CSA Week 3

Week 3 of our CSA Farm share from Cooper's CSA Farm & Maze contained Asparagus, Garlic Scapes, Green and Boston Leaf Lettuce, Spinach and Strawberries.

Our share arrives around 9:30 am on Wednesdays.  Each week I leave out the empty box to be exchanged when the new box arrives.  Everything comes neatly packaged.

As a family we had never tried Garlic Scapes.  The scapes smell fantastic and we used them during the week as an alternative to garlic.  I think we all really enjoyed them!  The Strawberries were awesome and since the farm plants an ever bearing variety, they should be available until October.  

Our local paper "Whitby This Week" had an article on Thursday written by Jillian Follert titled "Bring on the farm fresh veggies".  I was surprised to find out that most farms only plan to offer shares to 75 to 100 families per season.  Sadly, by the numbers reported by my local farmers, it seams that they have so far only sold about half of their projected sales.

I'll admit that my husband was apprehensive about joining a farm share due to the up front cost and not really knowing what to expect.  Both he and my parents are SOLD on the idea and we plan on purchasing a full share next year.

It was a pretty slow week around the house.  I did the usual work, jogging, visiting the library and some quilting.  I'm itching to plan my next trip.....so I thought I'd share some snaps from our April trip at the SuperClubs Breezes Jibacoa in Varadero, Cuba.

The resort is a small Adults only (16+).  It is very secluded, hidden in a valley behind hills.  The animation director will take guests on a hike up a very steep hill; resulting in our amazing picture above.

The beach was beautiful.  The sand was soft and contained finely crushed shells.  The water was rocky with a coral reef very close to shore.  I'm not much of an Ocean swimmer; I love to lay out by the Ocean for the breeze but I prefer to swim in the pool.

The food and alcohol were excellent, plenty of choices and no "tricky tummies".  Below is  the view from the beach BBQ grill.  I know Hot Dogs are the worst thing in the world to eat but yowza, soooooo good.  We had an ocean-view room, but in all honesty, no room has a bad view.  The whole property is lovely and well kept.  I would recommend this resort.

I love going on vacation and travelling......hmmm decisions, decisions

Congratulations to Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz on getting hitched -- lucky girl -- till next week.

CSA Week 2

Week 2 of our CSA Farm share from Cooper's CSA Farm & Maze contained Asparagus, Green Onions, Pak Choi, 2 big bunches of Spinach and Red Leaf and Romaine Lettuce.

Sunday afternoon we had a nice big salad made with the Red and Romaine lettuce, along with grilled asparagus, sausages and a great bottle of wine from Columbia Winery from Prosser, Washington, USA.

My Mom used a bunch of the spinach to make "Spinach Brownies".  She used the CSA Green Onions and added Bacon Bits to the recipe.  These were great and would be perfect at room temperature for party finger foods.  She is planning on making another batch to take to her CWL potluck.  

Wednesday, I weeded the yard and enjoyed some time with my dog Girly who turned 10 last weekend.  We had our Cherry Tree and a Spruce removed from the yard this spring by Total Tree Service Inc.  With the changes we made last year, the yard is now very low maintenance.  

My Poppy survived the yard changes and I've started the lay out on a baby quilt for a co-worker.

My Husband added this pendant to a chain that I chose from my Nana's jewelry collection.  She passed away this April.  Nana was famous for her card playing skills and I love that this pendant represents a deck of cards.

Well that's about all for this week.  I still have the Pak Choi to use up; think I will saute it with a nice light glaze.  Till next week......

CSA Week 1

Huh? What's that, it's been over a year since we last met?? How does time go so incredibly fast? I won't make excuses for my absence but will try to bring things up to date over the next couple of weeks.

So, my parents are still living with us during the summer while we are STILL WAITING for their condo to be built. We've been advised that it should be ready by December 2011??

To try something new I decided to buy a half share of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) from Cooper's Farm in Zephyr, Ontario. Our first delivery included: 2 Green Lettuce, Spring Onions, Asparagus, Rhubarb and Oregano.

The Rhubarb was exactly the amount needed to make Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. Mmmmm.....Pie!

I used some of the spring onions to make Green Onion and Cheddar Scones from Canadian Living. BigMan loved these and has declared that I can make them any time. (this is surprising cause he HATES scones)

We had a great Saturday lunch of Pork Souvlaki marinated with the fresh Oregano, Tzatziki, Greek Salad, Green Onion and Cheddar Scones, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie and Red Wine.

Really, can it get any better than this? I think not! I love the process of cooking and baking and thrive off the compliments received from my family. Tomorrow's dinner will be hamburgers, grilled asparagus and three bean salad.

I'm looking forward to the challenge of making the best of what my farm share brings me each week and for the opportunity to get back to blogging.

To update, here are some things that have happened over the past year and a half:

• I visited Punta Cana, DR twice and Varadero, Cuba
• My dog Girly is fine, just older, grumpier and has "tuna breath"
• BigMan is still working hard for a living and making everything easy for me!
• I still LOVE quilting
• Cough, I might be at 33.5 instead of 32.5 BUT I still run 5km every other day and hope to be back to the 32.5 or lower PDQ!

So if you remember my blog....thanks for still checking! If you're new to my blog; WELCOME, sit a spell, have a read and drop me a comment.