Farm Share Friday & THE SWEET CORN IS HERE!!!

It’s #FarmShareFriday!

If you couldn’t tell by the title, I am just mildly excited, as it’s not officially Summer in the great state of Iowa until the sweet corn is ready. This spring was cold and soggy which delayed the corn a bit, but it’s finally here and we are ready!

This annual vegetable milestone might not be exciting to any non-Iowans reading this, but you will just have to trust me there is nothing quite like a fresh ear of sweet corn roasted on the grill! Stay tuned for that demo! For now, here’s a picture of the corn fresh from the farm!

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, I have this super easy zucchini & corn pie recipe that I made TWICE last week! It’s great for using up those extra zucchini and I kept leftovers in the fridge for days and heated them up in the oven each day. I love a recipe that tastes just as good the second and third time I eat it! Here’s a photo from the recipe, mine wasn’t as photogenic!

This week’s farm share box was heavy, and colorful! Aside from the 12 ears of corn, we also received tomatoes, onions, peppers, herbs, cucumbers, cabbage, and jalapenos. I already have a couple recipes in mind but I will be searching Pinterest and sharing those that I loved.

For now, here’s another corn picture, because who can’t resist beautiful corn!

That’s all I have for you today, stay tuned for my last summer front porch refresh coming up real soon! As always, thanks for stopping by the blog today!

-Rachael

Farm Share Friday & Roasted Kohlrabi Recipe

Hi friends! We are in the midst of an intense heat wave here in Iowa, which gives me time to catch up on all the things indoors!

With no share box the week of July 4th, and a busier than normal last week, I am finally able to update you on produce we received and recipes we love! Part of the fun of participating in a farm share or CSA program is experiencing produce that you might otherwise not purchase, example: Kohlrabi.

Prior to this past week, I had never bought, cooked with, or eaten kohlrabi, but I was determined to find a use for it. With some simple searching online, I found an easy roasted kohlrabi recipe that turned out amazing (and approved by the 1 year old!).

It turns out that kohlrabi tastes like a cross between a potato and an artichoke. This simple recipe calls for roasting with some salt/pepper/olive oil and topping with Parmesan cheese, ta-da! Instant side dish or snack! Here is what mine looked like.

Click here to see the recipe I used

Now for next week, I have quite the variety to work with and I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures of all the color! Here are a few pictures of what arrived fresh this week.

Fresh sage drying in the kitchen!

I am glad the larger vegetables are starting to be in season, but I do need to get creative with all of these zucchini! I pinned a few different dishes/casseroles that call for zucchini and corn, so I might have to track down some sweet corn and see what I can come up with to share with you next week.

That’s all I have for today, and if you are local to Iowa make sure to stay safe during this intense heat wave! I will see you all soon!

Farm Share Friday - Week 5

Hello friends!

It’s Friday and that means we have not only made it to the end of the week, but it’s also time for #farmsharefriday! Today’s post is going to be super quick since I don’t have any new recipes to share with you from last week’s box and I am on a time crunch this afternoon while writing this (can we say last minute?). Again, these posts are not sponsored and just my personal experiences and opinions with a local farm share program.

Alright, let’s get to it!

This week’s box contents:

1 doz eggs

2 heads of lettuce

1 bag of spinach

1 very large bunch of basil

Radishes

Beets

Now I consider myself a very non-picky eater and will try almost anything several times before determining I do or do not like it, however I can confidently say I am not a fan of beets. We did receive a few of them this week and luckily I have some coworkers that can take them off my hands.

Well speaking of work, I have to get ready and head there this evening. If you follow us on Instagram you occasionally see some story posts from my real job as a 911 dispatcher. I always thought that job title was mysterious so I try and share as much as I can about it to those curious.

See you soon friends!

Farm Share Friday - Week 4

It’s time to see what we received in our weekly share box from our local farm!

These posts are not sponsored! Just a little insight from me on how these programs work.

Yay for Friday! We made it!

