Denver Locavore

CSA week 14

2008-09-23T18:45:00.002-07:00

CSA week 13

2008-09-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

CSA Week 12

2008-09-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

CSA Week 11: peppers and tomatoes

2008-09-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

CSA Week 10: Lotta peppers

2008-08-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

peppers,
3 kinds of tomatoes
watermelon, canteloupe, muskmelon
corn
and the return of potatoes and beans!

Week 9 CSA: Holy Tomatoes!

2008-08-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

We've been getting a LOT of rain the last couple weeks, so the food has slowed down a little bit, especially the potatoes and green beans and this week the corn too. But look at all those tomatoes!!

15, that's right 15! tomatoes
6 ears corn :(
watermelon, canteloupe, muskmelon
peppers, cukes, carrots, onions
asian eggplant
and a cabbage

Week 8 CSA: More Melons!

2008-08-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

1 watermelon
1 canteloupe
1 muskmelon
12 ears corn
3 tomatoes
tomatillas!
1 eggplant
1 asian eggplant
many sweet and hot peppers
much squash
tons of beets
1 broc and cauliflower

Week 7 CSA: Thai Eggplant

2008-08-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

Corn, watermelon, canteloupe, onions, cucumbers, golden beets, potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, squash, and thai eggplant!

Here's a picture of a meal we made:

Steven's potato salad, canteloupe, beet greens sauted in garlic, and corn on the cob!

Dig in! Here are my roomies doing just that...

CSA Week 6: Corn and Watermelon!

2008-07-29T15:48:00.000-07:00

1 watermelon
1 canteloupe
20 ears corn
9 pickling size cukes
3.5# wax and green beans
2 green peppers
1 eggplant
1 cabbage
6 onions
8 sm carrots
2 zuchini
1 yellow squash
1 Q-ball squash
1 broccoli
a heapin mess of taters

CSA Week 5: oops I missed last week

2008-07-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

2.5 # potatoes - banana fingerlings
1 head broc
1 head cauliflour
1 head romain lettuce
2 cukes, 1 zuch
6 yellow squash
1 Qball squash
6 turnips
6 red onions
2 garlic
1 purple bell pepper
1 # green beans

Oops I missed last week, I was frantically packing for a camping trip to Mesa Verde!

CSA produce week 4: first of the cukes and beans

2008-07-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

this weeks haul:
3.5 lbs red new potatoes
1 cabbage
1 head romaine lettuce
5 zuch
1 yellow squash
1 cucumber (first this season)
6 sweet spanish onions
6 chioggia beets
1 q-ball squash
3/4 lbs green beans (first this season!)
2 garlic

CSA week 3: Return of the Squash

2008-07-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

3 lbs yukon gold potatoes
2 white kohlrabi
6 zucc
1 yellow straight neck squash
1 q-ball squash
1 sm broc
6 walla walla green onions
2 garlic
6 beets
6 baby carrots

1 head lettuce (not in pic)

CSA Week 2: recap

2008-07-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

We didn't get through all of the different greens (turnip greens, onion greens) but we finished off the main veggies including all of the turnips, which where small and tender.

There was a lot of stir frying, which has always been one of my favorites, but perhaps we will need to branch out into a few more cooking styles as the summer drifts on. I imagine once the tomatoes start flowing we will move on to other styles of preparing veggies: more olive oil, less tamari.

Cutting Out the Middlemen, Shoppers Buy Slices of Farms

2008-07-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

here's a NYT article on the CSA movements

here are some quotes from the article:

Some shareholders said they found the arrangement a bargain compared to grocery shopping, while others considered it a worthwhile indulgence. Most agreed that the urge to buy and spend locally — to avoid the costs and environmental degradation that come with shipping and storage — was behind the decision to join.

..

The downside for people who are used to grocery shopping comes when they want fresh blueberries in January or, as was the case at Erehwon last week, the tomato plants needed more time in the ground because of a cold spring.

“We eat with the seasons, and there’s no guarantee that Mother Nature will cooperate,” Ms. Propst said. “That’s all part of the deal.”

CSA week 2: holy turnips

2008-07-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

Whoa there, week 2 is here already! This week's produce:
1 head lettuce
6 red onions with tops
6 turnips with greens
1 sm broc
1 large fennel
2 garlic
bag of snow peas
round zuchini (Q-Ball)
2 lbs red new potatoes

During the CSA season Tuesday becomes a day of excitement and shame. Excitement (like Christmas!) for the next week's vegetables, and shame for what has to go into the compost bin this week. (Well it all gets upcycled into happy compost for my home garden. This just in: Bonnie assures me the Tuesday Day of Shame is a thing of the past, this year we are going to cook and eat everything! Stay Tuned...)

