Serious Eats: stefnet's Profile

Freeze bananas in chunks, them use in smoothies straight from the freezer or make icecream with buttermilk - stick the frozen bananas and any other frozen fruit you may have straight into the running blades of the blender and add buttermilk - yummy. Instant icecream.

Stuff and bake tough-skinned tomatoes with breadcrumbs and herbs (or anything, really!)

snowmoonelk at 12:48PM on 10/27/08

From Serious Eats

Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

By the way, it was a flat fee of $25 per week, payable monthly, with a $100 surcharge (rebated as payment for the last month) due to financial constraints with some participants delaying payments to the struggling CSA. Also, you could skip up to 6 weeks by notifying them in advance but I am waiting to see how they account for that in their billing. We have skipped two weeks but our bills never reflected a deduction. Hmmm...

I found that the overall value (over 20 pounds of produce delivered to my home for $25) a good deal, but only if we ate it all.

The worst part (one that had me really ticked off sometimes) was that the deliveries were always Friday night, around 6:00. This is one of my busiest evenings. We often go out to dinner on Fridays, or have friends and family over. Regardless of that, I am usually fixing dinner around that time and have to stop to deal with 20 pounds of fresh produce. It is all packed in Rubbermaid containers, 7 of them, in a big box. All the boxes have to be gone through in order to get our what needs to be washed right away, what needs to be stored in the refrigerator, and what can stay on the kitchen counter or in the boxes for a day. The timing is terrible for us. Any other evening would be better, or any other time of the day would be great.

Morgana at 11:31AM on 10/27/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

After one year in our CSA, we were disappointed, not in the quality, necessarily, but in the strange selection and amounts of food. We get no choice in the items that are packed for us. What is grown locally is supplemented by the CSA's purchases from other organic sources. We get such things as 2 beets, 1 radish, tons of oranges, greens, eggplants, most of which taste great. Granted, we are a 2 person household, and 2 heads of iceberg lettuce would never be used in one week. We rarely eat iceberg. We get 6 or so bananas a week and I usually give them away, because we don't like bananas and, after all, how many weeks in a row does one want to fix and eat banana bread? I was really looking forward to tomato season but the tomatoes were a disappointment. The skins were very tough,and the tomatoes were often over-ripe. Russian kale has been supplied several weeks in a row. After fixing it one week, I wasn't ready to have it again. The leaf lettuces have been great, however, as has been the basil and parsley we often get. We still had to go to the farmer's market throughout the summer for tomatoes, zucchini and corn. I had assumed we would be overwhelmed with zucchini, but never got any because their fields of cucumbers and zucchini were flooded twice. So there was no savings in gas costs. I wound up throwing a lot of produce away which was a crime.

Our CSA is organized and run by people who prefer to eat raw foods and the selections seem to run to items that could be juiced alone or in combination. I will not be joining again next year but appreciate their endeavors and wished for good health for the community. We will go back to growing our own tomatoes and supplementing our produce needs from visits to the farmers' markets in the surrounding area.

Morgana at 11:12AM on 10/27/08

From Serious Eats

Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

Our CSA is very reasonable...$25 annual membership fee, minimum $20 order each time you order, and you don't have to order each week. They have a farmer's pick box at $20 and $30 levels, and you can customize for an additional $4, plus add cheeses, pastured meats, honey, nuts, etc. to your order as desired. I find it to be cheaper than any farmer's market and joined this one because of their high rating and flexibility. Having said that and realizing this isn't the usual CSA, I would consider finding a friend or neighbor to share the "share" and have recommended this to others who didn't feel they could use up the produce. You might also contact your CSA about the waste and see if they might consider an alternative structure similar to the one I enjoy, since sustainability and less waste is part and parcel of the concept.

foodieholic at 10:14AM on 10/27/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

My CSA offers a half and a whole share during the summer. The half share comes every over week, which has worked reasonably well for two people. We actually didn't get as much as I thought we would and occasionally supplemented with farmer's markets and the grocery store.

Sometimes we get items that seem daunting or unappetizing, but that is part of the fun. Guilt is another motivating factor, although food occasionally goes bad before we eat it. I should say that this happens a lot less than it used to, when I was buying all my produce at grocery stores. One other thing we've done to reduce waste is to begin a kitchen composting bin. The worms can only eat so much, but it's a small step.

We hope to do more of this, but a few times we invited friends and family over for a big meal and cooked food from the CSA. They were game to try out a few recipes, especially our beet pasta, which was a big hit!

woodentable at 10:37AM on 10/23/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

My house bought a CSA share one semester in college. I was the only one who ended up using it. One of my roommates went out and bought carrots and green peppers one day, and I asked her why. The peppers were "too small" and the carrots were "ugly." Ugh!

I loved getting fresh vegetables. I cooked a lot more, ate much healthier, and discovered some new vegetables that I loved. You could choose what you wanted each week (pick up only, no delivery). They would have a large amount of staples with signs that said "Please take no more than 3 (4, 5, etc) lbs of potatoes (tomatoes, carrots, etc)." Then they would let you pick 3-4 lbs from a choice of about a dozen other varieties of produce. If you didn't need that much or didn't like what they had to offer you could take less. I like the idea of donating extra food too. Any leftovers I had went to my pet rabbit. :-)

Vegetarianka at 9:26PM on 10/22/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

Community supported agriculture. You basically buy a share of a farm by paying up front (varies from farm to farm, but could be $500 for the growing season) and in return you receive a crate of fresh, seasonal vegetables every week or biweekly. It's a way to support local farmers by giving them money to buy seeds, fertilizer, etc. and help tide them over if anything happens to their crops. And you get amazing produce in exchange from about May to November, depending on where you live.

nyclocavore at 5:36PM on 10/22/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

What is a CSA? Any chance you could spell stuff like that out on first reference? :-)

Hollene at 12:32PM on 10/22/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

I know a lot of people who split a share with friends so that nothing goes to waste. I'm also a big fan of canning and freezing!

nyclocavore at 9:59PM on 10/21/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

What we did with it depended on what it was. Non-freezable items like lettuce went to very happy neighbors. The 15 pounds of green beans in 3 weeks, I prepped, blanched, and froze. The swiss chard was the worst. That I just cooked and froze in 1 cup containers to use over the next few months. I recently learned it's great in turkey meatloaf. We're definitely doing our CSA again next year but I do need to get a chest freezer before then to help out.

