CSA share weeks 9/6 -The Harvest Doesn't Wait and Raspberry Repulsion

Last week two events coincided to reinforce that nature waits for no man or woman. We received a wondrous bounty in our farm share and I became ill that night. I rarely get headaches. Unfortunately I developed a sinus headache Tuesday night that lasted until Sunday. This severely impacted my ability to process our share. To further complicate matters, prior to taking ill I purchased 20 pounds of "seconds tomatoes" from a local farm that also required processing. I really had to pull myself together to get any food processed and called upon my husband to help out more than usual. The major casualty were about five pounds of pickling cucumbers, about two heads of lettuce, and a few quarts of cherry tomatoes. All in all, I can live with that.

Unlimited Raspberries. It was like hitting an organic lottery. Given the abundance of ripe berries and limited number of pickers due to the rain falling, Farmer John declared "unlimited pick-your-own raspberries" for all while we were in the field. My son gorged on them while I picked as fast as I could. My daughter, however, was not into berry picking. Not one bit. She screamed almost the whole time. Putting a damper on the already wet experience, we gave up once we had about 1 quart picked. I had to put them into a plastic bag as I had forgotten to bring a box with me. The berries, crushing under their own weight, were destined to be preserves.

The following night I took the bag out of the refrigerator to make my first batch of raspberry preserves and to my dismay saw several little worms on the berries. Yuck. I didn't worry, however, and threw those berries away. I picked through the remaining berries, poured out the juice that had collected in the bottom of the bag, and set about making my preserves. I elected to go with a freezer method rather than the more time consuming cooked version. Shorter shelf-life but just as tasty. I carefully poured the preserves into the freezer jars. Admiring my work, to my horror I noticed something white and moving in the jar. Insect larvae. In my preserves. Not just one. Many. Almost as many as there were seeds. Resisting the gag reflex, I dumped out all the preserves in the trash. Oh, how sad. I don't know if there was contamination on the bag I used to collect the berries or if the berries were hosting eggs that hatched upon harvest. What I do know is that in the future I will always make my preserves the same day I pick the berries. I will always use a relatively sterile berry box to collect the berries. And I will choose the boil method of making the preserves. It may be a while before can enjoy raspberries again.

Share on week of 9/6:

• 2 eggplant
• 1 Asian eggplant
• 1 head cabbage
• 11 pounds heirloom tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 8 sweet "ethnic" peppers
• 2 white peppers
• 4 green/yellow peppers
• hot peppers
• 12 stems kale
• unlimited bush beans
• unlimited raspberries
• 1 pint husk cherries
• unlimited basil'
• 2 quarts cherry tomatoes
• flowers

We canned  all the tomatoes. The yield was 10 quarts of diced tomatoes. We also made tomatillo salsa, roasted all the ethnic peppers and enjoyed kabobs with the Asian eggplant and the bell peppers.

CSA share week 8/27 - Bountiful - Post Hurricane Harvest Spared and a Busy Week of Cooking Ahead!

With Hurricane Irene passing over the region last weekend there was a great deal of concern about crop failure at our CSA farm. Thank goodness most of the crops were spared. We enjoyed the beautiful weather while picking beans, hush cherries, cherry tomatoes, and raspberries. It seemed hard to believe that only a few days ago we were having torrential rainfall and 70 mph wind gusts. The crickets and birds were chattering away and my son was running through the tall grass trying to catch a glimpse of the chorus. I wish I'd had my camera with me to capture my daughter sitting in the husk cherries carefully harvesting her own shack with a big juicy grin. Some moments truly are priceless.

Today's share was huge and there were "leftovers" from the pick up held in the pre-hurricane rains!

• 1 cantaloupe
• 1 black eggplant
• 1 summer squash
• 4 lbs heirloom tomatoes
• 2.5 lbs modern tomatoes
• 1/2 lb tomatillos
• 1 cucumber
• 2 yellow peppers
• 4 green peppers
• 6 ethnic sweet peppers
• hot peppers
• okra
• 3.5 lbs Macintosh apples (fruit share was purchased separately)
• 2 quarts cherry tomatoes
• 2 quarts yellow beans
• 1 pint husk (aka ground) cherries
• 1/2 pint raspberries

Last week I made hush cherry preserves. I followed a recipe for gooseberry preserves, to which they are often compared. It is pretty tasty!  I think I may do the same this week, along with some pepper jelly and some roasted peppers.

I also made four loaves of gluten free vegan zucchini chocolate chip bread. This is the BEST recipe for gluten free and vegan bread I have ever made. There is something magical about the combination of coconut oil and applesauce as a replacement for eggs in baking. It acts as a binder as well imparting moisture that withstands the freezing process. I simply replaced the banana with shredded zucchini and it worked beautifully. This has been a hit with the entire family. I still have some zucchini left, so I'll be making more bread tomorrow.

I'm planning on making more roasted tomatillo salsa and a huge batch of marinara for canning. (I purchased 20 pounds of "seconds" tomatoes from the local farm stand. They are not organic but I do know that the family practices integrated pest management. I feel confident in adding them to the mix and supporting a very local farm. Their beautiful farm is less than three miles from my home!) I volunteered my husband to make another big batch of eggplant "Farmer John" with the two eggplants we now have. Last but not least, a batch of applesauce with the apples! A busy week of cooking ahead. Busy, but delicious and well-worth the effort.