This week for #farmsharefriday I have a really great recipe for greens, one that the entire family enjoyed! I also have so much produce from the box this week that I couldn’t squeeze it all into one photo. As the weather continues to improve, I have a feeling our share boxes will continue to reflect that!

First up, this super easy collard greens recipe…1.5 year old approved! I love fast recipes with minimal prep time and this recipe was perfect!

https://cookieandkate.com/quick-collard-greens-recipe/

Next up, I have a photo of some of the contents from our share box this week! I left out of the photo the rest of the turnips, and opted to show you just one of each so the picture wasn’t too cluttered, you get the idea!

2 large heads of lettuce

1 bunch asparagus

1 dozen eggs

1 bunch collard greens

1 bunch each red and white turnips

1 bunch parsley

1 bunch green onions

I am excited to have more collard greens for dinner tonight! I will be back next week to share what we loved and the contents of our next box. Follow along on Instagram for all of our decor/renovation/building projects, there’s always something happening!

Thank you for stopping by the blog today!

Farm Share Friday - Week 3

It’s already that time of the week again, my favorite day (for many reasons)! We finally have the hot and humid Iowa weather that we are used to, and that means all sorts of goodies are popping up out of the ground, especially the herbs! We had a lot of leafy greens in our delivery last week, and I want to share a juicing recipe for anyone looking to add a little greenery to their diet. And don’t worry, my 1.5 yr old enjoyed it with me, so it can’t be that bad!

Green Juice

-2 green apples

-handful of each: kale, spinach, lettuce

-4 stalks celery

-1 Lemon (peel removed)

If you have never juiced anything before, read the directions for the machine you are using as they are all a bit different. I really like to juice vegetables because it’s easier than eating them and still provides all the health benefits! This recipe was perfect for all of the leafy greens we had in our share box last week.

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Ok, on to this week’s box contents!

-Fresh flowers for planting

-Blueberries

-Green Tomatoes

-Eggs

-Radishes

-Sage

-Two heads of lettuce

-Greens

I have never tried fried green tomatoes, and it looks like this week I might have to! I better run and finish my outdoor work before it storms again, you can definitely tell it’s spring time in the Midwest lately! As always, thank you for stopping by the blog today!

Farm Share Friday - Week 2

It’s time for #farmsharefriday!

(these posts are not sponsored, just me sharing my personal experience with my local CSA)

We had another wet week here in Iowa, but that didn’t seem to influence this week’s share box quantities! This week contained a nice mix of local items and produce, some that I would have probably not tried/purchased out on my own…which is part of the fun of it!

First, let’s recap recipes from last week that we tried and loved…

Lemon Asparagus Risotto: This recipe is really tasty, however takes a bit longer to cook than I was anticipating, but that seems to just be my unfamiliarity with cooking risotto.

Rhubarb Crisp: A fast and easy recipe, this one is sure to hit the spot!

Avocado/Egg/Radish Toast…1 year old approved!

If you follow along on Instagram, head over there for the un-boxing video on stories! Here are the contents of our share box from week 2:

-12 brown eggs

-2 heads of lettuce: green and red

-1 bunch kale

-1 bunch radishes

-1 bag cheese curds

-1 bag spinach

-2 lbs of rhubarb

-1 bunch of fresh honey sticks

-1 bunch fresh mint

I already know I am going to try juicing some of the kale and spinach, I just need to grab an apple at the store this week. Stay tuned for how that turns out! As far as the rest, I will be getting creative on google looking for recipes, and I might need a fresh mint mojito to help me search! Yum!

As always, thank you for stopping by the blog today! If you have any farm share questions feel free to submit them here or track me down on Instagram, I will try and answer them the best I can! See you soon!

Farm Share Friday - Week 1

Hello! It’s time for our first edition of #farmsharefriday that I introduced last week. This is a weekly look at what we received in our share box from our local CSA farm. Not sure what a farm share is or have questions about the risks and benefits of joining? Check out my last post here.

It has been a very wet and cold Spring here in Iowa, so I was very surprised when I opened my box of goodies this week and saw everything. I have a quick video up on Instagram stories if you want to check out the un-boxing, but here is a photo of everything that was included this week.

