20 and how I used it.

Apples - We at them for snacks throughout the week.
Brussels Sprouts - Brought them to my mom's house to go with our Halloween Dinner.
Acorn Squash - I baked them and pureed the flesh and froze it for use during winter.
Cabbage - A Cabbage Salad
Red Onions - Used for cooking through the week.
Mixed Greens - Made Salads through the week.
Beets - Roasted beet salad with walnuts and feta. It was GOOD!!!


And that brings to a close the 2009 Share Season of Maple Creek Farm. 


If you found this share interesting, please sign-up for their share program for 2010 if you live in their delivery area.  They are offering two share sizes in 2010.  A 20-week share to feed 1-2 people for $400 or a 20-week share to feed a family of 4 for $750.  All the 2010 share details can be found on their blog.  


You may think that sounds like a lot of money for 20-weeks of produce, but I can assure you that the produce is top notch.  Produce from even the best grocery store cannot compare.  And if you still think this seems expensive.  I suggest you watch Food, Inc. to get an idea of what "cheap food"  really costs you, our society and our environment.

Week 19 Summary & Review

Here is how I used last week's share:

Long Island Cheese-heirloom pumpkin - This pumpkin is waiting for a thanksgiving pie :-)
Mixed Greens - Made a couple of salads out of these through the week.  They were really good.  I find myself craving greens more and more.  I feel like in the absence of sugar (more about that in an upcoming post), my body is able to identify what real foods I am really craving, like greens, kale, specific fruits.  When I eat too much sugar, I feel like I just crave more sugar, not specific foods.
Chinese Cabbage - Made a Cabbage salad out of them with sesame seed oil and rice vinegar.
Apples - Snacked on them through the week
Acorn Squash - Found this recipe from Alton brown for Squash Soup and made it.  It was VERY good, but almost too rich.  It would be better be served as  cup of soup with something as a main dish rather than a bowl of soup for the main course.
Leeks - Used them in a Kale lasagna.
Onions - Cooked with them through the week.  

Week 18 Summary & Review

Here is what we got last week and how I used it:

Carrots - I peeled them and my son and I ate them for a snack one afternoon.
Apples - snacked on them through the week
Onions - used them for cooking through the week
Green Peppers - still have to stuff them and post the recipe here.
Vitamin Greens - Made a Vitamin Green Salad.
Potatoes - Used through the week, still have some left (truth: I HATE peeling potatoes, so I really have to be in the mood to make them)
Squash - I have a lot. On Thursday, I plan on making this soup.
Rutabagas - Adventure FAIL.  I peeled them and boiled them with 2 carrots and 3 small potatoes.  When they were done, I drained them and put them in the food processor.  I added some butter and turned the food processor on.  I really should have used a food mill, but I don't have one, so I improvised and added some milk to the mixture so it would run through the food processor more smoothly.  It was VERY sweet.  It would have made great baby food.  It tasted like I had added about 1/2 cup sugar to it.  Way too sweet.  But now I learned my lesson and my husband has a gift idea for me - hint hint.

Week 16 & Week 17 Summary & Review

Here is a summary of what I have done with the shares for the past two weeks:

Here is how I used Week 16's Share:
Eggplant - Pictured above, I stuffed them with a mixture of ground beef, onions, cooked eggplant flesh, salt & pepper, eggs and bread crumbs.  
Leeks - I cut them up and used it in a cabbage salad. I was half way into making it when I realized that I didn't have a lemon for the dressing. I used vinegar instead, but the lemon would have been much better.
Cabbage - I used 1/2 for a cabbage salad mentioned above and the other 1/2 for a Borscht Soup from the Pressure Perfect cookbook.
Green Peppers - I stuffed them with a mixture of ground beef, bulgar, onions, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt & pepper.  I put them in the slow cooker and had them cook in a tomato sauce (1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 1 14-oz can tomato sauce, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp salt, pepper to taste, and 1 tsp garlic powder) that I used the next day for a pasta sauce.  It turned out very nice, and convenient.
Acorn Squash - Saving for after the season, probably for some soup.
Apples - My friend let me borrow her food dehydrator and we made some yummy dried apples.
Delicata Squash - I still plan to remake them as a twice baked version, since I had some improvements I wanted to make from last time, but have to do it soon.
Brussels Sprouts - I saw this recipe for a side dish. I used hot dogs since it was the first time the kids ate Brussels sprouts.  They were really good, but the kids were still a little leery on them. I will persevere and find a way for them to eat them!
Mixed Greens - Salads throughout the week.
Summer Squash - put them on the BBQ for some end-of-summer fun!
Onions - Used for cooking during the week.

