Getting the Most of My CSA

Had my first bite of Swiss chard tonight. I sauteed it up with chopped garlic in a buttery olive oil mixture. The taste was strong, so I softened it with a little lemon squirt.

I served it with pan fried scallops.

My side dish was another farm-fresh favorite: zucchini, diced tomato and Basmati rice heated through. That's one of my favorite ways to cook up zukes (and okra). Toss in some hot pepper flakes for an extra kick or some basil for a fresh flavor.

RIP Uncle Joe, aka K8QOE

There were two things I could always talk to my Uncle Joe about: ham radio and journalism.

Not long after I received the unexpected news this week that Uncle Joe had died from a likely blood clot, the iFarmer reminded me that following 9/11 I told him that if the US came under full attack, it would be ham radio operators like Joe, assisting the military, who would keep communication alive and well.

Indeed, he was licensed "amateur" radio operator for an unbelievable 50 years and was in the middle of an unprecedented 6th term as Amateur Radio Relay League's Ohio Section Manager (K8QOE). I put amateur in quotes, because there's really nothing amateur about ham radio.

I remember when I was a kid, the thing that stuck with me most was that my geeky uncles could actually listen in as Russian cosmonauts orbited the earth. I thought they were the coolest.

Uncle Joe always wanted to hear about what I was up to in journalism and talk about the biz. He'd been a reporter for local papers in Ohio and Indiana before he had to, like so many of my brethren, give up reporting in order to make a better living to support his growing family.

Uncle Joe spent nearly 30 years as an English teacher and pursued his interest in the theater. You'll have to ask me later about the one cast party I attended.

It's not that he walked away entirely from journalism. Once it's in your blood, it's really a hard habit to quit. For seven years he wrote a weekly column for the Cincinnati Enquirer called "Ham Call" and hosted a cable program with the same name.

He even gave politics a try. I have his campaign literature around here somewhere.

One of my favorite memories of Uncle Joe was my wedding day. Awkward as he was around family, he really wanted to contribute to my big day. An avid photographer, he offered to help with photos or video. He got the video assignment.

He set up two cameras, one unobtrusive at the back of the sanctuary and one that could be more mobile for candids. The second turned out to be more mobile than I expected. During our vows, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he was edging in for a closer shot. He walked right up behind me, behind the alter. So there we were, at the alter - me, the iFarmer, my pastor and my Uncle Joe. Brilliant.

(Think I exaggerate? See photo. Can't miss him. He's the white-haired guy behind the camera heading in for a closeup.)

A true reporter, he recorded every word of our vows, down to the expressions on our faces. He got the scoop.

My family laid him to rest today. Goodbye Uncle Joe.

Photo up top is from an obituary from an ARRL news update.

30-Minute CSA Meal: Savoy Cabbage & Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry

Here's what I learned working the 9-11 shift at the Oak Park Farmers Market info tent...it's a shift that can make you very hungry.

I'm guessing that will be true of any of the shifts between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. All that food going by and folks talking about what they're going to do with it.

I couldn't pedal fast enough to get home and try a couple tips relayed by my co-volunteer Anna. She's been to culinary school, so needless to say, I need to see if I can swing more shifts in her time slot.

This is what made me speed home: her suggestion that I chop up my savoy cabbage and stir fry it. Perfection.

Here's what I did:

Bundling up the savoy cabbage leaves, I chopped them into long strands (have I praised my Cutco knives yet? Well worth the purchase $$). I heated up some sesame oil and olive oil in a large pan. When the oil was hot, I tossed in the cabbage and a handful of sugar snap peas. As the cabbage started to turn a bright green, I splashed in a bit of the Trader Joe's version of Soy Vay. Just when I was about to take it off the heat I put in some chopped chicken (I had two chicken legs leftover from last night's cook out).

Served it over rice (also leftover) and alongside some Trader Joe's potstickers.

Best part, besides the taste? Took me less than 30 minutes to whip this up. Take that Rachael Ray.

Parsley & Garlic Scapes = Chimichurri

So when I learned I'd be getting my first CSA box and was told to expect parsley, I honestly never thought I'd get that shrubby version that looks so pretty as a decoration on restaurant dishes. You know, the pungent stuff you brush aside?

For some reason, every time I see that a very vulgar joke comes to mind.

But I digress. My problem was what to do with my parsley bundle. I had chimichurri sauce on the brain and figured, what the heck. I'd only made it with cilantro and/or flat leaf parsley.

This time I used what I had...

Chimichurri Sauce

1 bunch parsley
2 garlic scapes
dash lemon juice
olive oil to desired consistency
salt & pepper to taste

I rough chopped the parsley and scapes then tossed them into a food processor. As I processed, I added olive oil, lemon juice and S&P. I was very pleased with the result. It's a particularly strong chimichurri because of the type of parsley. But it's perfect for slathering on a tenderloin or chicken (I hope) before throwing on the grill.