Week 1 Share Box Contents

-Eggs

-Rhubarb

-Green Onions

-Asparagus

-Radishes - two varieties

-Turnips

-Homemade Jam and Honey

These veggies not only smell like they are straight from the garden (you know what I’m talking about!) but some of them actually still have dirt on them….I mean, it doesn’t get much fresher than that!

I am not sure that I have ever eaten a turnip, but this week I will be trying a recipe for turnip crisp (and if it’s amazing I will share it next week). I am also looking forward to making some asparagus risotto and rhubarb crisp. I will be the first to admit I am not much of a cook, but I find that is mostly because I make the same few items over and over. This farm share program forces me to think outside the box and research recipes that will work with the food I have on hand. It might be a bit of a challenge, but I am up for it!

While we are at it, can we take a look at these eggs? I love all the color variety!

That is all I have for now, check back with us next Friday to see how we used this share box and what the contents are of our next one! Thanks for stopping by today!

Community Supported Agriculture - Farm Share Friday

Hi there! Today I am mixing it up a bit and bringing you some information about Community Supported Agriculture (also called CSA or farm share). If you live in the United States, chances are there is a farm share program in your neck of the woods that you could be benefiting from. How? Let’s dive into it..

What is CSA/Farm Share?

A CSA is a group of people who are supporting a local farm, and in turn sharing the risks and benefits of that year’s growing season.

For example, my local farm asks for a one time fee at the beginning of the growing season, and in turn I receive 17 weekly deliveries of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the spring/summer/fall. This guarantees fresh, local, and organic food for me, and a steady income for the farm.

There are several varieties of farm share programs, as nearly each farm does it differently, but some offer different pickup or delivery schedules and different varieties of fruits/vegetables/cut flowers, etc. I recommend doing a simple google search for farms in your area that offer a CSA program to find one that works for you.

Benefits

The benefits of a CSA are so many, these are just a few!

Helping a local farmer

By participating in a CSA, you are supporting the farm ahead of time, ensuring they can purchase the necessary items needed to grow and maintain their farm.

Save money

Cost can seem significant up front, however make sure to break ti down over the entire time frame that you would be receiving share boxes. I figure my farm share costs around $30 a week, which is less than I would spend on fruits and vegetables at the store.

Eat Local, Eat Organic

To me, this is very important. Store bought produce often comes from across the country, or even a different country, and was picked over a week prior. Who knows what the sanitary conditions were where it was grown, or how it was transported to your local store. Often times, pesticides and waxes are applied to the food to enhance appearance.

Fresh Food = More Flavor

We all know that garden tomato tastes very different from the one purchased at the store, there’s a reason behind that!

Variety and Quantity

Some people see this as a downfall, if they are not open to trying new/different vegetables, however I look at it as a challenge. Eating what’s in season might require googling some new recipes or cooking techniques, but that’s all part of it. The large quantity of vegetables can also be overwhelming, but sharing with friends and freezing or preserving portions for future use is always an option.

Risks

As with anything, there are risks involved, but I believe the benefits far outweigh them.

Growing Season

A nasty pest or terrible weather pattern can wipe out a crop for the season, and with purchasing everything up front you run the risk of this happening (if no alternate or indoor facilities are used at your local farm).

Vacation/Out of Town

Some farm's will let you choose an alternate date for pickup, but generally if you are out of town or otherwise unable to pickup your weekly share, you miss out. This would be worth looking into when choosing a CSA to support, and usually an alternate person could pickup your share for that specific occasion.

My local farm starts their program next week, and I am looking forward to seeing what is in my share box. I am planning to post photos/information regarding my share box each Friday, along with the occasional recipe for those tricky vegetables. Make sure you are following along on Instagram for ‘Farm Share Friday’, especially if you are interested in learning more about this type of program.

These posts are not sponsored, but I do believe there is a lack of information out there regarding CSA programs and would like to share my experiences.

Well I am off to find a couple rhubarb and asparagus recipes for next week, and do some planting of my own. Thanks for stopping by the blog today!