Here is how I used Week 17's Share:
Acorn Squash - Soup
Onions - Used for cooking for the week
Arugula - Arugula Pizza. It was excellent. My husband said it is the best arugula he has had in the United States.
Butternut Squash - Storing for winter.
Beets - I made this Borscht soup from the Pressure Perfect cookbook.
Brussels Sprouts - Side Dish. Made the same recipe from above.
Green Peppers - Cut up and froze for winter use.

Week 15 Summary & Review

Beet Salad with Feta and Walnuts

Here is what we got last week and how I used it:

Beets - I roasted them and made the salad above with feta, walnuts, and a vinaigrette made from olive oil, avocado oil, and balsamic vinegar. We also had some leftover roast chicken, so we all had mini chicken salad sandwiches to go with them. The kids had the sandwiches, but had a pear instead of the salad.

Onions - Used on the salad above. I have one left to use.

Cantaloupe - We ate it for dessert one night, and snacks the next day.

Green Peppers - I will stuff these. I am hoping we get a few more, so the each member of the family can have one.

Apples - Ate for snacks through the week and made these little apple pies last night for dinner. I had prepared the little tarts a couple of months ago. There were waiting in the freezer for a little inspiration. Yesterday seemed like a good day to pull them out and make some apple pie.

Acorn Squash - still plan on making soup out of them OR, a commenter left a good suggestion for this Roasted Corn Chowder with Acorn Squash.

Potatoes - Made some potato soup.

Broccoli - Made Pasta & Broccoli for the kids.

2 Delicata Winter Squash - I roasted these and made a twice baked version. I read that the skin was edible, but after the first 2nd baking, the skin were pretty chewy and no one ate the skin. I roasted them one day and did the 2nd baking the next day. I should have roasted a couple potatoes with them and mashed them up with the rest of the mixture of sour cream, chopped onion (prob about 1/4 cup), butter (about 2 Tablespoons), salt and pepper so that they were more rounded on top. The taste was EXCELLENT but presentation was lacking.

Kale - Kale Chips -- that I forgot in the oven after I made them. I turned the oven off to let them crisp and didn't remembered them until I turned the oven back on to preheat for the roast chicken on Sunday.....opps.

UPDATE: I said I was going to time myself this week, but I forgot until today, and will have to start next week.

Week 14 Summary and Review

Cabbage Soup and Biscuits

Here is how I used what we got last week:

Apples - Ate for snacks for the week.
Tomatoes - the kids ate them for dinner
Potatoes - Made some potato soup
Purple "Green" Beans - Still need to blanch, freeze and save for winter..
Beets - Roasted them and froze them for winter
Cabbage - Make the Cabbage soup pictured above. Added some white beans - very good. The kids aren't super big on cabbage soup, so I made them some whole wheat biscuits to go with them. Not the healthiest of alternatives, but it is a nice treat for them every once and awhile.
Peppers - Still saving. Think I will slice them and freeze for use in salsa for winter.
Purple Onions - used for cooking
Mustard Greens - I will blanch them and try using in what is turning into my "choose a green lasagna recipe".

Week 13 Summary & Review

Heating Up Leftover Lasagna with Beet Greens.

Here is what I did with last week's share:

Cabbage - Cabbage Salad with lemon juice
Kale - Kale Chips
Watermelon - Ate for snacks through the week.
2 melons - I cut them up and my husband and I ate them for lunch
Pepper - Stuffed Peppers with quinoa and ground beef.
Tomato - Bruchetta
Squash - Shredded it and made muffins for my son's snacks for school.
Apples - snacks. We had a playgroup on Saturday, and made some caramel apple dip.
Eggplant - just roasted it tonight. They were really small, so I will probably just chop it up and add it to something...pasta sauce, a bean salad?
Corn - served with dinner.
Basil - used in bruchetta
Potatoes - stored for cooking

Week 12 Summary and Review

Here is how I used last week's share:

2 Watermelons - Served for Leonard's 10 Years in the Mitten family get-together.
Tomatoes - Made a quiche and put one in it. I used the other one to make some Bruchetta for us for lunch one day. Walked over to the Give Thanks Bakery to get a fresh baguette to go with it.
Corn - Served over 2 dinners.
Onions - Store for cooking
Beets - I roasted them and frozen them for use during winter

Mini Tomatoes - my daughter ate 1/2 the package while I was cooking dinner, l used the 4 that were left in the aforementioned bruchetta.
Cabbage - Coleslaw
Green Pepper - Still haven't used them, making stuffed peppers tomorrow night.
Beet Greens - Ahhhh!!! What am I going to do with these things? HELP!
Squash - Still need to use them up. Might prepare them for freezing for winter.