I also love to add a heaping teaspoon of chimichurri to sour cream then using it as a chip or veggie dip.

My CSA Booty

I picked up my first CSA box this evening at my King's Hill Farm pick up site. It's like Christmas getting to unpack such delightful goodies.


I have a few ideas of what to make with it all...but it'll be a challenge to use every bit.

Here's what our take was this week:

Savoy Cabbage
Mini Onions
Swiss Chard
Basil
Zucchini
Parsley
Sugar Snap Peas
Mixed Greens
Kohlrabi

My grandfather loved Swiss chard, so I actually have some family recipes that I'd like to finally try. It's exciting because I've actually never had it...at least not that I know.

I do already know what I will do with the parsley: chimichurri sauce for meat or fish. Did someone say Argentina?

Zucchini, mixed greens and onions are easy too. Same for basil, which is easily tossed into hot pasta or pureed into a pesto. And, the kids will help us down those sugar snap peas.

I've put Kohlrabi in veggie soup before, but I've heard it's great chopped up in salads. I'm thinking it might make a nice coleslaw...maybe to accompany the dish I use to season with the chimichurri sauce.

Savoy cabbage...now that's a challenge. Might need to check in with my Cooking Away My CSA group for ideas on that one.

It's CSA Week, Time to Break Out the Test Kitchen Apron

This is the week! I finally get to pick up my first CSA box on Wednesday.

King's Hill Farm, from Mineral Point, Wis., makes my delivery every other week since I opted for only a half share this week. I want to be sure I'm not going to waste a bunch of food before I go full share.

I'm excited to see what goodies I get. And I'm especially excited to have a chance to use some of the recipes I've been seeing on this new Google Group: Cooking Away My CSA.

I found out about the CSA challenge from the Cooking Away My CSA creator, Flour Girl, who wanted each participant to share a recipe or veggie use each week.

Mission accomplished. The level of enthusiasm, creativity in use of ingredients and mouth-watering cooking suggestions have made the flood of email from the group worth it.

I'm hoping to get some garlic scapes so I can try the garlic scape pesto recipe I saw floating around.

What to Do With Radishes

I was looking for something to do with the extra radishes I picked up at the farmers market Saturday.

Of course, they taste great in a salad, which is why we bought them.

But I was looking for an alternative use. I chose spicy baked radish chips. I'm sorry to say this was not my VFG Test Kitchen best effort. But the spice mixture and idea was good enough that I'll try it again with bigger radishes and a better baking method.

My radishes just never got crispy enough.

That said, I was very pleased with a late-night appetizer trio assembled by the iFarmer. On a sushi plate, in three small piles, he served me apricots, radishes and cashews. It was a surprisingly good combination: sweet, spicy and meaty. Delish.

Any other suggestions for sweet or savory radish dishes? I'm thinking of trying a citrus radish compote next.

Photo on Flickr from tres.jolie's photostream.

New Community Garden Sprouts in Oak Park

There are givers in this world and there are takers. I'm so grateful to know that we have so many givers in my neighborhood.

The two I'm thinking about today are Laura & Andrew Maychruk, who have owned and operated our local hot spot -- Buzz Cafe -- for more than a decade.

I've written about Buzz before, how it supports local artists, serves farm-fresh, organic fare and is a pickup spot for CSA deliveries.

And now the Maychruks have decided to step it up a notch. When they learned about a group of local residents who were having trouble locating a sunny spot in Oak Park (harder than you think in this tree-lined village) to grow a community garden, they had an idea.

Why not use the empty space adjacent to Buzz?

Why not indeed. So this locavore-inspired group of volunteers is taking the Maychruks up on their offer.

I'm told we'll hear more about the community garden in next month's Buzz Cafe newsletter. Laura made a minor mention in this month's issue.

And a co-founder of the garden, Urban Farmgirl Monica Phillips, gave me a little more detail.

The six volunteers first got the community garden bug when they took a "Menu of the Future" class at the Unitarian Universalist Church.

Their first lesson? It's harder than it looks.

"We're at war with a couple of rabbits and cursing the cool weather," Farmgirl Monica wrote me an email.

I'll be pulling for them and looking forward to learning more about their experience growing food in Southeast Oak Park.

Wow: A $5,700 Deductible for Health Insurance? Better Take Your Vitamins

If you think your 10 dollar co-pay is a pain, don't miss this radio piece on the crisis in health care for rural farmers and farm workers on NPR's Weekend Edition.

Howard Berkes tabulates the cost of health care for the Wilson family, who operate Seven W Farm in northwestern Iowa.

