Local Harvest

CSA week 2 2020 0515

CSA week 2: cool wet spring

Spring, hereabouts, is not very spring-like so far, or perhaps it’s just going to be a late spring. The forsythia are blooming, and the daffodils are just up – but it’s been cool so far, and fairly wet. CSA week 2 2020 has  brought us cool-weather produce. Our farmers at Dancing Meadows […]

CSA week 1 0509 2020

CSA week 1: the season begins!

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 May. This year we’ve joined a CSA from Dancing Meadows Homestead in Cottrellville, […]

VanHoutte Farms CSA

Reflections on the 2018 CSA Season

I’ve been posting about our CSA boxes since early June. Have I been clear about what the heck a CSA is? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Think of it as a subscription to a farm. We pay a fee at the beginning of the growing year. In return, every week, we […]

CSA week 22 1027 2018

CSA week 22

CSA week 22: it’s the end of this year’s CSA season. The farmers market will still be open, and our farmers will still be there with their great produce, but our weekly boxes will stop. From now until next May, I’ll be an ordinary shopper. The end of the season […]

CSA week 21 1020 2018

CSA week 21

October 20th is CSA week 21 – we have a 22-week season this year, not a 20-week one! Now there’s only one more week for our CSA boxes, and soon, I’ll be very sad – however, this week I’m very happy. Look at the wonderful stuff from this week’s box! […]

CSA week 20 1013 2018

CSA week 20

CSA week 20, and there was a lovely surprise for me today: our farmer told me I had it all wrong, and we have two more weeks of glorious produce! I’m very excited about this, because, well, glorious produce, and the fall crops are just beautiful. We’re due for a hard […]

fresh tomato tart

Fresh Tomato Tart

My fresh tomato tart is the result of an improvisation, and I vary the filling every time I make it. This one combined sweet onion, leek, and garlic/herb cheese. I’ve also used dry ricotta, plain Muenster cheese, even a bit of leftover Alfredo sauce. See what variations you might come […]

CSA week 19 1006 2018

CSA week 19

CSA week 19, and we’re almost at the end of the CSA season: only one more week. I suspect that we’re seeing the last of our high summer produce (corn and tomatoes) – tune in next week to find out if I’m right. I’ll miss the tomatoes, especially; February tomatoes […]

CSA week 18 0929 2018

CSA week 18

CSA week 18: oh, it’s definitely autumn in the farmers’ market. I still see tomatoes and green beans – those will continue until first frost – but turnips, beets, squash, broccoli, and cauliflower dominate the scene. It’s time to finish any preserving I’ve left until the last minute, and then […]

CSA week 17 0922 2018

CSA week 17

CSA week 17: get ready for cool weather! Yes, there are still tomatoes at the market. Thank goodness for that, because I am not finished with summer tomatoes. However, there are also winter squash, apples, pears, and pumpkins. Guess it’s that time of year, right? I can see soups and […]

CSA week 16 0915 2018

CSA week 16

It’s CSA week 16! It’s so clear that we are right at the end of summer. There are tons of tomatoes at the market today (it’s hot enough here this weekend that I’m very glad I preserved tomatoes last week, when it was cooler!) While there’s still fresh corn, and peppers and […]

CSA week 15 0908 2018

CSA week 15

It’s CSA week 15, which means there are only 5 more weeks of these glorious boxes. Last week’s fierce heat (highs mid-90s F) has given way to a definite cooling trend. It was chilly – in the low 60s F – on the morning of pickup day; I needed my […]