CSA & Market Report for June 30th

Happy Birthday Dad!!

What a lovely day today.  Just for the record, it's interesting to note that this week last year was also lovely.  Thanks to the rain we got this week, we had a much-needed boost in growing.  The market is in full swing, a few old favorites were back for the first time, and we're off to a great start for the summer growing season.  I am ashamed to say I didn't do anything very exciting with last week's CSA.  I don't know if it was the heat or what, but I was very lazy with cooking this week.  Shame on me! 

First of all, an open letter to would-be line cutters: I know you think I'm so nice and polite and everything, but just because I stand quietly in line awaiting my turn like I was taught in kindergarten doesn't mean you can get in front of me (that means you, middle aged woman with the fanny pack who I learned later works in the church down the road).  The next time I am cut in line, you will get a lesson in stringing together a 45 second, profanity laden insult so blue it might actually take physical shape and follow you around for the next week.  I've been in the restaurant business for years, and I've learned a thing or two about how to bring out the shame.  I'm tired of it.  Grow up.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Okay!  Now, on with this week's shopping!

Today's CSA included zucchini, eggs, salad greens, a head of cauliflower, and some garlic.

Also from the North Market, I picked up my requisite week's worth of shitake mushrooms from Toby Run.  I was pleased to see that Quiver Full farm was back this year; they mill their own cornmeal and a variety of wheats.  It can be difficult to get locally grown & milled grains, so I always like to support them.  They also had a delicious popcorn blend (pictured above), and I bought 2 bags.  Husband and I are popcorn fiends, and it seems we are always running out.  I also bought my weekly bags of squash blossoms from Comb's Farms; this past week Husband made dinner and simply sauteed 2 zucchini and then added the squash blossoms to the saute at the last minute.  It was beautiful and very tasty.  You might not think, at first, that the blossoms would add anything, but they do give it this je ne sais quois - it might just be that they're so pretty they make everything taste delicious, and if that's the case well then, so be it.  They also provided some arugula.

From H-W Organics, I picked up some nice fat red onions, brown onions, new potatoes, and some sweet peas.

I love to buy things I've never tried before.  This week, that was two varieties of microgreens - fennel (above) and arugula (below).  I love microgreens, and for those of you who haven't tried them yet, then what are you waiting for?  The fennel greens, with the seeds still attached, are intensely fennel-y.  The arugula micros are delightfully hot and would make an amazing addition to a roast beef sandwich.  I'll have to remember that this week.  I'll have to combine them with some of the full-grown arugula and then we can have arugula two ways.  I also picked up some tender young collards.

I swung through the interior of the Market to pick up Husband's croissant from Omega, and for some nice thick cut bacon from Blues Creek.  Have to have something to cook up with those collards!  And some cornbread with the cornmeal from Quiver Full!  I'm so glad we have a few days off this week!

I headed up to the Worthington market, scooping up some of Rohini's hot pepper chutney, the last bag of (shelled!) sweet peas from Cottage Gardens, and loads of cherries from Gillogly Orchards.  This week I bought some bings and some Royal Anne (what Ms. Gillogly referred to as "Ranier wannabes") cherries, just for eating out of hand (above).  Cherries are my favorite fruit for simply eating straight.  Well, they are until nectarine season begins.  By the way, there will be a few peaches and nectarines this year.  Many were lost in the frost, but after speaking with a few farmers, it seems they will have a crop, just a small one.  So get there early.  And I mean early.  By the time I arrived at Gillogly this morning, 1/2 hour after the official opening time of the market, they had already sold out of blueberries!

I bought some ribeyes and short ribs from Up the Lane cattle, some beets from the Golden Beet Farm (where, alas, all of the golden beets were sold to the person in front of me), some zucchini and broccoli from Wenger's Produce, some ground chicken and hot Italian Sausage from Oink Moo Cluck, some purple potatoes (above) and I'm sure something I'm forgetting.

I stopped at Clintonville for a minute because I'd scoured the markets all morning in search of kohlrabi to no avail.  My dogged kohlrabi suppliers, Pop & Judy (who also supply the kitties with catnip sachets and Husband and I with popcorn), have retired for the year.  Fortunately, the Sippels still had loads of kohlrabi, as well as the first baby squash I've seen so far this year.  Alas, I took my out-of-cashedness as a sign it was time to go home, and called it a day.

Then I got home and made this for lunch.  Farm fresh new potatoes and sweet peas, tossed in a little extra virgin olive oil with salt and pepper, topped with leftover brisket from Weiland's, and some of those yummy arugula sprouts (perfect with beef, it's confirmed):

What did you get?

Comments

[Jennbecluv]

Lisa - excellent report, as always! I love that you got to the market and buy more than you can carry out! Kindred spirits a state apart. As squash comes into season in Columbus (it's already at full tilt in Philly), give pickling them a try! It's funky and fun. :) A reader on my blog just posted a great recipe for fried squash blossoms that I fully intend to give a go. But I'm thinking first I might do your husband's saute dish. I've only had the blossoms fried so hadn't thought of just tossing them in at the end of a dish for extra sexiness.

[Andrew Hall]

We are not in disagreement. I am not at all unhappy and encourage anyone to purchase meats from the farmer's market. The quality of the grass-fed beef (Up-the-lane, right?) is superior to nearly all other options. It would be better not frozen though. (And aged, but that is a whole seperate issue.)

