free food at the farm

[anne_lj]

So the CSA we joined this summer has ended, but the farmer emailed the list to say that any summer subscribers could come by the farm for gleaning on Saturday. Mom and I went, and holy cow! That field is still full of food. Hardly anyone was there, and those who were there took a few handfuls of this and that and left. Not us. Free organic

Comments

[raqs]

I am so insanely jealous of your freezer, you have no idea. I'm very sad about the coming of winter and the end of my weekly veggies! (Do you freeze the greens - kale - chard, cabbage and all? Are they sturdy enough? I just want lettuce - lettuce lettuce lettuce - and of course you can't freeze that.)

My bottom fridge drawer is full of apples, tho. I got apples!

I have been missing you. Doesn't it seem like a billion years since I even called? (Not for work-related things?)

[anne_lj]

I miss you too. We've been so busy. But I love reading your LJ. I'm trying to post more often, fair's fair and all. xoxo

[anne_lj]

Oh, and I do freeze the greens: chard, cabbage, flat leaf kale, bok choy, etc. I blanch and shock them just like the rest. Sliced up peppers and berries I flash freeze on cookie sheets and then transfer them to ziploc bags. Curly leaf kale and sage leaves I just stick raw in a ziploc bag loosely packed and fling in the freezer. Basil I whir in the food processor with a bit of salt and olive oil and freeze in a ziploc bag pressed into squares with a chopstick, so I can break off how much I want later (like a chocolate bar). While fresh greens are the best I figure frozen greens will still be very nice in soups, beans and greens, omlettes.

Apples are awesome!

You are impressive

[pulito]

Wow!!

How do you "shock" something, btw?

You must have a huge freezer.

Re: You are impressive

[anne_lj]

To shock a vegetable, cook naked

Re: You are impressive

[pulito]

LOL!

Cool, thanks for the tutorial. I might try it sometime! :) Granted, I'm usually the only one who eats vegetables, but I still might try it.

[priestesm]

nummy!
I wish there was a good way to freeze summer fruit - since berries and melon are the only fruit I'm really supposed to eat. Berries you can stew and freeze but it's not the same.

[safirasilv]

Actually if you spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them that way before bagging them, berries freeze quite well. They're not the same as fresh, but do quite nicely in your cereal or oatmeal, or for making desserts. Blueberries do very well, and are at least as good as commercially frozen ones. I did up quarts and quarts that way when I lived in Raspberry Heaven in New York, back in my hippie days.

[anne_lj]

I also flash freeze berries. It works brilliantly!

[lilachill]

That is so cool. Think of all the yummy soups that could be made this winter. I found out there is a farm near-ish us, who has a pick-up spot in our town (I'm guessing it's at the farmer's market in the town center.) Did you do a full share or half share?

[anne_lj]

We had a full share, heaven help us. But it was great, really, if a lot of work.

[safirasilv]

*envy*

We've done pretty well with our little garden, and have a few lovely treats frozen away for the winter, but not nearly like that. Still debating whether to try to get a half-share in our CSA next year, garden or no garden.

[zazzaben]

We were slightly overwhelmed by our full-share. Partly, because it introduced us to veggies that we don't normally eat, or hubby won't.

Still thinking on whether to renew.

[anne_lj]

It was terrific having all the fresh vegies but a little daunting, too. It changed the way we eat probably permanently and I spent a lot more time in the kitchen than I realized I would. It takes some effort to turn raw beets, for example, into something worth eating -- even if you eat them raw in salads you still have to peel the lumpy little suckers! But I would do it again, if not at this particular CSA which had some farmer drama midsummer. I hope we get in on the CSA we've been on the waiting list for these last couple of years. It's near where we live and quite established, which would be a nice change from the startup we chanced on this summer. Turned out OK though in the end. With all those caveats in mind, if you want to roll naked in piles of gorgeous organic produce, I'd highly recommend a CSA.