Pandemic Update: How We Are and Are Not Progressing

Small Business Conundrums 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been several local businesses I have continued to support because I can't imagine my community without them.  But recent events have caused me to question my support of two of these businesses and I guess I'm writing this here in the hopes that someone will either tell me that I'm doing the right thing or tell me what to do that would be right thing.

First, my yoga studio. I have paid for a monthly membership to my yoga studio since April 2020. This allows me unlimited classes every month, but let's be honest, it's a small studio and really only offers six to seven classes a week. I aimed for two a week and usually made this goal, but not always. Previous to March 2020, I would regularly take a class at the actual studio every week and I enjoyed those classes, but I'm one of the strange people who actually prefer the Zoom classes (in my home! no commute! no showering at strange places!) and have found that the online format has been a boon to my *snotty voice* yoga practice.

But a couple of weeks ago, the owner of the studio posted an anti-vax, anti-mask meme on her personal Facebook page (this page is where she posts all of her business-related content, too).  It was not her own writing, but still  I was shocked, appalled, and frankly disturbed that someone in the health and wellness industry would post such information.  It just seems dangerous and irresponsible.  I wrote a comment along the lines of "I'm disappointed that you posted this" and have since not been to a class or interacted with her online.  I am on the hook for a membership through the end of November (you have to purchase in three month intervals and I reupped at the beginning of this month), but I'm honestly contemplating just not going to any more classes and not signing up for anything from the studio ever again.  Is this an extreme reaction this situation?

Second, there's the dog groomer. We've taken Hannah the Dog to a local groomer since we got her because it's within walking distance our house and this groomer does all the things that Dr. BB and I don't want to do - trim her nails and empty her anal glands, to be highly specific - at a super reasonable price.  She knows Hannah and puts up with all our weird requests that include not feeding her anything and using only her prescription shampoo.  But this groomer with her wonderful accommodations for our weird dog and her incredibly reasonable prices comes with some challenges. I've never once gone there at the scheduled time.  The groomer has a chronic illness and frequently reschedules because she's not well or she overbooks on days when she can work and calls to ask us to come in earlier or later.  I would estimate that I've only ever gone there at the planned time once or twice in the two years that we've had the dog, going to the groomer every four to eight weeks.  The last time she cancelled, she never called to reschedule and to be honest, it's hard enough to plan my days around the dog's appointments without those appointments becoming moving targets, so I actually did some research and started looking at other groomers in our area.  

I took Hannah to another groomer (she really needed it) and the groomer hardly touched her nails and doesn't actually empty anal glands because apparently this is a serious issue of division among groomers (it's internal and groomers are "supposed to" only do external things, APPARENTLY).  Anyway, these are details. Do I continue to take Hannah to the unreliable groomer or do I keep on with my search through local groomers (there are three or four more I can still try based on a crowd-sourced Facebook recommendation list)?  Someone please tell me what to do.  

Workout Clothes: I Hate It

I need some new workout pants for cooler weather. I need some new sports bras, too.  I have twice in the last month had to put off a workout because I ran out of clean sports bras and rather than increase the number of times I do laundry (once a week is all I can take), I feel like adding two or three sports bras to my rotation will make life easier.  But, listen.  I hate spending money on exercise things. I feel like I should be able to buy some nice shoes and a nice yoga mat and everything else should be free tshirts and hand me down boxer shorts.  But it doesn't work like that. So I need to to spend time researching the best workout pants/bras for my needs AND then spend the money and this makes me bitter.

Okay, workout pant criteria. I want a full-length pant. Capris can suck a duck because they always cut off right at my scar on my bad leg and I hate it. I want a pocket for my phone and my keys. I want them to NOT ROLL ON MY WAIST. Some women swear leggings are comfortable and I'm utterly befuddled because NO THEY ARE NOT THEY ALWAYS ROLL and I'm irrationally angry about this. I have found some running SHORTS that do not roll, but all of my yoga pants and running pants DO ROLL and this is frustrating.  

