Bounty...

I've written before about how much I L.O.V.E my farm share. Two winters ago, my husband and I made the investment and bought a share at a local organic farm in Michigan.  From June until October we'd get a share of the crop each week. It was fantastic! So when we moved to Minneapolis last summer I knew I wanted to find a CSA here to continue getting those fresh greens and veggies each week of the growing season.  Since we moved late in the season last year we missed the sign ups and we had to use the farmers markets and grocery stores for our greens and produce.  But my eyes were peeled each week looking for hints of where to find a good CSA.  I looked on the Local Harvest website and was totally overwhelmed by the number of choices.  And I couldn't seem to find any that were all organic...my number one requirement.  I was feeling bummed that I couldn't find what I wanted until one day while wasting time on twitter I saw a tweet saying their CSA still had openings for this season with a link to their website.  I looked it up...it was an organic farm in nearby Wisconsin...they drop off in the Twin Cities...you can register online...I'M IN!!!  Signed up and paid on the spot!

Last night I picked up our week three box.  I am in love with the variety we have been getting since week one!  It's been the perfect balance and amount of greens and veggies for our family and I find myself craving more and more as the weeks go on.  Here's a peek at what we have gotten so far this season...

Week One - asparagus, parsnips, pea shoots, Tsoi Sim greens, radishes, thyme, spinach, green garlic, collard greens, salad greens, potatoes, and a bottle of our farm's organic sunflower oil (I purchased this as an extra)

Week Two - pea vine, red potatoes, green garlic, garlic chives, salad greens, spinach, radishes, red butter lettuce, and broccoli

Week Three - baby turnips, french breakfast radishes, garlic scapes, kholrabi, Italian parsley, napa cabbage, rainbow chard, red butterhead lettuce, red leaf lettuce, scallions, a basil plant, and STRAWBERRIES!!

So what does one do with all this produce? You are not alone if you come home from the store or the farmers market with beautiful produce and then let it go bad in the refrigerator because you just aren't quite sure what to do with it! I used to do that all the time but am pretty darn good about using up what I have now from practicing and planning ahead.  A lot of you have asked how I manage to do it so this week I will share with you all the creations I come up with and show you how to make the most out of all those vegetables...and hopefully inspire you to try some new ones! With a little bit of forethought and planning, you can have fabulous fresh meals all week long that are delicious as well as nutritious!  It will be a fun week sharing with you how I feed my family each day!

And here's a look at a couple of the things we have been making from our farm produce in the last couple weeks...

Farm Breakfast - egg white omlet w/ green garlic topped with pea vine

Spiced Apple and Parsnip Muffins

The Spiced Apple and Parsnip Muffins were SO good!  They did not last very long at all in our house and are a definite addition to the recipe rotation!  They are great for breakfast or an afternoon snack.  Click on the link if you would like the recipe!