CSA Week Eleven from Breezy Willow, a visit to Miller Library market and strawberries from Gorman. Who needs grocery stores in spring and summer around here?
We got:
Tuscan kale
Three beets (one is hidden)
Romaine (weighs two pounds)
Three pounds sweet potatoes
Half pound shiitake mushrooms
One pound green beans
One pound Brussels sprouts
One pound bean sprouts ( not there, I swapped)
My swap got me three more of those lovely grapefruit. Bread the Great Harvest White. This has become our favorite toast for breakfast. Reminds my husband of English muffins when toasted.
And, last but not least, those lovely eggs. This was the last delivery of eggs for early bird CSA.
I also picked up peach yogurt, Great Harvest croutons for salads and some chicken legs.
Before hitting the CSA I stopped at Miller Library market to get a few things. Like curry to use with the chicken.
Fresh veggies from Love Dove to pair with the strawberries. French breakfast radishes and arugula. I know, I know, there are holes in the leaves. I like seeing holes in the leaves. It means no bug died from chomping on pesticide infested veggies. If you want fresh veggies that haven’t been treated, look for holes or bugs (like corn with little happy worms).
Organic practices. Many of our local farms follow organic practices and give you fresher than grocery store items that aren’t treated or sprayed. For less money most of the time, too.
Got my feta for the salad from Bowling Green. Was looking for short ribs from TLV but will have to wait until Glenwood on Saturday.
Between the farm stands, markets and CSAs in Howard County, you can eat quite well using grocery stores for just a few staples.
Today while out, I did a loop. I had errands in Columbia so I hit Wegmans for coffee, lemons and limes, paper goods, and shrimp. Stopped at Gorman to check out the farm and get some berries. Headed up 29 and hit Miller library before continuing out to Breezy Willow. I have all I need for the vast majority of our meals, using locally sourced items.
Salads. Meats. Stir Fry. Side dishes. Dairy (now that Misty Meadows is at the county markets). Cheese. All readily available and really fresh.
Now, what am I going to make with these lovely shiitakes?
hocofood@@@
AnnieRie Unplugged 
I kept the bean sprouts, thinking about doing a stir fry with them & the shiitakes. If you need anther idea, years ago I discovered a man in VA who grew shiitakes and he recommended making an omelet with them.
We opened that jar of marinated mushrooms from last week. The one I blogged about using Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.
They were very very good. I may do it again with these, but those curries from Thai Spices also seem a good pairing.
I have spinach left from last week. So, I may do spinach, garlic and mushroom stir fry,use the curry and make the chicken from Breezy Willow.
I also got half a chicken from TLV. Thinking of grilling it. Mushroom gravy sounds good.
So many possibilities.
Sorry to bother you again, but read something disturbing this morning and thought I would pass it along in case I’m not the only one who hadn’t thought of this. It was an article about being aware of what you’re getting at Farmer’s Markets, paying attention to what kind of market it is, etc. One comment was about spraying – some farmers will spray chemicals on the ground before plants emerge, then won’t need to spray plants. You can still get chemicals, but the farmer can say he doesn’t spray the plants…technically true. (Not organic farmers)
This is just a little word game to be aware of, I think.
I think it would only take 1 generation to get used to seeing bugs or bug nibbles on vegetables. As a people we can get used to things very quickly. Especially if we know it is better for us.
I’m with you…the more holes in my leaves, the better 🙂
Thanks for sharing and linking up!