We still have one Kohlrabi left to make from last weeks delivery, not bad for a brand new, unfamiliar vegetable. Tonight, we made stir fry and the Kohlrabi turned out perfect: sweet and earthy and a wee bit toothy. I've decided I will try growing that next year in my own garden.

This weeks challenge: 7 turnips! I like turnips, but 7? Stayed tuned for which turnip recipes work out best.

Purslane: Garden Foe or Good Food?

2008-07-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my garden is choked at the moment with the "weed" known as purslane, so I've decided its time to stop fighting this beast and start eating it instead. In his book In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan talks about how wild greens like purslane are an important part of many traditional cuisines, particularly in Italy.

This Wash Post article extolls the virtues of Purslane:

Their role in nature is not to torment you but to cover disturbed ground, to lay claim to any patch laid newly bare and thereby prevent it from blowing or washing away. In the process they provide food and liquid to any creature smart enough to take a bite.

Thank you purslane! I promise not to cuss at you anymore. Need more convincing?

The plant is rich in vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene, and quite high in protein. Most noteworthy of all, it is considered a better source of essential omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy plant. These are compounds the body cannot make itself, which are needed to complement the omega-6 fatty acids we get from grains and grain-fed meat.

As with everything else unfamiliar, try it stir fried. Or in a salad.
Here's one more good article on purslane

Tofu Scramble with Kolhrabi Greens and Chard Stems

2008-06-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is one way I've found to use up miskalaneous parts of my vegetables. Chard stems are beautiful and tasty. They have a bite like celery, but have a much sweeter and earthier flavor. Also I usually get the chard stems to myself, as my partner, who loves chard greens, never cooks the stems. (Fine with me!) The kolhrabi greens I tried for the first time this morning. Alas they tasted wonderful, but I didn't cook them long enough--generally greens should be cooked a few minutes less than chard stems. Not, however, kohlrabi greens, they need a few more minutes than the stems.

Tofu scramble

Kolhrabi greens (or whatever greens are available)
Chard stems
Tofu (flattened and crushed with a fork)
Turmeric (for flavor and to color the tofu like cooked scrambled eggs)
Asafoetida (a spice, it tastes great, but its a bit expensive.)
Shoyu (or tamari soy sauce)
safflower oil

Heat the oil in a pan medium heat
add the Kohlrabi greens (cook a few minutes)
(keep stirring the ingredients regularly)
add the chard stems (cook a few minutes)
add any additional greens
add the tofu
add a teaspoon or two of turmeric mix it with the tofu so it colors yellow
add the asafoetida to everything
add a bit of the shoyu

eat up.

Kohlrabi, Bok choy and Tofu stir fry

2008-06-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

The great thing about making a stir fry is that they are simple and quick and its easy to whip up using any available vegetables. I walked to my garden picked a big hand full of bok choy leaves, and a few other cooking greens leaves, a little Swiss Chard, a little Orach. I chopped up one of the Kohlrabi from the CSA and a third of a cube of tofu and voila! its a quick 10 minute meal. Its a good, tasty meal to make when you're home alone and want to eat healthy but not make a big deal of it.

Kohlrabi, Bok choy, Tofu stir fry
1/3 lbs tofu diced (soak in shoyu or tamari)
One Kolrabi bulb, peeled and diced
1/2 cup Bok Choy Leaves
Oil (I used high heat safflower oil)
Shoyu soy sauce (or tamari)

heat up oil
add the Kohlrabi and cook on high heat until ... (you want to add the other stuff)
add the tofu and shoyu for a minute
add the green leaves and cook until wilted

um... eat it. (over brown rice if you have some hippie!)

CSA Week 1: half share

2008-06-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

4 kohlrabi
6 green onions
2 heads lettuce: 1 red, 1 green
1 small bag snap peas

I'm excited about the kohlrabi. First because when it showed up last year, I didn't know how to cook it and second because my Mom and Aunt Ann Margaret called me up this Spring (3 sheets to the wind) demanding that I plant some kohlrabi.

I'm also excited because we are starting slow enough with the volume of food so that our house will be able to ease back into CSA cooking.

Hooray! I think I'll saute some Kohlrabi tonight.