Their major medical insurance deductible is a whopping $5,700.

Berkes reports:

The Wilsons are both 57 years old, and they raise organic hogs, corn, soybeans and grain on 640 acres of rich, black earth in Paullina, Iowa. They are depending on their farm to fund their retirement, and they plan to pass it on to their kids. So their health insurance is more about their farm than their health.

"We probably have a net worth that we could weather one major incident," Dan Wilson said. "But it would severely deplete the farming assets. So, we're insuring the farm."

The Wilsons describe themselves as healthy, but the best individual insurance plan they could find costs $492 a month. That's for Dan and Lorna and one of their children. Their deductible is $5,700. They also have a tax-free health savings account, but they've only been able to save about $2,100 so far.

Straw hat tip to the Center for Rural Affairs, which is quoted throughout the piece.

'Caring Carrots' at OP's Farmers Market Redistributes Market Leftovers to Help Needy

Mother Nature conspired against me riding my bike to my first volunteer shift at the OP Farmers Market.

I wish I could say that driving made it better. But it only rained harder. And that led to an unprecedented early closure of the market. Just not enough business, though the folks at Sandhill Organics looked to be doing a good bit of business.

Of course I didn't leave without a large canvas bag full of veggies and a Red Hen loaf of sourdough bread for some sort of meal tomorrow.

I also got a chance to meet some other OPFM volunteers. My favorite discovery was that the OPFM has a fairly new program, Caring Carrots.

The idea is to take market leftovers -- the bounty that goes unsold -- and donate it to an organization that has the resources to distribute it to the needy. It's similar to what the private family is doing in Portland, Ore., with Penelope's Garden.

I'm loving that the OPFM is doing this and I hope it catches on with the participating growers.

The '09 Caring Carrots program launches at next week's market.

Let's hope for sunny skies and sellout crowds. Well, maybe not completely sold out. It'd be good for the first non-profit picking up produce this season to have a decent haul.

The above image is a screen shot from an OPFM video celebrating the market's 30th anniversary. Unfortunately the video cuts out about midway through.

New CSA With Oak Park Deliveries...And Still Selling Shares!

I got a note in one of my local e-mail lists that there's a new organic CSA accepting applications through the end of June.

So, if like us, you missed deadlines to join a CSA, you have a second chance with King's Hill Farm in Mineral Point, Wis.

The note was passed on by the brother of King's Hill Farmer Joel Kellum. Here's his testimonial:

"I can vouch that he’s a stubborn guy and he’s very committed to providing quality produce. His prior farm (Avalanche Organics) was flooded two years ago. He and his family have been busy getting this farm ready for production ever since. We just received the first shipment and his salad greens are so flavorful that you want to eat them out straight out of the bag."

The image above is a screen shot from one of King's Hill Farm's Web galleries and is entitled, "Driving Lessons." Cute.

Need a Reason to Plant a Garden? How About Ending Starvation

This story in Culinate about Penelope's Garden in Portland, Ore., touched me.

This unidentified family -- after apparently adopting a child who too intimately knew hunger -- decided they could make a bigger difference by turning their backyard space into an edible garden.

The idea is to donate the produce to an organization that serves needy families.

What an entirely selfless act.

Ultimately, this caring family’s goal is for others to join them in growing gardens like Penelope’s Garden, or by sharing the harvest from their own gardens “so that Portland will become known as the city that eliminated hunger from their community simply by growing gardens.”

How many backyard gardens would it take to end hunger in your area?

An Urban Farmgirl is Born

Just a quick note to document that my lil' sis in California has officially become an Urban Farmgirl.

Today, I learned she ordered a chicken coup. The coup holds up to five hens, but she plans to start with 2.

San Diego allows up to five backyard hens, she tells me. Yay!

She's expecting to take delivery this weekend. But the next step is a big one...she needs to get the actual birds.

She's taking recommendations on breeds. So if you have suggestions, please post.

Sold Out!

Good news from The Farm today: Strawberries are selling faster than the family can pick them.

The roadside stand sold out today and was forced to shut down early. And there's a back order for farmers market berries.

It's a good problem to have, though I wish I could be there to help. Maybe I'll be able to plan to take more time next season to help with picking.

Paying Our Respects

On Saturday we opted to pay our respects to Terry Harper, SPJ's executive director, who succumbed to brain cancer after a heart wrenching, yet inspirational two-year fight.

His struggle with cancer is touchingly chronicled on his blog Thumping My Melon. The blog captures Terry perfectly. I can think of no other time I've read about the emotional pain that comes when a young father is stricken by cancer, yet laughed so openly because of his wit and positive outlook.

Terry capped his blog with a final post he had the foresight to write back in October. Posted after his death last week, it's a beautiful piece, well worth reading even if you know nothing about the man.

