Cooking slowed down last week.  Due to illnesses all around, neither of us were up for much cooking.  Finally this weekend I cooked.  [...]]]> Corn, sweet potatoes, double garlic, honey, tomatillos (all but two had buggies), salad greens, mixed greens, mustard greens, “stuffing” peppers, hot peppers, and apples (Arkansas Black, Staymen, Winesap, and Virginia Gold)

Cooking slowed down last week.  Due to illnesses all around, neither of us were up for much cooking.  Finally this weekend I cooked.  We had pumpkin soup (nothing spectacular about this recipe), autumn harvest bread (made with carrots, pumpkin, and applesauce), pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (cake-y oat-y chocolate-y goodness), and sweet potato biscuits (the first time I ever made these–someone else has always taken care of making these).

Stay tuned for news and reviews on the new CSA we signed up for.  In considering whether to sign up for the 2010 CSA share at Bull Run Mountain Farm, I wanted to check out other CSA options.  Here’s what I found:

Olin-Fox Farms – organic produce from a network of farms in Reedville, VA.  This CSA offers, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, and year round CSA memberships.  Also has a separate summer fruit share.  Farm fresh eggs are delivered with the share when available.  We signed up for the remaining Fall 2009 CSA at a prorated price.  I’ll try to keep up with posting pictures and recipes of what we get.

Dragonfly Farms – this one is the cream of the crop as far as CSA options go.  Tysen got really excited about this one, but its a bit too pricey.  But check out their options.  Pretty fancy!  They offer spring/summer and fall shares.  Offers traditional and premium shares.

Graceland Farms – another organic/sustainable farm with summer and fall options. Shares may include berries, honey, and fruit from other farms.  Can add on local cheese.

Great Country Farms – Some organic, but not all.  This one has the added bonus of being able to go to the farm and pick berries and additional items, but its far away from us.  They also have a lot of activities for kids, which are free to CSA members.  Offers full and half shares.

Potomac Vegetable Farm – “Ecoganic” – they’ve been organic for years, but no longer subject themselves to certification.  Summer and Autumn shares available in multiple share sizes (mini, regular, and robust) with add-ons of eggs, flowers, and breads.

The share: Corn, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, garlic, hot peppers, radishes, salad greens, mustard greens, basil, and apples

Here’s what we made this week:

Skillet Mac & Cheese – I halved this recipe, otherwise we would have had way too much pasta.

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash – this didn’t turn out as [...]]]>

The share: Corn, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, garlic, hot peppers, radishes, salad greens, mustard greens, basil, and apples

Here’s what we made this week:

Skillet Mac & Cheese – I halved this recipe, otherwise we would have had way too much pasta.

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash – this didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped.  I think part of it was the acorn squash, and the other part was the custard texture.  I just wasn’t a fan.

Tysen is trying out Pickled Hot Peppers – It will be another week before Tysen can try out his pickled peppers.

Zucchini and Squash “Pasta” w/ Alfredo Sauce – I made this with last weeks squash/zucchini.  The dish was yummy, but could have used some pasta to make it heartier.

Creamy Pumpkin Pasta – Because this recipe called for sausage, I substituted tempeh.  The dish was good, but not great–the recipe needs some tweaking for vegetarians.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread – This weeks pumpkin bread recipe.  Yum!  I made 2 loaves of bread (froze one) and 18 mini muffins.  I used half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour and applesauce for all the oil.  The whole wheat flour gave the bread nice texture and kept the bread from being too moist from the applesauce.  Only 1 container of pumpkin puree left, but I have 4 pumpkins left to cook with!

Last week’s share: Sweet Potatoes, Red Potatoes, Cucumber, Zucchini, Salad greens, basil, tomatoes, garlic, and apples

Last week we picked up more pumpkins from the local produce stand.  Tysen enjoyed the roasted pumpkin seeds I made last time so much that he needed more.  So, we got 3 pie pumpkins and [...]]]>

Week 17

Last week’s share: Sweet Potatoes, Red Potatoes, Cucumber, Zucchini, Salad greens, basil, tomatoes, garlic, and apples

Last week we picked up more pumpkins from the local produce stand.  Tysen enjoyed the roasted pumpkin seeds I made last time so much that he needed more.  So, we got 3 pie pumpkins and one neck pumpkin.  On Friday night I gutted two of the pie pumpkins and ended up filling three 27-oz containers with pumpkin puree and one 16-oz container with pumpkin seeds.  I put two containers of puree in the freezer and the third in the fridge, which was used to make pumpkin pie oatmeal.  I foresee many more pumpkin recipes in the near future as I still have two pumpkins left!

Recipes for last week:

Double Broccoli Quinoa – This recipe made lots of pesto, so what we didn’t use for the dish we froze.

Pumpkin pie oatmeal – Arcadia enjoyed this as well, just without the sugar nut topping.

Sweet Potato Pie – Tysen proclaimed this as the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever made.  Guess I fooled him since it is sweet potato pie!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi w/ Brussel Sprouts and Walnuts – Super yummy!  The gnocchi takes a bit of effort to make, but the combo of brussel sprouts, walnuts, and fresh gnocchi is worth it!  I’ll definitely make this again.

Apples: Granny Smith (2), Type I can’t remember (2), Ruby (4), and Grimes [...]]]> The weather has changed up here, and we’ve entered Virginia apple season.  So, that’s all we’ll be getting for our fruit share from here on out.  Guess I’ll be coming up with some creative things to do with all the apples!

Apples: Granny Smith (2), Type I can’t remember (2), Ruby (4), and Grimes (4)

Veggies: Tomatoes, Squash, Eggplant, Sweet Potatoes, Corn, Garlic

Herbs:  Peppermint, Oregano, Chives, Parsley, and Basil (missed the picture)

What we’ve been eating:  mashed sweet potato with oat/sugar topping, spaghetti sauce (made it with all the cooking tomatoes, but haven’t eaten it yet), honey [...]]]> Farm Fresh:  Sweet potatoes, corn, hot peppers, cooking tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, sorrell, oregano, garlic, basil, thai basil, tomatillos (all were rotten/bug ridden but one), peaches, apples, and eggs

What we’ve been eating:  mashed sweet potato with oat/sugar topping, spaghetti sauce (made it with all the cooking tomatoes, but haven’t eaten it yet), honey apple challah bread (didn’t turn out quite right–will have to try again), tomato corn pie (this was awesome and I can’t wait to make it again!), and cookie dough brownies (made for taking into work). Hopefully some of these recipes will inspire you to cook too!