If you didn't think that was enough of a thing, let me tell you about bras. I hate the ones with velcro.  I hate the ones with seams that rub against my upper arm. I hate the ones with seams that touch my fucking breasts (I'm hyperventilating thinking about this).  I need it to support my absolutely boring C-cup boobs when I do things like run, squat jumps, and jumping jacks. I have a really old stretched out sports bra that should have been thrown away years ago, but it's the only one I own that meets these criteria, although it's slowly becoming unable to do the basic requirement of supporting my boobs when the rest of my body is bouncing.  

Sunday: Not a Day of Rest

I slept in on Sunday and immediately regretted it because my to-do list was so long.  

1) Yoga video - Since I'm on a yoga studio strike, I've been slacking on yoga and I really need it.

2) Dog park - The dog needs to run and be free and play with other dogs and it's a gorgeous day.

3) Laundry - Standing Sunday chore.

4) Dumb work email reminding people to do things I asked them to do last Monday and Wednesday and now am sending on a fucking weekend because I need it for a meeting on Monday mid-morning

5) Vacuum/sweep floors  Standing Sunday chore.

6) Dog nails - We use a Dremel to trim the dog's nails, but she really doesn't like it, which is why we pay good money to our groomer to do it.  Unfortunately, the groomer we were trying out did a very bad job on her nails - I might argue she did absolutely NOTHING to her nails - so now we have to do it.  This involved one person shoveling kibble into her mouth (Dr. BB) while someone else went at her nails with a vengeance (me).  This took three sessions over the entire day and NO ONE was happy at the end of it and her nails were only SORT OF okay.

7) Text D/M/T/T - At some point, I just stopped reaching out to people who don't live with me and I need to stop that.

8) Update blog - I'm so behind.  I will never catch up and I guess that's okay since this space doesn't have to be a priority.  

9) Duolingo - Every day. I do it every day.

10) Get dinner started by five - Because I get to go to book club tonight (item #13), I need to start dinner super early so that I can have fed the dog, cat, and husband before I leave.

11) Sympathy card - Someone in book club's dog died and I need to write a sympathy card for their family and give to her at book club. 

12) Make cookies - For book club (item #13).

13) Go to book club - My reward for getting the rest of this fucking list done.

Overall

You guys, I'm losing my mind. I don't know what's right or wrong anymore.  I'm so exhausted of policing where I think is safe or not.  I honestly don't care if I get Covid at this point - I'm vaccinated and most people who are vaccinated get mild symptoms - but I DO care if I pass it on to someone who is vulnerable or unvaccinated.  And I'm tired of part of the policing have to judge how seriously I think other people take their own mitigation strategies.  I'm so tired.

I want to go to a restaurant and eat in. I want to go to a work meeting without a mask on. I want to go see my mom and not worry about whether or not I'll catch something on the way there. I want to just do a weekend away with my husband without planning every little interaction we might have with someone. I don't want to panic anymore when my doorbell rings because the person on the other side isn't wearing a mask. I want to be able to hand out candy on Halloween. I want things to be normal again.  But I know that I can't live like that because it's not normal.  So we go on.  

2020 CSA Basket #2

This week our basket was especially usable. I'm used to a lot of early spring baskets being mostly greens, which is great, but not always something that's easy for us to incorporate into our regular diets. This basket has a lot of crunchy vegetables in it and I'm always up for something I can just snack on all day long with no preparation beyond cleaning.

Fennel (2)

Collard greens

Radishes (plus greens)

Kohlrabi (2 small bulbs)

Potatoes (6)

Broccoli

Lettuce

This is entirely doable. We used the broccoli and two of the potatoes in a frittata last night.  I'll eat the radishes and kohlrabi as snacks. I'll use the lettuce in a couple of salads. I'll saute those greens and eat them as lunch.  I'm not sure exactly what we'll do with the fennel just yet. In the past we've done a slow cooker recipe with chicken thighs, fennel, and rice, but since we're trying to eat less meat, I don't know exactly what to do with it. Maybe this fennel chickpea stew?  

