Local Eating - CSAs for produce

[serenya_loreden]

Over the years I've been attempting to eat more local foods.  Initially, I simply joined a summer CSA -- vegetables, fruit, and flowers on a weekly basis.  The next year I joined the same CSA again, but for the entire 3 seasons -- April through early December.

Pluses: 

• We ate better -- considerably more produce than we would have purchased

Comments

[silent_ic_river]

I dropped my local CSA for the same reason, too much waste. There was so much the kids just would not eat. So many things hubby would eat but he wasn't there enough. Now that we have guinea pigs I may give it another go. 'Cuz you are right, there can never be too much blackberries, or cherries.

[serenya_loreden]

If the guineas will eat it, definitely worth a shot!

The second year they added a take-some/leave-some basket, so we would leave things we knew wouldn't get eaten for larger families (or the food pantry -- they took whatever wasn't picked up there). Some things also ended up in the compost. Still waste, but at least I got compost out of it!

[silent_ic_river]

The guinea pigs will eat almost anything leafy and green, as well as most root veggies. Eggplant and celery are the two they're not supposed to eat much of.
I wish our CSA did a take some, leave some basket, that's a fantastic idea.

[serenya_loreden]

you might suggest it to them, odds are it would be used!

[serenya_loreden]

I thought about it, but never tried. Partly because growing up canned vegetables were always mushy and tasteless (teaching me to stick to fresh or frozen) and partly because I didn't have the right equipment.

For my birthday this year my parents gave me a pressure cooker (at my request) and I noticed it can also be used to can, so I may give it a try this year.

I did do a little dehydrating (but not much, as the dehydrator isn't that convenient to keep out) and we are doing some winter storage of potatoes, onions, and garlic. We did a LOT of blanching and freezing of fruits and vegetables, though not all of it ever made it back out of the freezer (pitting 2 gallons of sour cherries takes *forever* - and I think some are still in the chest freezer). My next goal is to document what is in the freezer so we actually *gasp* get it used!

[vaudy]

Do you have a friend or neighbor that you could split with? I know a couple of people who've done it that way to save money (and, of course, waste less).

I can't give you any ideas for kohlrabi, but beets are really tasty just roasted, and that doesn't take any more prep than roasting other root veggies (I don't think I even peel them when I roast them). Which totally reminds that I haven't done roasted root veggies in a while. I think some beets and carrots and parsnips are in order for an upcoming weekend.

[serenya_loreden]

I didn't find anyone to split with, unfortunately, so I'm hoping the biweekly will help with that.

The time I made beets -- the directions I was given involved coating them with oil and vinegar, wrapping in aluminum, roasting, then peeling, then something else.... So, rather more work than I wanted to do. The next time I sent them through the food processor and used in a cake (as one would applesauce) but they mostly ended up in the compost after that. Do they go well with a roast in the crockpot?

[vaudy]

Gah. I meant to reply to this, and it got buried in SparkPeople spam, and I forgot.

I should think that the only real barrier to using beets with a roast like that is since it usually gets really liquidy in the crock pot, everything might turn red from the beets. If that doesn't bother you, I don't see why it shouldn't work.

But yeah, what you described does seem like a very involved process. I usually just cut them up into bite-size-ish pieces, drizzle with olive oil (maybe throw in a little butter, too), toss with some salt, and roast just like I would potatoes or other root vegetables. Really, the only thing I don't remember is if they require peeling, or if peeling is optional.