Harmony Valley Farm

My natural inclination was to rest on Fridays and order pizza. As mentioned in my latest piece, Too Clean? Dealing With Our New Dietary Diseases, due to a chronic disease that has occupied my body, I usually fall ill every time I consume pizza brought to my door. The Friday night menu has been re-worked and become homemade pizza night. Despite a tiring long week, it’s become a family tradition that each of us now looks forward to. Making homemade pizza takes time, but we have discovered that this “slow food” meal beholds a lot of virtuous gems for myself and the whole family alike. 

Image Credit: Kate SommersHas there ever been a food more perfect than the carrot? Delicious raw or cooked, skinned or peeled, if I edited the dictionary, there'd be a carrot next to the word "superfood" (if I edited the dictionary, the word "superfood" would be included, yes). The picture would show those lovely orange roots (with green tops, of course) in my 7-year old boy's just-washed hands.

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! We make a terrific leek feta salsa, and my wife grilled leeks just the other day, but sheesh!

Photo credit: Kate SommersThese days, I'm actually kind of grateful that the Minnesota Twins play in a dome. You see, I'm originally from New York, and the members of my family who have not (yet) moved here are going to get another look at our fair city this week during the American League Division Series (go Twins!).

The list of things in my life that happen according to schedule is a pretty short one. Haircuts? Maybe you get them every 6-8 weeks, but I haven't been to a barber - much less a hairdresser - in more than 10 years. I just shave my head when the spirit moves me (see my picture for evidence). Housework? I wish - in my house, we're more likely to clean like crazy people just before guests come over (or when there's something sticky on the floor) than we are to pick a weekly time.

Oh Harmony Valley, you're so good to us! How many CSAs package tomatillos, jalapenos, and cilantro together in "salsa kits"? Or pre-wash and bag a variety of salad greens? Shoot, I dunno, but probably not too many, right? The food is becoming more plentiful, and the variety is truly amazing. Here's a list of the cool, tasty stuff we got in this week's farmshare box. All of the descriptions and suggestions - and the photo - come directly from Harmony Valley's newsletter. Enjoy!

Here's a list of the great foods that came in our Harmony Valley CSA box this week, along with notes and a picture directly from Harmony Valley Farm to help us figure out what to do with everything. I posted my initial reaction to this great farmshare bounty last week. The food is really amazing (local, organic, sustainable, and delicious) - so much better than what you'd find in most grocery stores - even if it can be a bit overwhelming at times.

Last week was a bit of a lost one for me, farmshare-wise. My family was on vacation, so we had a friend pick up - and keep - our box. I enjoyed the rare adventure of getting the bulk of our food from farmers markets and co-ops this week, but I missed out on the fun of trying to figure out what to do with the new foods in my farmshare.

As a result, I was more than a little bit excited to pick up this week's farmshare bounty. Here's what came this week, with a photo, suggestions, and descriptions straight from Harmony Valley Farm:

Chef Adam Anderson, formerly of Lucia's in Minneapolis, is on fire! One look at this week's farmshare bounty from Harmony Valley Farm, and he sent me not one, not two, but three recipes using the fresh, local ingredients in the box. Here's number 2:

Chilled Golden Beet Borscht with Fresh Dill and Chive Crème Fraiche

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

By now, many of you know the drill; here's what's coming from my Harmony Valley CSA this week. The following list, hints, and information, and photo is provided by Harmony Valley Farm, but the recipes - oh, the recipes will come from you, I hope!