Our Second Month of CSA Boxes

 We tried something new this summer, a Community Supported Agriculture program (called CSA) through one of our local farms. We pay up front and then get 17 boxes of fresh produce throughout the summer and into fall.

Box #6-- Lots more zucchini, some summer squash, a cantaloupe, some green and yellow beans, more tomatoes and some peppers. 


I made chocolate zucchini bread, some squash side dishes (just sauteing squash/ zucchini with mushrooms and onions), and I shredded some zucchini to freeze for winter too. We made salad with the lettuce, used the cantaloupe in our fruit/yogurt bowls. The green peppers were used for fajitas one night paired with another red pepper I bought at the store and some onions. We used the green and yellow beans for side dishes at dinner and the tomatoes for sandwiches & sides. 




Box #7-- MORE zucchini and squash, some cucumbers, beets, lettuce, cantaloupe, tomatoes and banana peppers.


I made summer squash lasagna with some of the squash and zucchini and sauteed up others with some onions and garlic and Italian dressing seasoning. I ate the cucumbers and tomatoes with my lunches and used the lettuce to make a salad. The turnips we cut up with some potatoes and garlic and herbs and roasted them. The cantaloupe was eaten for snack by my sons with some fruit dip and the banana peppers we diced up one by one to use in place of peppers in various recipes throughout the week. 

Box #8-- 1/2 a dozen zucchini, 1/2 a dozen yellow squash, a cantaloupe, a watermelon, some large and small tomatoes, 2 bell pepper, several other larger peppers, some lettuce, cucumbers, and pickling cucumbers (a good 1/2 dozen of each). 


We ate the fruit, used the tomatoes for salads and caprese chicken/salmon dinner one night. I used the lettuce in our salad and the squash/zucchini to make 2 more casseroles that I popped in the freezer for fall/winter. But I struggled to use all those cucumbers and peppers before they went bad. 

squash casseroles


I finally tried making my own pickles and sweet relish. I was terrified of doing it "wrong" and making anyone sick but warned everyone if they felt or tasted weird not to eat them. They turned out great and the pickles were gone in no time (but we're not really a relish family so those jars are just sitting in the fridge).



Box #9-- Ian and Evan picked up this box for me while we were getting Alec settled in his dorm. We got a dozen ears of corn, some green peppers, some yellow squash, more cucumbers and a couple banana peppers and lots more tomatoes. 


We ate a few ears of corn one night but I cooked them all up with the intent of making corn fritters with the leftovers. We LOVE them and they freeze beautifully! I cut up and cooked the squash with broccoli and mushrooms. We used the peppers for fajitas and I made some more sauce with ALL the tomatoes I had from this week, last week, and my mother in law's garden. I made up a cucumber salad & some cucumber dressing with the cucumbers. 

Our corn fritter recipe

I made enough marinara for 2 meals this time and popped some into the freezer


cucumber dressing


Box #10-- Corn, large and small tomatoes, yellow beans, celery, green peppers, onions, & cucumber


We ate the corn and beans as side dishes with dinner. We used the tomatoes, celery, and cucumbers in our salads and as side dishes. I sauteed the onions and peppers into various dishes and with some zucchini and mushrooms as a side dish.

Grilled chicken with zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and pepper


Box #11- Corn on the cob, some more peppers, some yellow tomatoes, small tomatoes, green beans, an acorn squash, some radishes, some yellow beats, and Swiss chard. 



We ate the corn on the cob with some BLT sandwiches (using some of those tomatoes too). We had green beans and squash as a side dish one night with our pot roast. I used the radishes in our salad and ate the small tomatoes with my lunches.


I really splurged one night and had BLT on an Asiago bagel; I can't remember the last time I ate a real bagel! 

Linking up with: Thinking Out Loud,









Comments

  1. Love how you used EVERYTHING and there is no waste- awesome job and thanks for sharing!

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    1. There has been some (minimal!) waste; by the time I figured out what to do with Swiss chard it was very, very wilted and not looking good so that got tossed and a beet or two here and there also didn't make it into the oven in time (both veggies we aren't really fans of but I just HATE food waste so I'm trying new recipes with them!). But all in all I feel like we have done a great job using up or storing/preserving what we've been getting. I'm hopeful to start finding more squash/pumpkin and sweet potatoes in our boxes soon.

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  2. I loved our CSA boxes when we were in MT! Like you I made sure we used it all. Nice variety of recipes.

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  3. I am assuming that you´re glad you made the decision to purchase CSA boxes? Are you planning to do it again next year? Everything you´ve done with your bounty looks good! I made pickles for the first time and they turned out amazing and were super easy to do.

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    Replies
    1. We are glad we purchased it for sure and I'm pretty sure we'll plan on doing it again next year though depending on how many people are living at home we might move down to the smaller sized box. All the pickles I made are gone and the relish is 1/2 gone so they were definitely hits and oh so easy!

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  4. I just think this is wonderful! It all looks so great!

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  5. We used to get a CSA box and it was so fun figuring out how to use the veggies!

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    Replies
    1. It really is fun to figure out the best way to use them.

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  6. That's amazing and it all looks so good. I had not heard of this program before.

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    1. It is a wonderful program; of course we have been very lucky that we joined in on a very good growing year. I have heard that some years the crops are much smaller if the weather doesn't cooperate (which is all laid out in their guidelines when you join up).

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  7. I love your creativity with these boxes! I am sure everything tastes so much better than if you bought it at the grocery store.

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  8. Those look like great boxes and it's fantastic to support a local farm.
    You made some delicious looking dishes with the produce, that lasagne looks so good.

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  9. Everything looks and sounds so good. Suggestion for the relish, since you aren't a relish family...tie a pretty around the jar and gift to someone just for fun! Thanks for giving us so many meal ideas. Have a great day.

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    Replies
    1. That's a good idea! I haven't really gifted off anything we've made yet.

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  10. Jodie's Touch of StyleSeptember 12, 2024 at 1:10 PM

    I love how you got creative with all the veggies. It's nice to have things in the freezer for the days you don't want to cook.
    XOOX
    Jodie

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  11. Joanne, I mailed you but the mail returned. But I lost your foto of the blue green white wide legged trousers. Can you please resend them? Sorry.....

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  12. This looks so fun and it really encourages you to think outside the box for dinner, snacks, etc. and they're all fresh and so healthy!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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  13. You have done such a wonderful job of using the produce creatively and thoughtfully. I sure do wish we had this near us. I checked, and there isn't one. Maybe one day...

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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  14. Wow, all of what you prepared looks and sounds fantastic!

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  15. We used to get an "organic box" from a nearby farm. I'm not a great cook and had problems sometimes coming up with ideas for some of the surprises I got!
    Then they turned business over to a bigger farm when they stopped and we could pick things for our weekly delivery which made it easier. Then that farm took my town out of the circulation as well and now that I'm alone, such a box wouldn't work well for me anymore, anyway.
    I enjoyed it while it lasted, though!

    Cat
    https://catswire.blogspot.com/
    (Visiting from Weekend Traffic Jam #74)

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    Replies
    1. I have had a few struggles with using a couple of things in our box but overall I think we have done a really great job each week using up the fresh veggies or finding ways to preserve them for "later." That said.. I do think if we do this again next summer I'll pick the smaller box option since I feel like I am almost stressed out about making sure none (or little!) of it goes to waste.

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