And that's it. A delightful basket we'll enjoy all week long.

CSA 2020 Basket #1

If you don't know what a CSA is, here's a post I wrote about it a few years ago.  The farm we bought our share from in the first few years we lived here has closed (Wisconsin leads the nation in farm bankruptcies and I find this to be a sad statistic), so a couple of years ago we switched to a different farm that's a bit further away, but still delivers our shares within walkable distance. I used to be really good about writing a post every week to show off our CSA, but I do not promise that this year. I'll just do an occasional update on what we're getting.  

Not much has really changed on our end with the CSA process because of the Covid crisis. Our farm sends regular updates about the changes the owners and employees are making on their end, but I have literally done nothing different.  I signed up for the CSA in December and sent in my check. We bought a small share (because there are only two of us) which cost us $425 for 20 weeks.  We also purchased an egg share which cost $55 that gets us a dozen eggs every other week.  

On Saturdays, we can log in to the farm website and view what vegetables are in our box that week. If there's something we don't like or need, we can swap it out for something else.  This week, for instance, I didn't want basil, so I swapped it out for some turnips.  On Wednesdays we can go pick up our shares at a house that's a few blocks from our home between the hours of 3 - 6:30pm.  Because of social distancing, we're supposed to make sure we wait for anyone already getting their vegetables to finish gathering all their stuff before we enter the "staging" area. It's rare that we see anyone, but it was a nice reminder from the farm.* I walk over there with the dog and a bag and then find the box with my name on it. I unpack the box, putting everything into my own bag, break down the box, and head off.  Easy peasy.

This week we got:

1 dozen eggs

Salad turnips

Kale

Mustard greens

Bibb lettuce

Choy som

Chard

Chives

I don't have a spectacularly good plan this week.

I'll eat the turnips raw. They're delicious.  

I'll saute the choy som and mustard greens with the chives for lunch sides.

We'll use either the kale or chard with the eggs (and some goat cheese and black olives) for a frittata.

I bought some ground beef at the farmers' market last week and we'll use the lettuce on burgers and probably some salads. *heavy sigh* I don't love a lettuce salad.

With whatever we don't use in the frittata (the chard or kale), I'll probably use as a base for a vegetable stock I'm going to make. I have been diligently saving my vegetable scraps in the freezer and intend on making some stock. Or I'll saute it up as a side. 

And this is the end of my endless prattling about vegetables. Yay for CSA season!!!

*The owners also sent an email that said if we were sick, we should NOT go to the pick-up site, but to call the farm and if we aren't able to find someone to get the basket for us, they would deliver it to our home. I almost cried when I read this. It was so sweet - these farmers make hardly any money and here they are, volunteering time and extra resources to help community help.  

2019 CSA Week 5

This might be the most usable basket we've ever gotten from any CSA.

Broccoli
Carrots
Garlic scapes
Kale
Lettuce
2 summer squash

You guys. So easy.
Dr. BB will grill up the squash and eat them with lunch.

The broccoli will go in a frittata with some potato and cheddar cheese. It's like a baked potato frittata and is about as delicious as it gets.

I have already eaten most of the carrots. They are not quite as flavorful as I would like them to be, but what can you do with early season carrots, I guess.

I'm not sure yet what to do with the kale, but I'll probably just saute it up with dinner one night. I'll use part of a scape for that, too.  Those scapes last a while in the fridge, so I'll just keep chipping away at using them. I love them so much more than onions or garlic.

The lettuce is so good. I am not much of a lettuce fan, but this head of lettuce is AMAZING. I'll be gobbling that up with some ranch at lunchtime.

