CSA Week 11

Carrots, raspberries, potatoes (which surprisingly were purple!), and corn.

We also celebrated our third anniversary this past week :) We had delicious crabcakes (the best we've ever had!!!) with roasted purple potatoes and corn on the cob. The crabcakes were from Faidley's, a stand in Lexington Market. They have been ranked as one of the best in all of Baltimore, so we had been wanting to try them for a while. They lived up to the hype! Very little filler, lots of crab, great flavor but not over-seasoned. Faidley's even ships all over the county! Good to know, considering we will be moving in a little less than a year!

 

CSA Week 10

I usually pick up my half share at the farmer's market every Tuesday afternoon. This past week, I went straight home from work, due to torrential rain and flooding streets...so this post is a bit delayed.

On Saturday, my husband and I took a nice little trip to the farmer's market in a nearby neighborhood where our farm also has a stand. This CSA has various pick-up locations in and around Baltimore every day of the week, so if you miss one day, there's always another market another day. The market we went to is actually closer to our home, but it is much harder to commit to picking up produce every Saturday morning than on a Tuesday afternoon. My husband had never come with me to pick out our produce, so it was a nice treat to have him with me. Here's what we picked:

Onions, jalapeño peppers, Oriental eggplant, and seedless watermelon!

We also grabbed some breakfast at other stands - Belgian waffles (with the sugar crystals baked in), a chocolate, coconut, and caramel donut, some delicious coffee, and a meatball breakfast panini. Overall, it was a lovely morning at the farmer's market!

CSA Week 9

This post is a week late - sorry! I wish I had a good excuse as to why it took so long to post. But I don't. Just plain laziness! Here's what I got LAST week at the CSA:

Cape gooseberries, chard, zucchini, and Roma tomatoes.

"Cape gooseberries?", you say. "I have never heard of such a thing!" Well, neither had I! When I asked the farmer what those funny looking things were, he just described their flavor - sweet and kinda pineapple-y. He offered me a taste, and I loved them. And then, from the next stall, where they sell delicious baked goods, I heard a voice: "They don't even taste like tomatoes!"

Cape Gooseberries in their husk...and one naked one!

WHAT. I just ate a tomato...and liked it? For my whole life, I have HATED raw tomatoes. I've tried tomatoes many times and every time I've spit them out. But this one was different. It actually tasted good! Since I've brought them home with me, I've been popping them in my mouth and adding them to salads. They taste kind of fruity and most definitely not like any tomatoes I've ever tried before. Maybe all you tomato lovers were on to something... 

CSA Week 8

Two months down! Here's what was picked this week:

Cucumbers, lettuce, corn, red potatoes

I can already tell you that there won't be any posts about this produce - the cucumbers and lettuce will be used on salads and sandwiches, the corn will be boiled and eaten right off the cob, and the potatoes will be halved and roasted. I was hoping for some more substantial produce, such as broccoli, cauliflower, or snap peas, but there were none this week. This week did mark the return of chrysanthemum greens (YUCK). I told the farmer that I had tried them the last time they were at the market and I didn't really like them. He did not seem surprised.

CSA Week 7

Corn, lettuce, squash, and onions!

CSA Week 6

Cauliflower, green leaf lettuce, eggplant, and pattypan squash.

CSA Week 5

Broccoli, red potatoes, red spring onions, and cucumbers.

CSA Week 4

Here's what I got this week! Lettuce, yellow squash, beets, and cauliflower. I am a bit behind in posts but there are a few good recipes coming up!

And here is Winnie, completely unimpressed by lettuce:

CSA Week 3

Here's this week's share from the farmer's market:

Spinach, red leaf lettuce (I like to eat salad!), strawberries, and zucchini! This should be a tasty week :)

CSA Week 2

Here's what was picked today at the farmer's market:

Red leaf lettuce, beets, strawberries, and edible chrysanthemum greens (the fern-like green plant between the beets and the strawberries).

Like the mizuna from last week, edible chrysanthemum is commonly used in East Asian cuisine. I was told the stalk tastes similar to carrots (I would describe it more similar to celery), and the leaves are rather bitter and salty when eaten raw. The recommendation from the farmer was to stir fry it quickly or boil it...but the results of that will be in a later post. And yes, the edible chrysanthemum is a different species of the more common flower which is often seen in autumn. I already know what I plan to do with the rest of this week's share:

Lettuce: salads
Beets: roasted and then added to salads
Strawberries: eaten plain and possibly in salads...if I don't eat the whole pint first!

Looking forward to some yummy meals this week!

And a little farmer's market humor to end the post -

...And We're Back!

