Cleaning your CSA veggies pt. 2

I read another person's blog and found they had a different suggestion for cleaning veggies. So I decided to try it out this week.

http://www.idreamofclean.net/how-to-clean-fruits-vegetables-from-your-csa-box/ 

They recommended filling a sink with lukewarm water and adding either vinegar or baking soda. I decided to try white vinegar this time. I took apart the lettuce heads so that the leaves could soak. I didn't rinse them after and they seem to taste fine. I didn't notice much of a difference except that I didn't get as much water all over my kitchen.

I still used my salad spinner to dry and I totally agree that having a salad spinner is a MUST if you have a CSA. 

Red Pepper Flakes

I bought red pepper flakes for a recipe that I didn't use a few weeks ago. When visiting a great friend in Phoenix, AZ, I decided to try the red pepper flakes on the table with my pizza. It was wonderful and I began to think how I could use the flakes I had purchased at home.

I found that a recipe I like (garlic, lemon, parmesan cheese ANYTHING) can include red pepper flakes. I added it to the olive oil while the garlic was softening. Turns out, it wasn't overpowering and added mostly just an awesome flavor. Not hot at all.

So, I will now become a regular user of red pepper flakes. I found that it made vegetables just so much more interesting.

Week 7: Cucumbers

This week, we got a bunch in the share. It was raining at pick up so we grabbed the share, split it, and headed home. I tried a bunch of cool stuff this week! See other blogs for more info.

Did you know that you can eat pickling cucumbers similar to what you do with regular cucumbers?

In my part of my share:

• lettuce
• raddichio
• kale
• rainbow chard
• green onions
• basil
• cucumbers
• pickling cucumbers
• garlic scapes

In the full share that I gave to my share partner: 

• carrots
• broccoli

Week 6: U Pick Garden

I thought folks might be interested in seeing what a u-pick garden looks like. So, this week, I brought by camera so I can take you on a journey.

The path to the u-pick garden (no driving allowed):

The fruit forest:

How you know you are in the right place:

All the greenhouses are actually part of the full CSA garden. We can harvest from this open area and a small green house. Otherwise, the students and workers of the farm are the ones who work this HUGE farm.