I have a long list of recipes that I saw in various cooking blogs I follow and didn’t try yet. Sometimes, I try a new recipe right away, but sometimes it might take months! I still keep these “not-tried-yey” recipes in a notes file with the hope to try them at some point.
This recipe waited for its turn since October :). On Sunday, I finally cut the last pumpkin from my CSA fall delivery:
I used a half of it to make pumpkin puree and then make a baked cheesecake, and pumpkin muffins, and then I used another half for this recipe,. It was so good, I can’t even describe! I could not imagine such a “simple” thing can taste so great!
The best part is, that a giant mushroom and a red onion were from CSA deliveries as well!
I really liked it when on Sunday I managed to make breakfast with all ingredients coming from my local CSA deliveries. That’s because Urban Canopy cooperates with other local vendors to deliver the boxes which include eggs, mushrooms, and bread in addition to their vegetables. I could also use their chai instead of coffee, and then it will be everything… OK, next time 🙂
That’s hoe the box came – I ordered a chicken well!And that’s a box from my other CSA – Nichols Farms
I haven’t participated in the CSA for two years in a row. First, my CSA in Palatine stopped home deliveries, and I knew it would be difficult for me to commit to Saturdays’ pickups for the whole season. And this year, I already knew I would be moving.
Through summer, I bought fresh produce from several vendors at different farmer’s markets and asked everybody whether they were doing CSA. Several of them had a fall/winter CSA. I asked around and decided to try two. One of them, Nichol’s Orchard, had a short fall season with just seven weeks of deliveries, and another one, Urban Canopy, allowed to sign-up for a half-share (every other week, the total of four weeks. I think that this will help me to decide which one I will be doing next summer.
On Thursday, I had the first delivery from Nochol’s Orchard. I do not have a picture of the box because I had to be in the office on that day, and I asked Igor to wait for the box. Future deliveries will be documented :).
Anyway, the box is here:). And what I love about CSA is that I am exposed to a variety of vegetables previously unknown to me, and I need to learn how to cook them. This delivery included spaghetti squash, which I know how to cook, but only because of the CSA:). The new vegetable for me was sunchoke, and I loved it! I made it roasted, and it was delicious! I gave some to Igor, and I ate the rest before I even noticed!
There was also some kohlrabi in this delivery; I always liked it, but this time I wanted to look up new recipes, and I found a salad with raw kohlrabi and apples, and it was great!
I can’t wait for the next one, and I am so happy that yet another piece of my life is back, or rather I found a new version of it 🙂
There are a couple of places in Madison, which I always like to visit when I am in town. Unfortunately, two of them closed recently, but my second favorite store, vomFASS, is still there :).
I buy a majority of what I buy online because it saves time for the more interesting things, but sometimes buying in the brick and mortar store is a fun of its own, and shopping at vomFASS is undoubtfully a case.
I first started to buy stuff from the Middlebury Farms, because it was just good stuff, which other farmers didn’t have, and it was reasonably priced. And then they told their customers that they are going to do the CSA, and I jumped in because I like them and wanted to support!
Since that first time, there were good years and bad years, but that’s the risk you take! The best part of all this deal of CSA never failed me – the mystery of “what’s in the box” next week?
I try to cook everything within a week, and when I can’t eat it all, even with sharing with mom, I freeze the cooked food in small containers. It’s way better than freezing raw vegetables. The cooked meal, when defrosted, tastes not worse than freshly prepared.
I’ve already showed one of my deliveries several weeks ago, when I published my Cold Beets Soup recipe. Here is one more, from this week:
And this one is from the previous week:
Until mid-November, I do not think I will need to buy any greens, or tomatoes, or cucumbers. I will cooking and freezing lots of vegetable sides and making vegetable soups. And I will be sure to demonstrate if there will be something new and exciting this year!
Hettie's Reflections 