Week 11 Summary and Review

Farro, Spinach and Mushroom Goodness

Spinach - Made this recipe from Whole Foods. It is fantastic and worthy of any high-end restaurant. It was really good. I used Turkey Sausage instead of pork.
Lettuce - Had my parents over and made a salad to go with our pasta.
Tomatoes - Put it in the salad and have one left.
Pepper - Still waiting for some inspiration... not quite sure, maybe a salad
Onions - Store for cooking
Melon - Dessert for when my parents come over. This was the first thing we tasted all season that wasn't that good. It wasn't bad, just bland.
Zucchini - Soup tomorrow.
Corn - We had it over the course of 2 dinners.
Potatoes - Store for cooking.
Cabbage - Made a coleslaw and brought to a party.

Week 10 Summary and Review

Here is what we got week 10 and how I have used it:

Lettuce - Made a salad

Tomatoes - Used them to make a tomato salad

Green Pepper - Still in the fridge

Onions - used for cooking, still have some left.

Squash - My BBQ broke, so I used my cast iron skillet to slice them and fry them in some olive oil. Then I cut them up and put in the broccoli pasta salad.

Corn on the Cob - Had it for dinner Wednesday & Friday nights.

Potatoes - Save for cooking use.

Green Beans - blached and froze them. Green Beans aren't my favorite, but they'll come in handy during winter when I can pull them out of the freezer.

Broccoli - Made a pasta salad out of it.

Week 9 Summary and Review

Here is how I used last week's share:

Onions - used for cooking (put some on the BBQ with our turkey burgers, they turned out nice)

Tomatoes - Cut them up for the salad.

Zucchini - Made Soup and we ate it all, I had been hoping to have some to freeze.

Cucumbers - made a salad and used through the week to make one of my FAVORITE sandwiches, Brie with sliced cucumbers.

Green Peppers - Made 2 tomato salads last week.

Basil - made a quick no pine nut (didn't have them) pesto.

Lettuce - Salad with the family

Radishes - despite some good suggestions from friends on facebook, I gave them to our babysitter who likes them.

Potatoes - Make the zucchini soup, have some left for cooking use in the future.

Green Beans - Have a few left, but used most of them when we had salmon.

Week 8 Summary and Review

Last week we got:

Cabbage (2 white) - Use 1/2 to make a cabbage salad, still have 1 1/2 left.
Onions - Used them all up through weekly cooking
Squash - Yikes! I forgot to BBQ it.
Potatoes - Make a chicken roast and used most of them up that way. I still have a few.
Radishes - They are waiting to be used.

Broccoli - Made the pasta salad pictured above. Got the idea from a Whole Foods recipe, but that had feta in it, and I used mozzarela because it is a little more kid-friendly.
Cucumbers - Sliced it up into matchsticks and gave it to the kids for dinner.

As you can tell, I still have a lot left. I had a lazy cooking week, just didn't feel like doing it. Not sure why, but I guess we all have them.

Week 7 Summary & Review

Last week we got:

Lettuce - Made some Salads.
Red Onions - Cooked with them through the week
Summer Squash - BBQ them two times. Brought them once to a BBQ, and did them once at home.
Cucumbers - Brought to a family BBQ for salads.
Cabbages - 1/2 of the white one went in this recipe for Ribollita. Used the other 1/2 and 1/2 of the red for a salad (salt, pepper, chopped almonds, rice vinegar, juice of one lemon, and sesame oil)
Basil - Made a vinegarette to dress a salad of Arugula I got from the farmer's market and the rest in the Ribollita.
Beans - Yikes! Still in my fridge. Hope I didn't loose them. Need to blanch them and throw them in the freezer for use later on.

Week 6 Summary & Review

Above: our dinner tonight. I needed something quick, so I made a mixed salad plate of bean salad, cabbage salad, and cut-up cantaloupe.

Last week we got:

Cabbage: Made the yummy salad on the right above. It was a last minute thing, I was adding things as I tasted without measuring but I think I added about the following amounts to the cut up cabbage: juice of 1 lemon, 2 Tbs Sesame Oil, 1/2 tsp celery seed, 3-4Tbs Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper to taste, 1-2 tsp. of fish sauce some sliced almonds (maybe 3 Tablespoons) and about 1/4-1/3 cup of sliced green onions.

Summer Squash: Grilled them with a little olive oil, salt & pepper.