Risha at 9:07AM on 10/20/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

This was our first year as members of a modest CSA and it has been a mixed bag. I've let way too much lovely produce rot in the fridge and feel guilty about that (but my freezer has no more room). On the other hand, I learned to appreciate summer squash and the potatoes and onions were consistently better than anything I was able to buy locally. I'm still on the fence about rejoining for next year.

BigGUM at 10:26AM on 10/19/08

From Serious Eats

Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

When we started living here full time, we joined 2 CSAs (I wanted to force us to dramatically up our vegetable consumption). But trips off island on pick-up days or vegetables that we just didn't like or wanted much more of (for say, a dinner party) left us feeling not perfectly satisfied. There must have been others like us, and one farmer went to a credit-choice system. We give him a check at the beginning of the year, and then when he starts harvesting, we shop and as with kurteye, our purchases are subtracted from our balance. This works beautifully for us. We get exactly what we want, and he has the money when he most needs it. We shop for cash from the others at the farmers' market for things that he is not offering. Happy days!

islandexile at 7:02PM on 10/18/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

I joined a csa for the first time this year, and have to admit its been overwhelming, even though i signed up to only get a share every OTHER week. I've started freezing a lot of stuff, and have to say that its been a great experience trying some new veggies and being forced to learn new recipes. That being said, a lot of food went to waste, particularly because my farm seems to be especially keen on lettuces, which i've found really hard to keep fresh. Seriously, how is a 2 person household supposed to deal with 2 heads of lettuce and a quart each of arugula and mesclun before it all goes slimy??? If everything i was getting would last at least 5-7 days before the "goes in the garbage" point, i think it would have been manageable.

mh330 at 4:12PM on 10/18/08

From Serious Eats

Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

Eating with a CSA share is a lot like eating from a garden. When tomatoes are ripe, tomatoes are on the menu. When it is zucchini season, keep on shredding them for zucchini muffins. I love my CSA and the beautiful organic produce I get, and rarely have trouble using it all, maybe because I eat ten servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Lots of greens? cook them down for a spanakopita. Too many beets? Make a quick refrigerator pickle. I get tons of melon, which I cube and freeze for smoothies in the fall, winter and spring. Our CSA farmer likes to experiment, so we get fruits, grains and nuts along with our vegetables. I agree that eating local and seasonal is worth it.

lghez at 2:44PM on 10/18/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

A good thing about a CSA is that it makes you eat veggies! And forces you to cook! But there is often way too much of a good thing. We paid 360.00 for 5 months of veggies (got one cantaloupe all summer), and I split the take with our Daughter and her family. We still have a freezer full of shredded zuchini...

dksbook at 2:35PM on 10/18/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

We have forced ourselves to learn how to make new things over the past 4 years. I hated green peppers before this summer but have learned how to cook and appreciate them because there was really no other choice by learning how to adapt favorite dishes and discovering new ones. It really has forced us outside of our meaty comfort zone into vegetable centric eating. I feed extra fruit to my team at work (better than donuts) and make random dishes for the neighbors. Its a stretch sometimes to finish it all... especially when I travel, but I think eating local and seasonal is worth it. I have all winter to eat things that don't come in the basket.

ellimac at 2:06PM on 10/18/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

Make soup. Freeze the rest. Although my freezer is really filling up.

Nellbie at 1:14PM on 10/18/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

My fifth year with a CSA share, and it's the best investment I ever made! I pick up the food at the farm itself, so I just don't take things I know I won't use. There's a container for members' excess food, which is given to needy families.

Sometimes it's a struggle to use it all, but I think four or five veg and bread/cheese/wine is a proper meal. It's fun to see the variety change as the season progresses.

Every year I freeze pesto and tomato sauce, and make pickles and chutneys.

Channa at 12:10PM on 10/18/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

I found the CSA to be a better deal financially than going to the farmer's market (though I do supplement by going to the market as well). I, like many others, freeze what I can't eat. If there is anything that I don't want, I trade it to friends or to other CSA members for items I want more of.

sarahbeam at 10:40AM on 10/18/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

We makes soups and freeze them. We also blanch and freeze vegetables or can them.

Donating to a food pantry is an excellent idea.

CJ McD at 9:36AM on 10/18/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

I love my CSA. The food is very high quality. I freeze what I can't eat and sometimes give it away to my friends who aren't as lucky as I am.

masha339 at 11:59PM on 10/17/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

My family joined a CSA this year and we found it very difficult to use everything. Overall we were very disappointed in our CSA. The quality wasn't good and we could only eat bok choy so many times a week. I also found it annoying to feel restricted to what needed to be used. Compared to the convenience quality and choice of our local farmer's market the CSA was a letdown. We will not be participating next year.

martij at 10:59PM on 10/17/08

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Too Many Veggies from the CSA?

Can and freeze it.

One farmer at our market offers a flexible CSA. You pay $400 at the beginning of the season, which entitles you to $600 worth of produce throughout the year. You get to pick what you want from their stall, when you want it. They keep track of your remaining balance for you. Pretty sweet.

kurteye at 10:25PM on 10/17/08

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