For a variety of reasons, this is the first time I've been able to pick up the CSA this year (reasons: work) and we have a new CSA and a new pickup location and I was super nervous about going to do this (I always am nervous about new places) and when I got there, they were still unloading the truck, so I had to talk to the guy and apologize profusely and unnecessarily about how I was early (I was not) and how I was sorry to make him find my box before everyone else's.  I'm so socially awkward.  That is all.

2019 CSA Week 4

This week is cabbage week!!

Snap peas
Cabbage (2 heads)
Zucchini
Scallions
Lemon basil

I made a slaw with the cabbage and some kohlrabi I bought at the Farmer's Market. I added some lemon basil in the slaw and frankly, I just don't love it. Oh, well. You never know until you try.

We'll use the scallions and zuke in a risotto and I've already eaten the snap peas raw, so that takes care of this basket, quite easily!

2019 CSA Week 3

This week brings us:
Snap peas
Kohlrabi (the tiniest little bulb!)
Parsley
Kale
Zucchini
Salad greens

I have already eaten the peas and kohlrabi.  We'll use the kale in a frittat.  We'll use that zuke in a risotto.  We'll eat those salad greens begrudgingly at lunchtime.

We'll use a tiny bit of the parsley as garnish for the risotto and then we'll end up tossing most of it because what exactly does one do with parsley?  No one knows.

2019 CSA Week #2

This week brings us:
Baby bok choy
Garlic scapes
Radishes (x2 bunches!)
Spinach
Garlic scapes
Salad greens
Eggs

We actually were also supposed to get frisee (a small bitter green), but I subbed it out (that's allowed in this CSA) for another bunch of radishes.

I did okay with the produce last week. I ate the turnips and radishes no problem. We still have a lot of greens and I think I'm going to need to deal with that soon.

Meanwhile, on to this week.

I don't know, honestly.  I'll make the baby bok choy by sauteing it with an onion and some balsamic vinegar and hoping for the best. The scapes are amazing and I'll use them in everything I think I can get away with, including sauteing some of those radish greens and spinach. Fingers crossed we don't fall too far behind in week two.

2019 CSA Week #1

Since our old farm shut down after last season, we're now using a different farm's CSA. I'm excited to see what new items we get and how quickly I fall behind. If you're not familiar with a CSA, here's a brief introduction I wrote about it.

This week finds us with some glorious early season goodies:
Salad mix
Radishes
Turnips
Fennel
Kale
Basil plant

We're supposed to repot that basil plant and use its leaves all summer.  I don't know if that will happen. We don't love basil in this house, although the idea of a caprese salad with giant chunks of mozzarella sure sounds great to me right now.

We already chopped that kale up and used it in a frittata with goat cheese and kalamata olives. It was delicious.

We'll probably use the fennel in a chicken and rice dish that we're fond of that uses the slow cooker. I took it out my mother-in-law's Real Simple years ago and it's truly a joy when we have fennel around.

Dr. BB said the turnip greens didn't look great, so he tossed those. He did save the radish greens, so I'll saute those and eat them for lunch sometime next week.

I'll eat the radishes and turnips raw for lunch. Those turnips are so delicious. If you, like me, have some messed up idea from your childhood that turnips are not good, you are so wrong.  These ones are mild and smooth and I adore them.

The salad mix is actually our biggest problem. This farm really likes its salad greens, but we don't love them. I'll probably attempt to eat them as side salads with dinners, but that's a big bag. I don't know. I'll get you an update next week.

2019 CSA Preview #2

As I continue living Cynthia's life, I picked up her CSA again this week.

This week brings us nine vegetables:
Bok choy
Chives
Frisee
Kale
Mesclun salad mix
Soy chum
Spinach
Spring salad mix
Leaf lettuce

If I admit to all of you that I didn't actually get around to all the greens from last week, you won't get mad, will you?  I still have  most of the pea shoots and the bok choy from last week.

So this week I was ruthless.

