CSA Week Four

I have to admit, whether I like the vegetable or not, I'm really enjoying taking this picture every week. I like having a visual record of everything we got in our share that week.

Four week four, we received:

Big bag of spicy mix
Head of Lettuce
Big head of Bok Choy
Buch of Radish
Bunch of Turnip
little bag of beans
A greenhouse cucumber
1.5lbs of Zucchini!
A bunch of Carrots
A greenhouse pepper
A bunch of onions
A bulb of garlic
Basil

Now I pick up our share each Wednesday, and have a week to go through it all. For this week, however, I knew we were going away on the following Monday, and I knew we were trying to clear out a bunch of edibles from the house. So my neighbour got my bok choy. My mother-in-law got most of the salad, some peppers and zucchini. And I brought my radishes and turnips with me to give to my dad, who loves raw radishes.

We were away for week 5, gave it to a friend instead, but I hear this is what was in it:

fennel
beets
carrots
onions
garlic
bunched arugula
napa cabbage
cucumbers
zucchinis
Head Lettuce
Red Russian Kale

I was sad to miss the fennel, but bought some next time I went to the market stand.

Next up, a couple of dishes I made with my lovely veggie share.

Menu Plan Monday: Camping and meal planning

At the risk of jinxing things, summer seems to finally have arrived and it is HOT HOT HOT! Despite this, my menu has some heavier items on it for this week. Some of it is by request, some is to use up items that we have on hand. That, and my bbq has still not been repaired/replaced, and chances are, it won't be happening any time soon.

Don't worry, though, I get to grill things this weekend when we go camping with my husbands sister and her family. Which doesn't excuse me from menu planning. It is even more important to plan a menu while camping - no one likes to have to leave the campground to find a grocery store, or even worse, to pay the highly inflated prices of things found at a campground convenience store.

Sunday: Greekfest! I usually try to get to Greekfest at least once during its two week run. I love getting fresh Gyro's and pita, and homemade Tzatziki. Yum. Alot pricier this year, however, so I likely won't be making a return trip.

Monday: Mac and Cheese, from scratch. Just because.

Tuesday: Sheppard's pie. I know, this is a cold weather dish. But I have left over mashed potatoes, alot of them, left over corn, again, alot, and want to try out some local ground beef I just purchased. Plus it was requested.

Wednesday: Butter chicken with Naan and rice. (Come back later for more about this.)

Thursday: Salad and fresh bread. I hope to make it to the Stittsville Farmer's Market and will choose what goes on the salad based on what is available.

Friday: Camping time. Grilled sausages, baked potatoes, salad. Smores. And Doritos.

Saturday: More camping. Hamburgers and hot dogs, grilled corn on the cobb. Smores.

Be sure to check out all the other menu plans over at Menu Plan Monday, where there are over 250 menu plans to browse and be inspired by.

Menu Plan Monday: Last minute decisions and farmers markets

It was a busy weekend, following a busy week, and I'm glad to be home. But that means that I did not plan out my menu plan well in advance. In fact, I finished writing it about 5 minutes ago. The upside to this is that I did not do my grocery shopping yet, so my menu plan was made keeping in mind what is in the freezer and pantry, knowing I will be picking up fresh fruits and veggies later today.

Sunday: Bacon, eggs and toast. I admit, usually when we come in from a trip on a Sunday night, I order in pizza or pick up hamburgers. This time, I picked up a carton of eggs, pulled bacon from the freezer, and we sat down and ate dinner as a family. Since my children had not been with us at the wedding this weekend, we had not sat down and eaten together in a few days. It was nice to reconnect that way.

And a dozen eggs is cheaper than burgers and fixins for four.

Monday: Hamburgers with salad. Homemade hamburgers.

Tuesday: Pork "Pernil" with cilantro-citrus adobo sauce. No idea for sides yet - whatever looks good in produce.

Wednesday: Pomegranate chicken legs with corn pudding.

Thursday: Spinach pasta ribbons with a choice of sauce: tomato for the hubby, alfredo for the rest of us.

Friday: My rescheduled birthday dinner is tonight (I'm going to Atelier, where the chef knows I'm coming with my camera.) I hope my husband remembered to reschedule his parents for babysitting (and if not - Hi C! Kids still okay to come over Friday evening?)

That seems like a good plan for the week, keeping in mind various activities throughout the week.

I'm itching to make it to a good farmer's market this week, thinking of going to the Ottawa Farmer's Market on Thursday afternoon (and again, Hi C! Want to come with me? I can pick you up on the way past.) I guess I'm spoiled for choice when it comes to farmer's markets around here. Most of them are Saturday and Sunday, but I still have alot of choices: Carp, Carleton Place, Byward, Parkdale, Ottawa Farmer's, North Gower....

While in North Bay this last weekend (the wedding was in Sudbury, but we spent some time in North Bay as well), I had a chance to go to the North Bay Farmer's Market. I was looking for flowers to be part of the wedding cake I was making for that afternoon.

As I said, I've been spoiled.

This farmer's market had about a dozen or so stalls - 3 of which involved baked goods, a majority of which had some sort of craft.

