CSA

There’s nothing typical about Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables, located in Rushford Vilage, Minnesota.

In the second installment of this gift guide – written while the beginnings of our first major snowfall are floating to the pavement – I thought it would be good to offer you some shopping alternatives that don’t necessarily separate you from your bunny slippers. Or your cup of hot Northwoods cocoa (see yesterday’s post).

I found some local Minnesota gifts that would be simple, good and tasty to give; they're all available online, and they all meet my shopping criteria, which I outlined in yesterday's post:

This is Harmony Valley's last weekly farmshare for 2009 - after this week, deliveries will come only every other week through the end of the year. I can't help but feel a little bit sad about it, although I know it'll give me a good opportunity to try new foods at my local co-op - and maybe even to get out to the St. Paul Farmers Market a few times in January.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to eat five huge leeks each week? Who do the people at Harmony Valley Farm think I am? How much soup can I possibly eat? Don't they want me to spend my time writing blog posts? For goodness sakes, people, I'm doing the best I can!

As you can see, this week's Harmony Valley farmshare box looks every bit as good as the one we've just eaten our way through. Of all last week's treasures, none went over quite as well as the broccoli romanesco, which my kids ate raw in a matter of minutes. In fact, we've been through 2 heads of the great green stuff this week (thanks, Seward Co-op!) - and a bit of tasty cheddar cauliflower as well.

For the second straight week, I've gone right for the small yellow tomatoes. They're super sweet and super delicious, and my family won't go near them. How lucky can a fella be? Cucumbers are a big hit in my house all around, so we're glad to see those coming too. And we've got almost enough tomatoes (and peppers) for salsa, but not quite.

Here's what's in the Harmony Valley CSA box this week, with words and pictures directly from Harmony Valley's e-newsletter:

This recipe was provided by chef Adam Anderson, formerly of Lucia's restaurant in Minneapolis. It uses local, seasonal ingredients - many of which are found in this week's farm shares across Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Roasted Carrots, Golden Beets and Green Beans with Crispy Chard and Fresh Chevre

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

This recipe came to me from my new friend Michelle O’Kelley. She says it originally came from Bon Appetit in August 2000, and was recently delivered with her CSA box. According to Michelle, "it’s so simple and I happen to have all the ingredients on hand (except the Pernod)." We're getting tons of fennel from our farmshare this month, so a new recipe for it is welcome in my house. Here goes:

Fresh Fennel Vichyssoise

Here's what my family is getting from our CSA this week. The picture and the text below come directly from Harmony Valley Farm's weekly email.

The weeks go so fast! I've barely finished last week's box of goodies from Harmony Valley Farm's CSA, and it's Thursday again! To be honest, I do occasionally get a small sense of panic. I don't want to waste any of the amazing foods I'm getting, especially when I consider the work our local farmers have done to produce all this sustainable, organic food - and get it to the city. Sometimes an embarrassment of riches can feel, well, embarrassing.

A quick look at what's coming in my CSA box this week, along with ideas from Harmony Valley Farm on what to do with it all. This content comes directly from the Harmony Valley newsletter:

• Asparagus - Make a quick and delicious cream of asparagus soup by boiling asparagus until bright green and tender, pureeing in a blender along with its cooking water, and stirring in shredded Swiss cheese, cooked bacon crumbles, salt and pepper. Cook just until heated through and serve immediately.

[caption id="attachment_1548" align="alignright" width="300" caption="My CSA box, just opened."][/caption] I picked up my first community supported agriculture (CSA) box yesterday from an unmarked garage near Uptown Minneapolis. I was excited to see what had come from Harmony Valley, but disorganized enough to have forgotten to bring my own bag to carry away my bounty (the boxes themselves are meant to stay).

This is a big local, sustainable, and organic food weekend in the Twin Cities, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to a few of the events I'm most likely to try and make it to this Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26: Minneapolis Farmers Market The Minneapolis Farmers Market (also called the Lyndale Market on their website), one of the biggest

CSA sign-up season has officially kicked off in New York, and, as seems to be the case every year, memberships are getting gobbled up faster than they can be publicized.

My Dad, eater of Joyva jelly rings, Kosher beef tongue, and the biggest bags of salad you've ever seen, moved from New York (where I grew up) to Read more »