I’m most excited about starting the Summer Farm Share in June because it brings Ohio Strawberries. There’s nothing sweeter and it brings back memories of my great-grandparents who farmed strawberries and corn for sale to those who stopped at their roadside stand. My June as a child was spent eating strawberries in every way imaginable and strawberry jam was enjoyed all winter long every year. Homemade Strawberry Jam was especially good on Thimble Cookies baked by Nanny (great-grandmother’s nickname) at Christmas every year.
Week 1 of our small Vegan summer farm share included (featured photo at the top of this post is full vegan share)…
Strawberries (added one extra pint)
Lettuce (two small heads of spring lettuce – green and red)
Kale – curly – 1 bunch
Parsley – 1 bunch
Broccoli – 1 bunch
Rhubarb – 4 stems
Asparagus – 1 bunch
Spelt Berries – 2 lbs
Tomato Sauce – 1 pint canned
Peaches – 1 quart canned
What’s left since Wednesday, June 1, 2016…
Strawberries – these are delicious but we had to throw a few away due to our negligence
Lettuce – we ate most of this in salads
Kale – curly – 1 bunch
Parsley – 1 bunch
Broccoli – 1 bunch
Rhubarb – 4 stems – I foolishly left this in the refrigerator for a few days uncovered and forgot to process it so it was a loss
Asparagus – 1 bunch
Spelt Berries – 2 lbs – these are in the refrigerator waiting for me to decide what to do with them.
Tomato Sauce – 1 pint canned – I’m saving this to use with the Ramp Linguine in the freezer. Best tomato sauce ever!
Peaches – 1 quart canned – Mr. Carnivore opened this after the strawberries were gone. Tastes soothing after dental work.
We’re registered for the Vegetarian Share with Fresh Fork Market, but it included Ramp Linguine the first week and I really wanted the Peaches. Mr. Carnivore loves those Peaches so we switched to the Vegan share for one week. We still have some Ramp Linguine in the freezer so we won’t miss it.
I love Ohio strawberries but I’m not always successful at using them fast enough. I seem to forget every year that these strawberries have to be eaten within a day or frozen for eating later. So, we lost a few in my greed to have 2 containers of strawberries, but I won’t make that same mistake twice. If you’ve never tried fresh Ohio Strawberries, put them on your list — there is nothing sweeter!
I did try out some new storage containers (above) that worked better than anything else I’ve tried with strawberries, but I waited too long to use them up and even the best container won’t fix that negligence. These Rubbermaid Vegetable Keepers were excellent for the Kale. One week later and the kale looks as fresh as it was the day I picked up our share. I’m going to try lettuce in them next.
I really wasn’t prepared for Farm Share to begin last week and we took the full share since my parents were traveling. This week might be a little easier as we’re back to splitting our share with my parents. June is filled with garden chores, parties, visiting with relatives and running around, plus prepping the boat, so we don’t cook at home as often as we should.
I just have to get better at freezing what I can’t use in a few days, so that will be my aim this week. We did buy a new infrared grill so maybe that will entice me to eat at home more often. Not having to heat up the kitchen is always a plus. We had leftovers from several pot lucks and dinner out with friends this week so the microwave got a workout more than anything else.
If you want a delicious way to eat strawberries, check out my recipe for Strawberry Salad with Honey Vinaigrette.
What’s your fork been up to this week?
