This is the diary of our CSA share this year. The cost of a full share is $545 for 22 weeks (this CSA offers a winter share) which will bring us to the last week in October, and works out to $24.75 per week. Western New York weather is such that June is lightest CSA month. September and October will be more than abundant! Usually I feel I don’t get my money’s worth the first few weeks (which will be predominantly lettuces), but the fall bags more than make up for that.
I was shocked to get anything from our CSA this week. We had a lot of rain last Thursday, and massive flooding on Friday, so I expected a wash-out. But, our valiant CSA workers took measures to protect the crops before the heavy rains fell, and we did receive produce this week. It has been one wet summer here in New York State.
This week we had a choice of:
● Broccolini
● Cilantro
● Collards
● Garlic Scapes (to be used as garlic, scallions, or onions)
● Kale
● Kohlrabi
● Napa Cabbage
● Romaine Lettuce
● Peas
● Swiss Chard
● Various Salad Greens
● Yellow Summer Squash
● Zucchini
Hubby went with me, and chose what he wanted for cooking. The kohlrabi recipe we plan I will post here – we did it last year and it was great! The inset in this week’s picture is a close-up of the shell peas. Hubby chose those instead of the sugar snap peas… wonder who’s doing the shelling?
The CSA also had for sale free range brown eggs that came from laying chickens that were fed only organic feed, as well as quarts of cherries for $5 each. I bought one of each.
Do you belong to a CSA? If so, what type? How much? Do you find it as worthwhile as I do?
● Past CSA Shares
● Find a CSA
● NYS Fruit and Vegetable Harvest Calendar
● US Agricultural Data
KimH says
Yowza on those eggs costing $5.. I’ve had to pay $3.25 from our CSA and I thought that was ridiculous.. Thankfully, one of the gals Don works with has a friend who has free range chickens and brings him a dozen every once in a while. I doubt they’re completely organic but they are free range and they’ve a beautiful orange yolk and taste wonderful. Works for me.
Is your chicken a cull from a laying hen or is it a meat bird? $5 for an organic meat bird is unheard of.. I’d be buying a freezers worth at that price.. However.. if its a laying hen cull.. you’ll need to stew it for a long, long, time.. I get culled organic laying hens for $5 twice a year and what I do with them is put them in my big roaster and let them go for about 15 or 24 hours.. Remove the meat from the bones and put the bones back in, add water & veggies &/or veggie scraps and let it cook for another 24 hours… remove the broth & can it, then do it one again until the bones are pretty muchly falling apart, remove the broth & can it. I got some really great broth last year doing this.. I have one more jar left.. Its a terrible thing to run out of canned goods. 😉
The meat was still tough as nails so what I did with it was I chopped it in tiny pieces and made a big pot of chicken & rice soup & a big pot of chicken veggie soup. I froze the chicken & rice in individual containers and I canned the chicken veggie soup. If you want chicken & noodle soup, just add noodles when its time to cook or if you freeze it, you can add them before. Anyhoo.. thats what I did with mine. The gal I got them from says she grinds it up, then cans it, and makes chicken patties from them. I understand now why she grinds it up. 😛
Does your recipe for the kohlrabi use the greens too? I experimented with kohlrabi greens this past Monday.. I made “Stuffed Cabbage” out of them. They turned out beautifully with the exception of the bottom part of the rib had to be removed after they cooked. They just didnt soften enough to leave them alone. Im planning on posting about it on my blog today.. Check it out if you’re interested.
Your haul looks great!! I cant tell what everything is though.. what is in the left rear corner? Those peas are beautiful.. but I dont eat em! 😛 M’honey would love them but he wouldnt shell em if his life depended on it..
Ann says
Eggland’s Best are more than $3.25 here when not on sale… I think you got a fantastic deal! I have to change the wording on what I wrote… the eggs came from laying chickens that were fed only organic feed.
No to the greens, but I am posting a recipe Monday that deals with that.
The left rear corner is the cilantro. I thought Hubby was going to hurt himself when he saw it.
Ann
KimH says
I havent checked the price of Egglands Best in a good while, but last time I looked they were around $2.79ish.. and with a coupon could be had for close to $2.00. I’ll check next time Im in the store.
I mostly buy from the CSA because I want to support the local food producers mainly.. I know what Im getting, where it came from, & I can visit the farms any time I want.. Thats worth a lot.
Looking forward to the recipe.. M’honey isnt terribly fond of greens but with the CSA I make em & he can eat em or starve. 😉
& lol re: hubby hurting himself. Cilantro grows very easily.. and is quite pretty too… Give him a 1×1 foot block, toss down some coriander seeds (mexican spice rack is cheap & seeds are usually viable) cover em with a tiny bit of soil & up they’ll come. They like cooler weather so they should love Ohio. 😉 If you let some of them go to seed, they’ll reseed themselves too.
Ann says
Kim, Hubby has talked about growing produce in the backyard f-o-r-e-v-e-r. The blackberry bushes were his idea, and I think I’ve illustrated how that turned out. Anything that gets planted is on me to take care of, and I become more and more allergic to greenery as the years go by. I did tell him he could have that round, soil-island for an herb garden at least 4 years ago. My flowering plants are still growing strong on that island in the backyard.
Ann
KimH says
haha.. I hear ya.. theres always potting soil in a container.. thats how I grow it.. Dont have to do anything other than cut it down every once in a while. 😉 Im with you.. Im getting more & more allergic to the outside world every day.. it stinks.
TB says
I buy organic free range eggs at almost $8/ dozen. $5 seems like a bargain!
KimH says
OMG!! $8.00? Im gonna have to suck it up & not complain when I pay $3.25…
Ann says
Kim you could take a load down to VA one weekend, and an load to NYS the next weekend and make a bundle. 😉
Ann
Renae says
I guess I should start selling our eggs! I usually give our extra eggs away. I had no idea people would pay $5-$8 a dozen!