1) I threw out the mesclun salad mix because I ate it begrudgingly for lunch last week and hate every bite. Look, I don't need to hate the vegetables in my life.  Yes, maybe I should figure out a better way to dress it up, but I don't have time right now because the end of the semester is here and all I'm doing with my life is grading.
2) I don't need frisee in my life. I tossed it.

So here we are.

I bet I can convince Dr. BB that we need to do tacos or something to use the lettuce. He'll make actual tacos with a shell and use like three pieces of lettuce and I'll make a taco salad using more of it.

The chives are just useful in everything. I used them in stew and risotto last week. I can probably even throw a few in the tacos.

I'll wilt the spinach with some balsamic and eat it in like three bites.  This preparation of spinach is so delicious and it makes me free so virtuous.  I don't know this soy chum, but it's a leafy green that the newsletter says I can use the same way I use spinach, so that's what I'm going to do with it, too.

The spring salad mix will be my lunch salad. We'll see how that goes.

I still have bok choy from last week and now there's two more heads! I don't know. Maybe I'll roast them?  Eh. If you know a good bok choy recipe, hit me up.

And that's it for the CSA previews. Next week Cynthia will be back living her best life and I'll be out of luck. But don't worry. The real CSA season will began in earnest before you know it!

2019 CSA Preview #1

My friend Cynthia (seriously, that's her name - I'm not giving her a pseudonym or anything) is out of town on vacation. I basically get to live her life while she's gone. I'm taking care of her dogs and picking up her CSA. She bought the spring CSA (I did not), so for the next two weeks, you get a preview of what CSA season will be like.

This week we got eight vegetables and a dozen eggs.

1. Mizuna - This is a green that I don't care for much raw. I think I'm going to experiment with wilting it on the stove top and see what happens. 
2. Arugula - We have plenty of wild arugula growing in our yard. Neither Dr. BB nor I enjoy it, so (don't tell Cynthia!), I just tossed this.
3. Spring mix - This is one the farm's most popular farmers' market items. I had some with lunch yesterday and didn't love it. I think I need to come up with a better dressing for it.
4. Pea shoots - These are in the pint container. I just put a few of them on everything. Risotto? Just a few pea shoots at the end.  Eggs? Just throw some pea shoots on there. You're hungry in the middle of the afternoon?  How about a handful of pea shoots.

5. Baby bok choy - I'm going to make a risotto with this and eat it for my lunches this weekend. I might even get some mushrooms to bulk up the risotto a bit.
6. Spinach - I think I'll just wilt down this spinach on the stove top and then throw in a bit of balsamic and a sprinkling of Parm and call it a side dish.
7. Garlic chives - I used some of these in a rice dish we made for dinner on Wednesday night and I'll use the rest in the bok choy risotto I'm going to make. These chives are super mild.
8. Fingerling potatoes - I don't know what I'm going to do with these beauties. Smashed potatoes? Hash browns? I guess we'll find out!

Wednesday Whines and Wins

Whine: Our beloved farm is closing.  The ownership structure got complicated and it became yet another small farm in Wisconsin that just can't compete with the mega-farms. There are really only two other options for vegetable CSAs in our area and one is a giant farm, so we'll be trying out a new farm this year. This CSA is much more expensive than our old one, so I'm excited to see if there's a difference in quality or quantity. I also sprung for us to a dozen eggs every other week because if there's something we eat a lot of in this house, it's eggs.

Win: I frequently find myself at our grocery store at non-peak hours. I do this mostly to avoid the people who decide that standing in the middle of the cheese aisle is a good time to catch up with Neighbor Dave and Cousin Betty despite that fact that the CHEESE aisle at a grocery store in Wisconsin is regularly as busy as the church basement after Sunday services in Alabama, but the other advantage of going at this time is the power I feel when I turn the motion-detecting lights in the refrigerator cases on by walking down the aisle.  I AM THE FORCE.

Whine: My husband signed us both up for piano lessons.  He really wants a piano for our main room downstairs and I rolled my eyes at him since neither of us plays piano. So lessons it is.  First up, playing piano is hard. Next up, we have a keyboard set up with my husband's old desktop in our office to practice and Garage Band constantly freezes and/or shuts down just as I want to start practicing. What I'm learning is that Apple products suck.

Win: Thanks to said piano lessons, I can successfully play Love Me Tender very slowly on the piano.

Whine: I just went to the periodontist and my gums are killing me. I always forget to take ibuprofen with my breakfast on periodontist days and then regret it as soon as I pay the lady $150 and walk to the car with my hand clutching my lower jaw as if that will somehow dull the ache.

Win: I can afford the dental care.

Whine: I had a doctor appointment today (my foot! still with my foot!). I was there for half an hour before I went to the desk and asked just how far behind my doctor would be and was told that it would be at least another hour. Um...no.

Win: I rescheduled for next Monday. 

CSA 2018 Week #20 - The Last Basket

I haven't written much about the CSA for the last few weeks because here's what it is:

We've basically gotten sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and squash. It's honestly just been getting stockpiled on our counter and I'm running out of large bowls to store stuff in.

Our last basket had all of the above, along with some regular baking potatoes, carrots, kale, daikon radish, parsley, romanescu, and some jalapeño peppers.

I am feeling much more overwhelmed with CSA stuff this year than in past years. Part of this is scheduling. We can pick up the CSA from 3-7 on Thursdays and we teach on Thursday right up until 5, so it's usually close to 6 when we get home and instead of diving into dinner prep, I'm spending that first hour we're home picking up and putting away the basket vegetables and then dinner is late and I'm exhausted by the whole thing.  I'm usually hangry and not particularly fond of the vegetables by the time all is said and done.

So I think we can safely say that I'm NOT doing the winter share this year (although I know I'll regret that in February when I'm desperate for produce that wasn't made in Chile) and I'm happy to report that our Thursday evenings can return to normal.  Or something like normal.

2018 CSA Week #15

This week is full of goodies.

Delicata squash (2)
Sweet peppers (5)
Eggplant (2)
Garlic
Onions
Baby bok choi
Broccoli
Napa cabbage

We're going to eat the broccoli in a frittata.

We'll have the squash as a side for dinner late this week. The delicata is absolutely delicious.

The peppers will be eaten raw in my lunch.

I'll make a slaw with the cabbage and will eat it for lunches.

I don't know what I'm going to do with the eggplant or bok choi.

I'll throw the garlic and onions in with the rest of them. I'm never going to eat them all.

2018 CSA Week #14

This week's basket is demonstrating the shift from summer to spring.

Garlic (2)
Tomatoes (3)
Fennel (1 bulb)
Parsley
Spaghetti squash
Sweet peppers (4)
Leeks
Kale

I can't even with the CSA right now. I know that every single person reading this is busy, so me saying I'm busy is probably exactly worth the eyerolling you're doing. I'm too busy to deal with this crap.

The squash is horribly inconvenient for us. I never know what to do with spaghetti squash because the rule is to cook it up and then serve it with marinara sauce, but marinara is a no go for us because I hate it and it's too acidic for the other human. I hate it. Maybe I'll find someone to give it away to.

I'll eat the peppers and tomatoes raw because they're super delicious.

We used most of the kale in a frittata over the weekend.

I have leeks left from the last basket, so I think I'm going to make some potato leek soup. It's even starting to get a little bit chilly outside, so it will be seasonably appropriate.

The garlic? Eh. I have six bulbs now. Anyone need any?

CSA Week #13

Happy Labor Day! The labor of our farmers brought us a very usable basket this week.

Heirloom tomatoes (x5)
Sweet peppers (x3)
Cherry tomatoes
Beets (x3)
Onions (x3)
Lettuce
Delicata squash
Garlic

I have already eaten most of the tomatoes and peppers. They're so good.