After reading it and the blog you will not be surprised at his choice of funeral. Setting: idyllic, isolated pond in the middle of a wooded property. Them: Viking.

Really, Viking.

Because it's illegal in Indiana to burn a body, the pyre was rather small, but no less meaningful.

After a short service by his fraternity's chaplain, his boys were rowed out to the middle of the pond and the pyre set on fire. Bagpipes played "Amazing Grace" until the flames burned through the vessel and it sank.

Even in death, Terry was full of surprises.

I didn't go too crazy with my camera, but here are a few pix:



It was a touching service. And, of course, it's impossible not to be devastated at seeing the pain in these boys' faces. It was heartening to see so many people at the remembrance, extended family and friends that will help watch over Terry's family.

There was a party scheduled for the following Sunday night. Party goers were told to expect Terry's favorites: finger food, karaoke and Maker's Mark.

Best Way to Start the Week

I got to play farm-to-office delivery girl this morning. Fresh pints of organic strawberries for my co-workers who made requests; parfaits for everyone else.

It's extremely rewarding to hear folks say they were the best strawberries they'd ever had. Yay!

What I Did on My Lunch Hour (With Time to Spare to Post)

Have I expressed lately how much I love Chicago?

Well, I really do. Sometimes I just want to pack up and head to the country. But most days, I'm perfectly content.

Days like this, cool, bright and sunny, are shining examples.

Here's a snapshot of my lunch hour:

First, I roped the iFarmer into doing some quick market research with me to check the going price of farm-fresh strawberries at the Daley Center Farmers Market. Wow. $6 a quart. $4 for a small box. And these aren't even being advertised as pesticide free.


After a stroll through the farmers market, and still experiencing a bit of sticker shock, we headed to lunch...opting for the food court at the State of Illinois building, where there was an anti-gun violence demonstration in progress.
We stopped for a few mins to watch and admire the protesters, then succumbed to our rumbling tummies and had some very decent Middle Eastern food. Next, just shy of 45 minutes into our lunch hour, we headed back to work and came across one of my favorite Chicago summer traditions...freebies.

These two folks were promoting the premier of Royal Pains, a new doctor comedy on USA Network. And to attract interest, they were serving up free sno-cones. Yum.
Even though I didn't get a sno-cone for myself, I'm a sucker for freebies and will probably check out the show.

Want the Best Eggs? Find the Happiest Chickens (and Happiest Farmgirls)

There are so many choices already at the supermarket. Add complicated labels with an endless list of ingredients and a trip to the buy weekly staples can become overwhelming.

Even eggs are getting complicated to buy.

That's why I really appreciated this piece at Food Renegade, "Healthy Eggs: What to buy."

It's a very good rundown of the differences between factory farmed eggs and pastured eggs. What's most important though is the part addressing those suspect organic, "cage free" and "free range" labels we're seeing more and more of.

I don't believe for a moment that these labels mean I'm going to get the kind of eggs I could get from a backyard chicken or local farmer.

But I have to agree that there's a clear difference in the shell quality and yoke quality of eggs that are advertised as having more Omega-3 fatty acids.

Thankfully, we're headed to The Farm again this weekend, so we'll get another dozen (or so) of pastured eggs, and hopefully, a flat of strawberries.

Yes...that means there should be enough for me to share.

Straw hat tip to @ChaffinOrchards for the heads up about the Food Renegade post.

Photo of Future Farmgirl by yours truly.

Bucky Fuller's Inspiration Lives (in Ruins) at The Farm

A few days ago when I was at The Farm, Hoosier Outsider and I were walking around the property when we came upon the ruins of an old geodesic dome that he built when I was just a baby.

There's nothing left but the gravel floor. But the location was ideal, out of sight at the base of the hill below the farmhouse. It's a lovely platform for a Buckminster Fuller-inspired build, with an illusion of seclusion because of the woody surroundings. Through the trees there's a beautiful view of the fields and the treeline that follows the Mississinewa.

I'll have to see if I can dig up old black and whites or Kodachrome slides of the actual structure. I know they exist, just don't know how to get my hands on them.

Meanwhile, I'm planning a trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, which has a Bucky Fuller exhibit running through July 5.

Check out the MCA's Bucky site, out-of-this-world photo gallery and numerous audio tours.

Food Inc.: Everything We've Done in Modern Ag is to Grow it 'Faster, Fatter, Bigger, Cheaper'

Excuse me...I know that LA, NYC and San Fran are foodie capitals, but why can't Chicago be among the first run cities for movies like Food Inc., which debuts next week on the West and East Coasts?

Whenever it comes here or goes on sale, I'll be excited to see the movie, especially after seeing the trailer.

Check it out: