Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Serenbe Farm CSA




Hurray! Today was the first Serenbe CSA(www.serenbefarms.com) delivery of the season!We got kale, turnips,spinach, onion flower stalks, green garlic, mint, bok choi, and lettuce... So exciting to see old friends and meet new ones at Strong Box West (our new pick up location). The fresh mint smelled so good my oldest son mused it would make a great mustache! We had our bags and we packed our bounty then headed home to swoon over our loot. Then I realized... We still had a few things in the fridge from the weekend market- not complaining-that we should eat first. We already had some carrot soup and some yummy greens and mushrooms! To go with our greens we made some onion flower corn cakes... They were so good with the greens- I would venture to say a perfect match. Though we were somewhat disappointed in not being able to come home and cook all our new veggies at once, we learned an important lesson. We don't have to eat them all the first day- they are supposed to last the better part of a week. Left us thinking about the great dishes to come tomorrow... Maybe a Kale Salad?

Monday, April 26, 2010

Nobody's Perfect!


As I start this blog, I would like to take the opportunity to say that nobody is perfect... Not even me! I love cooking and eating fabulous locally grown and raised foods but we all have that day when we're too tired to think. The whole point of this is to make everyone understand that anyone can do this. Anyone can prepare,cook,and eat good, local, clean food at home... You don't have to be a chef! I'm so very lucky that I get to be one, but when I'm at home, I'm really a Mom first. A busy Mom! So a lot of the food that's coming up on here isn't going to be fancy shmancy food... A nice Sunday dinner, yes. A fancy Wednesday night dinner, probably not.But, it all will be good food! It's not about perfection to eat good food, it's mostly about starting with clean food. We can work on your kitchen skills :) So if your starting at mediocre- good for you for starting!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Taylorganic Spring Fling!





Every Spring and every Fall Taylorganic Farm has a party for all their CSA members and loyal customers. Today at the farm... families, couples, and chefs gathered to celebrate all good things that come from the Earth. We toured the farm, we laughed at the pigs, we splashed in the mud, we picked berries, then... we ate. We had Grilled Alaskan Salmon, salad, greens and mushrooms, rice, pasta salad, and a vast assortment of desserts. All the kids had a blast and everyone left happy with a full belly. Today was a good day.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

What is a CSA?



CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture... Many smaller local farms form CSA Programs to benefit not only their farm but also the surrounding community. To join a CSA program you pay a flat fee upfront in the beginning of the season to receive a "box" of fresh harvested seasonal veggies, maybe fruit, every week. The farmer takes your money and buys everything that makes a farm go and grow then you get your food in return. This could be anything from seeds, labor, fixing a broken tractor, you name it... What you give up in choice you gain back in freshness, quality, and personal commitment to give you the best food available from a farmer you know and trust. When you join a CSA program your putting money directly back in to the farm, therefore into your community. Who can argue with that?? To find farmers in your area check out www.localharvest.org ...

Saturday, April 3, 2010

TaylOrganic Farm Volunteer Day!





Today was a great day with Taylorganic Farms... Farmer Neil Taylor welcomed CSA members and several new faces to see the farm and get a real farming experience. Everyone got their hands dirty with transplanting tomatoes, weeding garlic beds, and checking out the pigs. Farm volunteer days are a chance to get back to nature- show your kids where their food comes from... Or where it should come from anyway... The kids loved running around and exploring, laughing at the pigs, and learning about keeping bee hives to pollinate the plants. Doesn't get much better than a beautiful,clear,newly spring day to get your mind thinking of warmer months and bounty to come. Everyone one left with the satisfaction that only real hands on labor can bring,the anticipation of the fruits of our labor, and of course, a bottle of Taylorganics own Blueberry Cider.