The lettuce will basically be used in lunches when we go back to school this week.  We'll throw in some shredded chicken and call it a complete meal. 

I'm going to eat the squash for lunch on Wednesday. Dr. BB will be at school, so he's going to miss out. I have no shame.

The beets - who knows? Anyone want them? 

The garlic and onions are currently sitting on our counter. I'm sure I'll use a small fraction of them. We'll see!

2018 CSA Week #12

Before I picked up the basket this week, I ruthlessly purged our vegetable crisper. Anything I was not 100% positive we were going to use in something in the next five days was thrown away without any regret. Sometimes you just need a break. So I started this week with some carrots, some beans, and one onion.  Here's what came in the basket.

Tomatoes (x4)
Carrots
Leeks (x2)
Kale
Lettuce
Cherry tomatoes*
Delicata squash
Garlic
Sweet red peppers (x3)

So the next two weeks of my life are going to be insane. I am going to be out of town for a lot of it, school's going to be starting, and my mother is selling her house.  I'm going to be honest with you when I tell you that I don't have a plan.

I threw out the lettuce because it was gross.

I'll eat the tomatoes and peppers raw because they are delicious.

We're going to eat the squash for a side one night.

We'll use about half the kale in a frittata.

As for the carrots and leeks, I don't know. I'll probably make another batch of carrot soup at some point, but that point is unlikely to be in the next two weeks. What will I do with the rest of the kale? I don't know. Maybe I'll saute it as a side for myself with a lunch or dinner. Maybe I'll even use a leek in that side.

I don't know anything is what I'm saying to you.

*We actually didn't get cherry tomatoes for which I am SUPER pissed. I'm going to take that email and go to the Farmers' Market and DEMAND cherry tomatoes. I think, with most things, I would not care if they were missing from my basket, but I look forward to cherry tomatoes SO much and we rarely get them. (I'll actually politely ask where the tomatoes were and then take whatever answer they give me. You know this, right? I won't demand anything and I won't be mean.)

2018 CSA Week #10

This is the second week in a row I've been a bit disappointed in the basket. I hope it's not a trend. Beets
Kale
Dragon tongue beans
Tomatoes (x2)
Cucumber
Onions 
Big patty pan squash
Mint
Papicha

I found someone to take the beets and a bunch of onions, so at least those are gone.

We'll use the kale in a frittata and I've already eaten the tomatoes.  The cucumber was actually in rough shape - there was already a bit of mold on it, so I chopped it up right away and ate it for lunch.

I do not care for the dragon tongue beans. We have had them before and they must grow really well on our farm, but it's one of the few times I really have to tell myself that eating vegetables isn't always fun.  They turn green and taste kind of like green beans when you cook them, but I don't love green beans, either, so I'll take one for the team and eat these for lunch mostly drenched in ranch dressing.

You can't see it in this photo because the kale is on top of it, but that's the biggest patty pan squash I've ever seen. I'm not sure what we'll do with it, but probably just grill it for a side one night for dinner.

The mint smelled disgusting (I will eat a handful of mint things, but generally I find it to be overpowering) and the papicha we had a couple of weeks ago didn't go over well in our house, so those herbs are currently sitting in our crisper and I'm fully aware they'll end up in the compost heap before we get the next basket.

So, overall, I get some kale, two tomatoes, and a sort of suspect cucumber out of this. I will resentfully use the squash and beans.  Disappointing for a basket at the height of the summer season.

2018 CSA Week #9

This week has a bit of a disappointing basket, actually.
Onions
Garlic
Parsley
Carrots
Rainbow chard
Tomatoes (x2)
Hot peppers (x2)
Cabbage

The onions and garlic are out of control, my friends. We have them coming out of our ears already. I don't know. I give up on them.

I'll make a slow with the cabbage and one of the carrots.

