I don’t feel like there is a whole lot new to say today… although, just remember there is no pick up next week due to the holiday. The farmer gets a day off! Farmer Byron also mentioned that he will be offering bulk apples for a discounted price and also bulk corn to CSA members.

We also talked a little about the winter CSA for those of you who may be interested. It is a monthly drop at our house. Last year he only did January, February and March. He said most people last year said they wanted it to be longer, so he is considering that for this year. Of course things are always subject to change, but some of the examples of what was included in the box was Brussels sprouts, cabbage, apples, spinach, kale, lettuce, squash, potatos, onions, frozen meat, canned jellies and apple sauce and fresh baked bread. I said our group is mostly gluten free and many of us would not be interested in the breads, but he said he could easily substitute it for something else!

So let me know if you are interested and I’ll start putting together a list. I’m sure we will need 15 or more families again to be a drop site. Feel free to pass along the info to other friends and family. I’m sure many of you ask the price and I’m not absolutely sure what it will be. I’ll check with Byron next time I talk to him and see what he says.

Here is a testimonial from Byron’s website about the winter CSA:

I was given the Harvest Junction wintercsa membership as a gift. There have been few gifts that I have enjoyed as much. The food is fresh and delicious. The bacon is superb, the kale and lettuces fresh and sweet. There have been chickens, beef cubes, freshly ground hamburger, chuck roasts, sausages, potatoes — all have been exceptional. There have also been freshly baked breads, dilled green beans, pumpkin butter — so many different things in each delivery. The cost is more than reasonable. I highly recommend Harvest Junction.
~Pat Ingoldsby, Arlington VA

And if you can’t tell I’m in love with this farm, here is their pledge to their customers!

Our Pledge
We are committed to naturally grown produce as part of our commitment to you and the environment.The sustainable farming methods we employ allow our products to grow naturally to achieve optimum flavor and nutrient levels. We offer more variety of naturally grown fruits, vegetables and heirloom favorites chosen for flavor, nutritional value and your enjoyment.
We pledge that in our farming, handling, and marketing of our produce, We Will: Reject the use of unsafe pesticides,herbicides,fungicides,GMOs – even if approved for organic culture. Maintain and build healthy soils by utilizing farming practices that include annual crop rotation, composting, cover crops, tillage reduction and green manures. Protect and conserve farmlands by proactively reducing pollution of air, soil, and water through responsible farming practices and by encouraging bio-diversity
Purposefully preserve farmland and farming know-how, to treat farm workers with respect, sustain the land for future generations, and share the knowledge of sustainable farming practices.

Livestock Pledge
We pledge to treat livestock humanely, to raise it with plenty of room to roam and grow as nature intended. This insures the highest quality, taste and nutritional value.
We pledge to avoid the use of growth hormones, gmo feeds and other feed bi-products used as a method for forced fattening at factory farms.
We pledge to avoid the use of anti-biotics unless for the treatment of an injured animal. Any animal receiving anti-biotics due to injury will not be processed for 60 days at a minimum following treatment.

Now since I raved about the farm for so much space I don’t want to take up too much more room with recipes. I’ll keep the last part short and sweet with a few new ideas of things to try!

Tomatoes – This week we had some sliced with salt and pepper and sprinkled with balsamic vinegar for a simple side dish. I add them to scrambled eggs with some peppers and jowl for a filling supper!

Corn – Another easy side. I sliced the corn off the cob raw and sauted in lard for about 5 minutes and then sprinkled my homemade taco seasoning over it. We also had rice and beans earlier this week and I made the corn on the side, but all the kids liked it mixed in.

Okra – We really enjoy these quickly dipped in an egg wash and rolled in almond flour with salt and pepper and garlic powder and then either fried in lard or baked at 400 degrees until tender. We all enjoy these!

Green beans – I grew up eating these until we felt like we were going to turn into green beans. In fact, I remember my Mom reading books to us int he afternoons while we snapped and strung beans. We canned a lot of them but I mostly remember my Mom cooking them in some bacon grease with some ham pieces and generous salt and pepper. Sometimes we even had them with country ham. My mouth still waters thinking about those beans!

Red peppers – As I mentioned above we had these added into our scrambled eggs which were delish. Hubby also just sent me this recipe for a smoked eggplant dip which I’m sure would be good with pepper dipped in… but now that we don’t have any eggplant in our boxes this week!!! But we might get a few more! 😉

Zucchini – As I’ve mentioned in weeks past zucchini noodles are our favorite, but the farmer was just mentioning today that with these LARGE zucchinis its’ great to make “boats” to fill with meat and veggies and cook. We do like them this way and will probably do that this week.

Peaches – My daughter was once again THRILLED to see peaches in the boxes and was begging to eat one until the moment she went to sleep this evening! I didn’t order any additional bushes to preserve, but now I’m beginning to wonder if I should have done so. I still have peach jam and canned peaches from last year that we should probably eat first!

Watermelon – Does anyone need instructions for eating these?! I made Watermelon lemonade slushies last week which were a perfect light after dinner dessert for a hot day! I also flavored my most recent batch of kombucha with watermelon and raspberry which turned out well!

So there you are! Thanks for reading and happy cooking!