Month: June 2015

Fri, June 26

Another yummy bundle again this week! It was heavy!

Here is the list of goodies in our bag for this week:
Green Onion Brats – 1.25 pound
Beets – 1 bunch
Kale – 1 bunch
Bok Choy – 1 head
Swiss Chard – 1 bunch
Cucumbers – 2 ct
Romaine Lettuce – 1 head
Cherries – 1 pt
Garlic Scapes – a bunch
Squash/Zucchini – 2 ct

I did much better with this week’s greens by prepping all of it at once and making a giant salad and then just eating it all week. I made the black beans and they were good mixed with rice and some butternut squash sauce. I also made black bean dip that was very good. The only thing that didn’t get eaten from last week’s bag was the bok choy. Well, I did try roasting some one night, but that was a fail. I think maybe I should just stick to using it raw? Or maybe steam it in the oven. I have some more for this week so I have a chance to redeem myself!

Lots of goodies for fresh salads for this week! I have never bought beets so I’ll need to research the best way to prepare them. I have eaten them cooked in salads and they were total yummers! My son is in town from California for part of this week so I’ll have no problem making sure all of this yummy stuff gets eaten!!

Since we will be out of town for the next couple of Fridays I had to put in for “vacation” for the program. It is convenient because they allow you to take up to 4 weeks of vacation from the program which means you get credit for that week and can make it up by either getting a double basket some time or using the credits on other products affiliated with the program. Such a great program. Loving tasting the difference of such fresh ingredients and knowing we are helping local farmers! Happy Eating!

June 20, 2015

Week 3 is off and running! Here is a picture of our haul for this week:

Here is the itemized list for our small omnivore basket:

Eggs – 1 dz
Chorizo – bulk, 1#
Corn Crackers
Black Beans – 1#
Green Onions – 1 bunch
Leaf Lettuce – 1 head
Bok Choy – 1 sleeve
Zucchini – 2 ct
Cilantro – 1 bunch

We were supposed to get strawberries again, but they pulled them this week due to quality. Then only unfamiliar things to me this week are the bok choy. I’m going to use it in a stir fry one night and then another night I’m either going to grill it or braise it in the oven. I’m looking forward to incorporating some of this yummy stuff into fresh salsa and guac as a Father’s Day appetizer along with our surf and turf we will be having tomorrow. We used mostly everything from last week’s basket – will finish up some of the veggies in a nice salad tonight or tomorrow.

I’m finding it a little difficult to finish things because I feel like I’m the only one eating it at times. I don’t want to make salad up too much ahead of time because after it gets washed it doesn’t last as long in the fridge. I think I just need to make sure it is on the menu regularly and stick to my guns! Happy Eating!

June 13, 2015

Picked up our bag of goodies last night for the Fresh Fork program and it looks good again!

Last week’s report – Oh, and just to follow up on last week – I’m happy to report that we used up everything except for (save for 2 eggs left and most of the flour that will keep) – the bag of mixed lettuces and the kale. The bag of mixed lettuces sadly got bad very quickly (like the next day). It came bagged in a plastic bag so I’m wondering if that was the problem. Thinking it might help I’ve already removed the red lettuce from the plastic bag it came in and will see if that helps. As for the kale, it kept okay and I plan to make some kale chips this afternoon.

Here is our haul for this week:

Here is the itemized list:
Whole Chicken
Broccoli – 1 head
Spinach – 1 bunch
Garlic Scapes
Lettuce – 8 oz
Strawberries – 1 qt
Kohlrabi – 1 bulb
Radishes – 1 bunch
Collard Greens – 1 bunch

There are some new items in this basket that will require some research/prep. Believe it or not, I’ve never bought or cooked a whole chicken before and it kind of intimidates me. Mike says that we should cook it on the grill with the “beer can method”. I’m not totally sure what that is, but he has never led me astray with grilling adventures. I have never used a garlic scape so I’ll have to learn about that and I’ve never cooked or eaten kohlrabi before either. Everything else is pretty standard. I’m thinking I might make sandwiches and salads with the radishes this time since we were not really fans on them roasted. I LOVE cooking down collard greens so that will be on the menu for this weekend sometime.

Happy Eating!

So excited! Last night I picked up our first bag from the food co-op we joined and I’m super stoked to start using it! I first heard about Fresh Fork from a friend years ago who enjoyed eating locally and raved about the program. It was always something I wanted to try, but never seemed to get it together enough to join. Then this spring I saw a post about the organization on Facebook from another friend and finally checked out the website. I was excited to read that the products come from 100 different farmers in Northestern Ohio. The priced seemed reasonable, the program flexible and there was a pick-up right in Hudson on Friday afternoons which worked perfectly for my menu planning cycle. So we joined and I waited for the first pick up!!

Here is our bag. We ordered the small omnivore bag. You just bring back your canvas bag every week and it gets filled with yummy locally grown food!

Here is the contents of our first bag:

In case you cannot see exactly what we got from the picture, our bag contained:
Pork Loin – appx 1#
Ramp Linguine – 1# (fresh)
Eggs: 1 dz
Spelt Flour- 2#
Red Russian Kale – 1 bunch
Radishes – 1 bunch
Spinach – 1 bunch
Leaf Lettuce – 1 bag

I’m excited to not only be supporting local farmers with this program, but also this will encourage my family to try new things! I don’t think I have ever bought a bunch of radishes in my life! Also, on their website and the almanac that they provided to customers the program provides recipe suggestions based on the items in the basket, which is way cool. The timing happens to work out perfectly for me too. Since our pick-up is Friday afternoons, I can use the ingredients in the bag to create my menu for the week and do my additional food shopping on Saturday! These things make me happy! I plan to post about our bag each week and also include any special or different things that I prepare with the items. Happy Eating!