This is what I found for fresh produce:


There were one or two that had non-baked edible items, such as this stall for maple items. I stopped here with my mother while she made her purchase and I took snapshots of a few items.

I love the pretty packaging.


I never did get any flowers at the market, there were really none to be had, but at least my Mom came away happy.


Come back later today to see the pictures of the wedding cake I made, as I did end up finding the flowers I needed somewhere else.

Oh and don't forget to go see Menu Plan Monday for more menu plan ideas.

Farmer's Market: I can't wait for the next growing season

It was opening day at the North Gower Farmer's Market this morning. Bags and camera in tow, I threw the kids into the car and got lost on my way to it. Silly of me, getting lost. Followed the sign that said "Farmer's market this way" and it wasn't the right way.

Luckily, I was not in a completely unfamiliar area, and my husband can get me unlost from anywhere, just with a phone call.


Only one vendor selling fresh produce, Rochon Farms, the rest were a combination of plants and alot of crafty items. I was not interested in crafty items, and while I bought some basil plants (cause I've killed two since I showed the picture of mine in my kitchen window), I was after some produce.

This spinach, while a bit pricey, will make some lovely creamed spinach. I hope.


Yes, my little guy is still coming to the markets with me with my little point and shoot camera. It is amazing how quickly even the biggest frown disappears when someone sees him taking pictures. He had a former teacher, whom we ran into at the market, laughing when after he took this shot, he took a picture of his feet.


My husbands dinner plan for today was hamburgers, so he'd requested tomatoes. I wasn't hopeful going in but paid the $5.50 to get him these juicy, fresh tomatoes. And they were good on my burger.


I don't like cucumbers, unless they are in tzaziki sauce, but my little guy does, so he carefully examined all the cucs and picked one to his liking. He'll eat it with his lunch at school on Monday.


And while none of us like radishes, I love the colors of them, so had to take a picture.

I also bought some asparagus, at $2.50 a bunch, a much better price than the $6 a bunch it was 3 weeks ago.

Hopefully in a few more weeks there will be a better selection of produce to be had. Strawberry season is only about a month away and I can't wait!

The North Gower Farmer's Market is each Saturday, from 8:30am to 1pm, from now until October 30th, rain or shine.

Opening Day: Carp Farmer's Market

If you live anywhere in the Ottawa Valley, right now you can see it is pouring rain outside. Again. A few minutes ago the sun showed its face, but the rain didn't stop.

Fortunately it wasn't raining, though the sun was not shinning, at the opening of the Carp Farmer's Market this morning. It was opening day and the clouds over head did not stop people from flocking to the market, fabric bags in hand, ready to see what the local vendors had out for them.

I brought along my fabric bags, my camera, and my side kick, who brought along his own camera to take pictures with.

After a walk around the market, to see what was available and chat with a few people, we went back and started shopping.

I bought some beautiful asparagus from Acorn Creek Garden Farm, so much nicer than the asparagus I found at the grocery store earlier in the week.


While the rhubarb was lovely, we left it there.


The flavored salts from The Salty Don appealed to me, with such flavors as Hellenic Smoke (smoked salt, pepper and onion with oregano, parsley, nutmeg and cinnamon,) and Saffron Pepper (black pepper, dried onion and garlic, lemon peel and saffron). I left with three different types; Fennel Salt, the Tuscan Smoke and some Smoked Pepper. Need to make sure I plan something for dinner this week using the Fennel salt. Yum!


Good garlic has been hard to find, and when I do find decent garlic, it has been from Puerto Rico. Thanks, but I'll take this local garlic, harvested last fall, instead. And at 3 heads for $2, a pretty good price too.


I also bought some lovely Flower Station Cheese, a semi-firm cheese made similar to Feta, from a local cheesemaker, Back Forty Artisan Cheese. It only took a small taste of this lovely cheese to make me decide to bring it home. It will be amazing in my lunch this week.


I had a great conversation with Tom of Country Cuisine, maker of "Organic, Delicious and Nutritious Food Mixes." As he told me, he makes everything in small batches to help keep his wife in shoes and earrings. Plus they are tasty too.

Now I do make most things homemade, but sometimes it is nice to have a mix on hand for those times when you are either short on time or not feeling well. And they'd be a great addition to the provisions if going camping.

Since I'm feeling fine, and dont't plan to go camping any time soon, I'll have to come up with a last minute reason to make the Garlic Lover's Drop Biscuit mix that I brought home.

Other than the concession stands, the longest line ups I saw were at The Girl With the Most Cakes, where these stunning little cakes were available in 4 flavors for $12 each. A steal if you ask me. The details on these little beauties were amazing, with everything made from buttercream. There are going to be some very lucky, and happy, mother's tomorrow, receipients of one of these.

To round out my trip to the market, I also came home with some beef bones from Dobson's All Natural Grass-Fed Beef. I have big plans for these bones. Big plans.

The Carp Farmer's Market runs every Saturday from 8am to 1pm, rain or shine, from May through October. Parking is free, admission is free, and there is lots to see.