That was quite the hiatus, huh? Well, after a long break, Lizzil 'n Things is back in action! And there's no better time than today, since the CSA has started again! Nothing says summer like farmer's markets and fresh produce! Here's the view from today's stall:

And without further ado, here's what I picked up this week:

Rainbow chard, strawberries (!!!!!), asparagus, and mizuna. I never saw asparagus or mizuna last year, so it seemed right to snatch them up. To be honest, I never even heard of mizuna before. The woman behind the stall wasn't so familiar with this item but said it would be good in salads. After some brief research (thank you, Internet), I've learned that mizuna is a Japanese green, similar in taste to mustard greens or arugula. It is mostly consumed raw or lightly sautéed, and it seems to be a popular addition to stir-fry, rice dishes, soups, and salads. Considering mizuna's versatility, it doesn't seem like I should have a problem cooking with it!

I promise to write a few posts to update you with what's been going on since I last wrote, so keep watching for those. Thanks for your patience :)

CSA Week #25: The End.

Wow. It is hard to believe 25 weeks went by that quickly! I really enjoyed our half share of the CSA, and it is definitely something that I'd do again. At times, it was hard to come up with new and different ideas for the produce that was available. It was a great way to change things up in the kitchen and experiment with new foods and new cooking techniques. For anyone who enjoys cooking (or eating), I would recommend participating in a local CSA - it is a great way to support local farms, and nothing beats fresh produce!

Here's what the last four picks of the season were:

Butternut squash, kale, beets, and arugula.

Some of my favorite recipes from the past 25 weeks are listed below:

• Butternut Squash Lasagna
• Mexican Poblano Chile Lasagna
• Pepper Poppers
• Eggplant Caponata
• Pasta with Swiss Chard and Goat Cheese
• Purple Sweet Potato Fries

Even though the CSA has ended, I still have a few (ok, maybe more than a few) recipes that still need to be posted. Keep checking back to see what I've cooked!

CSA Week #24

One week left - how quickly time flies! Here's what was picked up this week:

Pimiento peppers, spinach, red potatoes, and chard!

CSA Week 23

This week's CSA was picked up a little later than normal - I usually get produce on Tuesdays from the farmer's market, but this past week (and next week, too) I had a work field trip so I missed the usual pick up. Instead, I got the produce at this cute little general store that had tons of local produce, meat, and diary items. There were a lot of bulk food bins, too, so I picked up some banana chips - YUM!

Here's what I got:

Acorn squash, broccoli, arugula, and purple sweet potatoes!

CSA Weeks 21 & 22

I wish I had a more exciting reason to explain the hiatus in posting updates, but I was really just kind of lazy. Catching up on the DVR while laying on the couch lazy. That didn't stop me from taking pictures, though! Here are the past 2 weeks of produce from the CSA:

Week 21: lettuce, eggplant, orange cauliflower, and broccoli.











Week 22: kale, delicata squash, green peppers, and jalapeño peppers.

I promise to update more this weekend - there are lots of pictures waiting to be uploaded to my computer! Stay tuned!

CSA Week #20

Here are the goodies from this past week at the farmer's market:

Butternut squash, red beets, potatoes, and kale.

I've been on a huge beet kick recently (have you noticed how many times they've appeared in these weekly pictures?) - I am really enjoying them roasted and chopped up in salads. My go-to lunch has been lettuce, cucumbers, roasted beets, and a chopped up veggie burger patty...with ranch dressing!

The butternut squash and kale will be going in a lasagna, but I haven't figured out what to do with the potatoes. Any suggestions? I'm hoping for something more exciting than mashed or roasted potatoes. Anyone have a different way to make potatoes that they'd like to share?

CSA Week #19

There are only 6 weeks left of the CSA! Where did these past 5 months go??? It is really hard to believe that this year has gone by so quickly. Do I say that every week? Oh well. Here's what was ripe for the picking at the market on Tuesday:

Kale, golden beets, an acorn squash (or a "little green pumpkin", as my husband called it), and some more purple sweet potatoes! I am a little behind in posting what I've made recently, but I promise it will be worth the wait!

CSA Week #18

It seems to be that summer is truly over -  I got the last of the onions and the last of the cherry tomatoes from this year's crop. And those purple potatoes...don't be deceived! They're not the same purple potatoes as last time; these ones are SWEET potatoes. And that's some pretty nice broccoli. A nice end of summer/start of fall haul :)

CSA Week #17

It's hard to believe there are only 2 months left of the CSA - we're closer to the end of the CSA than we are to the beginning. Time has flown by pretty quickly, but every week there are always some surprises at the farmer's market. Here's what was picked up this week:

Popcorn on the cob! Butternut squash! Beets! Kale! Looks like it will be a yummy week!

CSA Week #16

Fall is definitely right around the corner. It was obvious by the huge variety of winter squashes that were available this week! However, summer still refuses to leave - it's been close to 80 degrees here these past few days! Here's what came from this week's farmer's market:

Spaghetti squash, yellow watermelon, broccoli, and sweet potatoes! We made the spaghetti squash last night for dinner...but forgot to take a picture. Oops! It seems like it will be a regular at the market for the next few weeks, so there will be other photo ops in the future.