Local Harvest

CSA 2022 week 4 distribution

CSA 2022 week 4: early spring crops

It’s CSA 2022 week 4, and it’s clear that our farmers at Beaverland Farms are starting to harvest new-sown crops. This week’s box includes little Tokyo (hakurei) turnips, which are crunchy and mild: similar to radishes, but all white. We have more rhubarb and spinach, as well as a big bunch of […]

rhubarb crumble

Rhubarb Crumble

Rhubarb is one of the first local crops to appear at the Farmers Market or in my CSA box. I always get excited when I see it, and I love to make a good rhubarb crumble with the first of the season. What’s a crumble, you may ask? I suppose […]

CSA 2022 week 3 distribution

CSA 2022 week 3: rhubarb

It’s CSA 2022 week 3: let me show you the box from Beaverland Farms that came today. I get excited about a great box of produce, and this week we get rhubarb: the earliest crop of Michigan’s fickle spring. I adore rhubarb. People argue about whether rhubarb should be thought of as […]

CSA 2022 week 2 distribution

CSA 2022 week 2: early spring

CSA 2022 week 2 brings us another fine box from Beaverland Farms in Detroit, MI. While it was snowing just a few days ago, today the weather forecast is for sunshine and temperatures in the high 70s! Michigan’s springtime is full of extremes. I’m expecting the weather this coming week to be […]

CSA week 1 2022 distribution

CSA 2022 week 1: a new season, a new CSA

Here in SE Michigan, we’ve just begun the season for local produce. Think that’s late? Where I live, the frost free date is May 29 – so I count myself lucky to get local produce any time in April. Let me show you my CSA 2022 week 1 produce box. This […]

City Commons CSA distribution wk 12

How to Choose a CSA

This is the time of year when CSAs fill their customer lists – so if you have been meaning to look into a CSA, it’s time to act now. You’ve heard of CSAs, right? CSA is short for Community Supported Agriculture, and it’s a great way to buy local seasonal food directly […]

tomatoes in bags

Host Your Own Tomato Crush

It’s Tomato Time! Like many others, I put up tomatoes in late September. I’m republishing an article originally from 2014 on how to host your own tomato crush. Why not share the work and turn a chore into a social occasion? This year, I’m working with a friend, and we’ll […]

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CSA week 23 2020: the last week

CSA week 23 2020: it’s the end of our CSA season. Alas, summer doesn’t last forever, and neither does summer’s produce. We definitely have a fall distribution this week. Our farmers at Dancing Meadows Homestead are already planning ahead: they’re taking subscriptions for next season’s CSA – and I’ll certainly […]

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CSA week 22 2020: definitely autumn

CSA week 22 2020: it’s definitely autumn now. We’re getting the very last of the tomatoes, some cool-weather radishes and greens, and some lovely apples. Not to mention last week’s box, about which I mysteriously failed to post! Taken together, these boxes are a picture of autumn on the farm. This […]

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CSA week 20: squash, green tomatoes

CSA week 20 2020 brings more big green tomatoes to be ripened on the counter, plus at least a quart of cherry tomatoes. This year has not been good for tomatoes. We started with a long cold spring and are ending with early frosts. There are a lot of ways […]

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CSA week 19: chard, greens, and green tomatoes

CSA week 19 2020: big green tomatoes this week, due to be ripened on the counter. Our farmer tells us that this year, they’re just not ripening quickly: they’re starting to show cracks, so they’re being harvested now. The weather isn’t on our side, either; we’ve been flirting with freezes […]

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CSA week 18: tomatoes, chard, green herbs

CSA week 18 2020: larger tomatoes this week, though we’ll need to ripen them on the windowsill. The weather’s turned cooler, so I guess that tomatoes suffer a bit. It has not been a good year for tomatoes around here. We also have a big bunch of chard and lots […]