I'll eat those delicious tomatoes raw. I bet they're gone before this is even published.

I'll make some carrot stew with the carrots and some of the carrots I have left over from a couple of weeks ago. The carrots are not great raw, so I'm hoping that cooking them will bring out the sweetness and I'll be less likely to cut them up for lunch and just end up throwing them out because raw not great carrots are inedible.

We'll do a frittata with the chard.

We might make a risotto that will use some of the parsley.

I do not know what do with all the garlic, onions, and now peppers.  I try to give them away to everyone who comes to our house, but you know how people are - they already have too many from their own gardens.

2018 CSA Week #8

It's a real summer basket here.

Eggplant (x2)
Lettuce
Green beans
Carrots (x4)
Tomato
Cucumbers (x2)
Onions (x3)
Garlic
Fennel
Kale
Papicha (a Mexican herb)

We were out of town last weekend, so I literally picked up the CSA on Thursday evening (after a DAY - our car's battery was acting up and I was stranded at a parking garage in Madison until a friend came and jumped it and then I had to have a perfect stranger jump me at a gas station and then the porch people came out and we were really annoyed with them about things, and then I had to rush over to get the vegetables) and then we left. I didn't think about them at all.

Sunday we got back and I had to work in the morning and I was hosting book club that evening, so I was racing around cleaning and cooking and I honestly haven't thought much about this basket. 

1) I used the tomato and half a cucumber in a corn salad I made for book club.I also used a tiny bit of that papicha. It was a hit and a lot of people went back for seconds.
2) I will eat the other cucumbers and the green beans raw for lunch. The lettuce will also probably get used for lunches, although I'm pretty much at my wit's end with lettuce.
3) Tomorrow I'll go to the Farmers' Market in a nearby town and buy more eggplant so I can make baba ganoush. It's not quite enough eggplant there.
4) The carrots are not great. I ate one in lunch on Sunday and it tasted kind of earthy, so I might hold on to those until we get more (as we inevitable will) and then make a carrot soup.
5) We'll make a fennel chicken rice thing in the slow cooker for dinner. It will use a fraction of an onion, as well.
6) The onions and garlic will...just sit in our fridge until I throw them away.  I'm just being honest here.
7) We used the kale in a frittata that was our dinner last night and will be our dinner tonight.

And that's it. I'm struggling a bit to keep up in case you can't tell.  But I shall persevere because we aren't even halfway through the season yet!

2018 CSA Week #7

Last week, I was on vacation, so someone else got the basket.  This also gave me quite a clean slate. I basically cleaned out the fridge and the only things remaining from previous week's baskets are beets and garlic scapes. On to this week.  We have a basket that represents the height of the summer season to me.

Heirloom tomatoes (2)
Cherry tomatoes
Green beans
Cucumbers (2)
Beets
Fennel
Lettuce
Sweet onions (2)
Cilantro (which, as you know, tastes like soap, so I actually just shoved it into someone else's basket because there's no reason for me to ever bring it home)

1) I'm just going to eat those tomatoes raw like the sweet treats they are.
2) The lettuce will be eaten in salads for lunch, probably with the cucumbers and green beans.
3) We're making a chicken fennel rice dish in the slow cooker that will use the fennel and one of the onions.  This dish is super easy (1.5 cups of soaked and rinsed brown rice, 1-3 fennel bulbs cut into wedges, 1 small diced onion, 1 tablespoon crushed fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 2.5 cups of chicken broth, and 1.5 - 1.75 pounds of chicken thighs cooked in the slow cooker for 4-5 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low) and delicious. We make it almost every time we get fennel in the basket.
4) The beets will go in the fridge with beets from two weeks ago. I know I posted a recipe of what to do with them, but I haven't done it yet. It just seems like a lot of work for something I probably won't like. Ha!  I'll do it soon.
5) If there are any green beans left, I'll eat them raw as a snack.