Our Vegetarian Pilot for Winter Farm Share week 3 from Fresh Fork Market is tart and sweet, with tart Goldrush apples and sweet Heirloom tomato sauce. I was quite surprised with the burst of flavor from the Goldrush apples. They’re tart like a Granny Smith with a bit more of a lemon citrus added to the Golden Delicious sweetness that makes these apples a true golden rush of flavor. I’ve never tasted anything quite like them and I think I would love a tree of my own. Really addictive for those of us who love the tingly sweet and tart like lemonade without too much acidity!
This week our small Vegetarian farm share included (above photo is full share)…
Pinto Beans – 2 lbs – huge bag!
Radishes – Daikon – 2
Cabbage – 1 green
Cauliflower – 1
Swiss Chard – 1 small bunch
Tomato Sauce – 1 Jar Heirloom from Wholesome Valley Farm
Pasta – Butternut Squash & Sage Linguine from Ohio City Pasta
Carrots – 2 large
Onion – yellow – 1
Onion – green bunch
Apples – Goldrush – 6
Brussel Sprouts – pint
My half of the Vegetarian small share this week (above photo + feature closeup at the top of this post) and what’s left since Friday, November 20…
Pinto Beans – 1 lb – I love pinto beans in Chili, with Green beans and in soup, so I’m happy to add these to our storage.
Radishes – Daikon – 1 – considering what to do with this to enjoy it the most
Cabbage – 1 green – I want some cabbage and noodles, maybe take this for Thanksgiving?
Cauliflower – nice size to split between 4 of us – our half looks almost like a whole one in size
Swiss Chard – 1/2 small bunch – I think I’ll try this with our pasta
Pasta – Butternut Squash & Sage Linguine from Ohio City Pasta – combining with the Heirloom Tomato Sauce from Wholesome Valley Farm
Carrots – 1 – added to our stockpile to fix some for Thanksgiving – we like them in vegetable stock with Dill.
Onion – yellow – 1
Onion – 3-4
Apples – Goldrush – 3 (ate one before it got into photo!)
Brussel Sprouts – 1/2 pint
I was also quite happy with the fresh Ohio City Pasta and the jar of Heirloom tomato sauce. Somehow I ended up with the full bag of pasta and my parents got the jar of sauce, so we decided to combine forces for dinner one night and play cards afterward. Always a way to compromise and have fun while doing it! That’s part of what sharing this experiment together has done – we always have motivation to share a meal, including times when I stuff one two many things into my half of the bag. 🙂
My mom and I were talking about what the farm share experiment has done for both of us and we both agree that we are no longer at a loss for what to have for dinner. We used to freak out at “how” to fix everything we’re getting. Now our only dilemma is making a decision which to try first! We always have so many choices by what’s available in our storage. We both have so much food put up that we could probably hibernate for the winter and never go hungry. And yet, every other week more food is coming. The need to grocery shop is becoming a thing of the past.
I actually stay away from the store as much as possible on purpose. I don’t want to be tempted by hothouse tomatoes when I have so much to eat in my refrigerator. Once in a while I’ll treat us to one tomato to slice for sandwiches, but I’m more focused than ever to live within the farm share. I hate throwing away food and I know that I will have to do that if I veer off course.
Storage and organization ideas…
It’s easily assumed that we have a lot in our refrigerators and freezers, but I also had to expand the area in my pantry for potatoes and onions for the winter. I try to keep our potato consumption down to twice a week, even though Mr. Carnivore (aka meat and potato man) would prefer them more often. Having Sweet Potatoes helps to satisfy that craving for him and satisfies my need for orange veggies on my end. I use these white stacking baskets from Sterlite. I put a paper towel in the bottom so that the plastic against the potatoes or onions doesn’t encourage rot. The air holes help with circulation so that potatoes, onions, garlic and shallots last a long time inside my pantry. I can stack one on top of another so I have two layers of vegetables on each shelf. These baskets are also great for makeup in the bathroom and we use one for our medicines. They’re just the right size for a small house as they will fit under most sinks and in most cabinets. The handles flip down to become a ledge to stack.
My pantry is very narrow but deep and tall, so I used the stacking baskets and small tubs to make it easy to find everything. For example, one tub has cans of soup in it and the above clear tub has baking needs such as raisins, wheat berries, oatmeal, coconut, marshmallows, etc… If the clear tubs are used, it’s easy to know which tub you’re looking at before pulling it out of the cabinet. I have another shoebox-sized tub above the onions and potatoes that’s filled with bottled liquids such as olive oil, vinegars, honey and syrup. This also makes shopping very easy because if I want to bake cookies or a cake in a hurry, I have a tub with mixes in it just for those occasions and another tub with all sorts of noodles, rice and other dry mixes. I can see at a glance what needs to be replaced when a particular item comes on sale. I can also pull a whole tub down to the table to sort through it for expiring products, putting the “soon to expire” ones toward the front. No more finding expired items shoved in the back of the cabinet. Since this cabinet is floor to ceiling, I do need a step-stool to reach it all, but there’s an unbelievable amount of food in a very narrow space by utilizing the area next to the refrigerator. Even though it is next to an appliance, the cabinet stays cool enough to house the potatoes and onions for quite some time without rot or growth.
When we travel, a tub goes with us that has packaged items in it like peanut butter crackers, my homemade trail mix, applesauce, tea bags and honey. I add in bananas and apples so that we’re not stuck eating greasy food morning, noon and night. This makes it so much easier to jump in the car in the morning, knowing that we don’t have to stop for breakfast right away.
Speaking of color, did you notice how much “white” we got in our share this week? I didn’t notice that until I was arranging the share for the photo of my half. I do notice that a lot though, that our shares have a primary color and an accent each week. That makes arranging everything for a photograph really fun.
How about the size of that white radish? In the full share photo I lined up the apples so you could visualize just how big that thing is — it’s a whopper! It’s a Daikon radish and since I’m not familiar with it, I went googling and found this informative post on The Kitchn blog.
Photos — this week’s are a bit different as I only had my cell phone with me for the full share photo so it wasn’t clear enough for the feature. The rest of the photos were taken with the DSLR, my preferred camera for veggie photos. So the featured photo this week is a closeup of my half of the Vegetarian Pilot share. I’ve become much more aware of the food we eat just by getting so up close and personal for photos. I think that appreciating the beauty of the items we receive makes each meal more enjoyable.
There’s something unique and magical that happens when we open our bag with anticipation and lay it all out on the table. Laying each item out to be photographed is like painting a picture with splotches of color. For me, that never gets old and each week seems like a new adventure!