Lettuce: Used it for two days of salads. I bought some feta cheese, walnuts, dried cranberries, and pecans to go with it. The first night we had company, so I candied the nuts (also added some cinnamon and a dash of salt). The next day I had what was left and added some fresh blueberries.

Beets: Roasted them. They are still in the fridge awaiting a good dish. Maybe I'll go eat them now...I'm hungry.

Broccoli: Broccoli & Pasta. Yummy. Still need to post the recipe.

Bunching Onions: Cut up and used throughout the week, probably still have about 1/2 of them left.

Week 5 Summary & Review - Kale Lasagna with BBQ Summer Squash

Here is what I did with last week's share. Even though we were on vacation, I managed to use it all up, I just brought it with me.

Lettuce - made salads
Garlic - hanging in my basement curring
Zucchinis & Patty Pan Squash - Zucchini Soup
Broccoli - We had chicken for dinner one night and used this as a side dish (there were a lot of us)
Kale - Made a pretty good Kale Lasagna as follows:

Kale Lasagna Recipe

16 oz. of Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
1 onion chopped
2 massive (or 4-6 medium) cloves of garlic
1 bunch of kale, washed and trimmed
1/2 cup fresh chopped Parsley
1 box of no boil lasagna noodles
28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes with Basil (I use Whole Foods 365 brand)
16 oz can of tomato sauce (I use Muir Glenn)
Fennel to taste (probably about 1 tsp)
Garlic Powder (probably about 1/2 tsp)
16 oz. of fresh mozzarella, sliced
salt & pepper to taste.

1. Prepare Kale/Ricotta Mixture. Saute onion and garlic until cooked mostly through. Add Kale, sprinkle with salt and let it wilt down (cover it to encourage it). Once it has cooked down, remove from heat, add the ricotta, 1 scrambled egg, salt & pepper to taste.

2. Prepare Sauce. Open cans, mix together, add spices

3. Assemble Lasagna.
* One scoop of sauce on bottom of pan
* Noodles
* 1/2 of ricotta mixture
* Noodles
* couple scoops of Sauce & sliced mozzarella
* Noodles
* Remaining ricotta mixture
* Noodles
* Remaining sauce & sliced mozzarella, top with Parmesan.

4. Cook :-) 400F oven for 25 mins covered, 25 mins uncovered. Let rest 5-10 mins. before serving. I served it with some grilled zucchini, and it was good!

5.) Enjoy

UPDATE (9/15/09): I tried this with Beet Greens, and it turned out just as good

Week 4 CSA Summary & Review

How I used our share this week:

Beets - Made this recipe from the New York Times. Mine looks nothing like their picture, but it tasted REALLY good.
Arugula - Arugula Pizza on Whole Wheat dough as planned
Vitamin Green - Vitamin Greens Salad
Music Garlic - Used it through the week. I have 1/2 of one clove left.
Kohlrabi - sliced it in the food processor and we all had it for a snack.
Squash - Made some Maltese Minestra.

Week 3 CSA Summary & Review

Here is how I used week 3's share:

Romaine: Chopped it all up to make a salad for my kids birthday party, above.

Garlic Scapes: Made a bean salad out of it and chopped up the rest and put it in the freezer to use later in a bean salad.

Kale: Made the bean & kale soup again tonight. We'll be eating it tomorrow for dinner.

Strawberries: Cut the first one up for my Whole Wheat Pancakes, The 2nd one up for breakfast the next morning, and the 3rd one turned into a freezer jam FAIL because all the sugar sunk to the bottom and it never solidified. I've made cooked jam before with success, and think I will stick with this in the future.

Week 2 CSA Summary & Review

Here is what I actually did with Week 2's share.

As you recall, week 2 had:

Strawberries (2 quarts) - Cut them up and ate them for dessert

Kale - Made this Bean & Kale Soup

Parsley - Used it in the Bean & Kale Soup above and in the tomato & bean salad pictured above.

Lettuce (2 bags) - Made 2 strawberry salads (we picked the strawberries, they weren't from the CSA) and 2 salads topped with the bean & tomato salad.

Garlic Scapes - Made the bean & scape dip. I also added them to the tomato & bean salads.

It's only been a week, but I've already noticed a couple of changes:

1) I don't default to baking. Normally whenever I had to bring something somewhere, I bake something. Since I had loads of lettuce to use, I brought strawberry salads. It was nice to be bringing something that was healthy and fresh.

2) Diversity at Dinnertime. Normally I cook a main meal and veggie, but since we had all the lettuce, it was nice to have a fresh salad with our meals this week.