Once a year or so, I get steaks from Peter Lugar's which are in a class occupied by few. I freeze some and while they are better than 99% of alternatives, they are just a bit lesser than the unfrozen.

A.

[lisa the waitress]

No. I'm not positive on that. I brought it up because NPR told me that was the state of USDA approved meat processing facilities, and how it affects the farmers who have to make use of them. Sadly, I don't have the time to root through the USDAs specific guidelines, and the thought of doing so is too mind numbing to continue. Blues Creek is different because they are operating out of a facility where they have access to stable refrigeration, which people selling at the farmer's market don't. Furthermore, Blues Creek does not make use of a meat packing plant. They cut their own meat and do not operate with the same restrictions as those who have to make use of a meat packing plant to process the cow from slaughter to specific cuts.

Fortunately, there are many places where you can purchase meat which isn't frozen, and if you are unhappy shopping at the farmers markets, then there are numerous alternatives.

I personally had for dinner last night a wonderful ribeye purchased from Up the Lane at the Worthington market, which was rock hard when purchased and thawed in cold running water. It was miles better than anything which could be purchased in a conventional grocery store, and, according to my tastes, was one of the best pieces of beef I have consumed, frozen or not.

Of course, as with all things on my website, everything written is entirely my opinion, unless otherwise stated.

[Becky]

My CSA for the week contained:
cauliflower, broccoli, two cabbages, a head of lettuce, an onion, several zucchinis, several cucumbers, four tomatoes, three bell peppers, and another yummie watermelon.

My csa owners are good friends with a few amish farmers in western Ohio and eastern Indiana and get some things from them for the CSA boxes. The tomatoes, for instance, I know were started early in hoop houses to keep in the warmth and keep the frost out. The watermelon is alot sweeter and flavorful than the grocery is currently carrying, but I'm not sure where it originated at.

I was promised fresh honey for next week. A few of the hives are really full, so he's going to extract some already!

[Andrew Hall]

USDA Frozen Regs:

Are you sure on that? From talking with the folks at Blues Creek, that is not the sense I get. The merchants at the farmer's mkts seem to process their meats as they can which is often mid-week and have to freeze to bring to market.

We could also be talking about freezing in different terms. IIRC, the regs for meats require temps belows the freezing point of water, but which is not enough to freeze solid the water in meat since it is composed of water + salts/proteins/etc. The frozen meats from the markets are all done to something like -10 C which is required for longer term storage and is solid frozen.

It has been a while since I checked into this though and I will chat with Blues Creek next time I am down there.

I think the same is true with fish and I am pretty sure 'sashimi grade' is not a legally regulated term in the US. While 'fresh' has a certain cachet, I do hope that fish caught from ships which go on extended voyages is cut and frozen right at catch regardless of what the final merchant labels it.

A.

[lisa the waitress]

Rosie - I heard someone at the market say they are retiring early this year; they are "getting on in years," so I think they are just going to be doing the Spring markets.

[Rosie]

Hey Lisa -

I am missing Pop and Judy - what's up?

[lisa the waitress]

A - Just for the record, most third-party USDA approved processing plants require that meat (especially beef) leaves the plant frozen, so there is practically no way to avoid purchasing frozen meat at the market.

It's the same with fish. It's nearly impossible to purchase truly fresh fish, it's nearly all frozen at some point. All fish sold for sashimi is required to be frozen at a certain temp for a certain amount of time.

[Andrew Hall]

Can I add a little rant about people at the Worthington Mkt - Is it too much to ask that people who bring their dogs to crowded public spaces like the sidewalk at market time actually train their dogs to heel?

It was very nice day at the same trio of markets. Biked to NM w/ my son at 8 sharp and finally got to chat w/ Adam & Todd and get the same lovely collards as well as pretty tiny squashes (which went on a ratatouille pizza inspired by the movie). Glad to see the Quiver Full back to as their grains are the best. And since you keep raving about them, I got some mushrooms - much, much better than my previous experience when they first started selling there. Merci.

Returned son to home and made the longer ride to Worthington and Clintonville. We have really taken a liking to the burgers (if only they weren't frozen ...) from the grass-fed beef people at WFM. Suprising good local tomatoes (greenhouse). And the organic cheese producer has horrid cheddar, but delicious and texturally perfect mozzarella.

A.

[kat]

i hit two markets - our tiny one here in bowling green and the much larger in toledo. i got: tender, young, rainbow swiss chard, two bunches of kohlrabi, a beautiful head of broccoli, strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries, turnips, turnip greens, tiny new potatoes, a basket of miscellaneous squash (patty pan, kusa, yellow), kale (a gigantic bunch for $.75!), cucumbers and...i think that's it. and the anderson's had fresh figs, so i am stoked. today i make black raspberry pie (the dough is chilling as we speak) with raspberries i picked myself, for $2.50 a pound! oh, i love this time of year.

[Ben]

you ought to do more posts about meat, it so often is just an afterthought it seems like

[Jenn]

CSA was a head of cauliflower, broccoli, watermelon, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, lettuce, and cabbage. I had a lazy market day and picked up an Amish throw rug for a steal, 3ftx5ft fot $15), my usual honey, some whole grain bread, eggs and oxtail. I still have produce that needs used from the last CSA and we will be in and out this week so I stayed a good distance from my favorite produce. Looking forward to making saurkraut, cabbage rolls, cucumber salad, chunky tomato basil sauce, and who knows what else!