CSA Tuesday #2 (on Sunday)

I know, I know. My CSA Tuesday got delayed by some time-sensitive reviews (don’t forget to vote for Hickory Tavern for best sports bar in the United States!). But I want first to give you a run down of the first week of the CSA:

I listed our food for the week in this post.

I did end up making this watermelon soup. It’s absolutely amazing, I love the sweet watermelon with the spicy flavor, and added quite a bit of Tabasco sauce. But it took up a small fraction of the watermelon. So, I invited some of the girls over to eat watermelon one afternoon and I juiced the rest. Watermelon juice is very refreshing, and has the added benefit of being very healthy. The strawberry-watermelon martinis that were made from some of the juice were probably not quite as healthy, however, but amazingly satisfying (my husband came up with the recipe, but stuck with a bourbon and coke for himself).

We were a little scared of the okra (and we had quite a lot), but it was awesome. We grilled it one night and had enough left over to try a recipe from this book by Madhur Jaffrey. We ended up making a recipe called “dry okra,” rather than the sweet and sour okra. It is basically just okra fried up with lots of spices, most of the onions, and lemon juice. If you have a ton of okra, and don’t know what to do with it, check out her book. Yum.

The red peppers I did end up roasting, but then I blended them with some of the garlic, which I also roasted, sautéed an onion, and tossed the red pepper sauce, onions and pasta together. It was terrific. I used to live in an area of the world where red peppers were as cheap as tomatoes, and I really miss making roasted red pepper pasta sauce.

The rest of the garlic, basil and the hot peppers were used as fillers in a few of those dishes (I still have a few hot peppers left) while the grapes and purple peppers were eaten raw as side items. The week was a success and we had a very delicious selection of food to choose from.  I was very excited to head to Atherton Mills Farmers Market on Tuesday and pick up our second box.

For CSA Tuesday #2 we received the following:

• Feta cheese
• A watermelon
• A green pepper
• Several purple peppers
• Three red peppers
• Several handfuls of okra
• Three onions
• One head of garlic
• A bag of grapes
• Three pears

Stay tuned for my week #2 rundown (on Tuesday this time, I promise)!

~Aurora

CSA Tuesday #1

I joined a CSA.  After two weeks of anticipation, I got my first box today, and I’m excited to share the box contents and my plans for the box for the next fifteen weeks!

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it is a great way for people to get good, fresh local produce weekly.  You buy a “share” in the produce, and you receive a (mostly) weekly box of food.  There are dairy, meat and vegetable CSAs available, you just have to do some searching.  It isn’t for everyone, and it isn’t financially practical unless you use all of the food.

Guest Blog: Food And Water Watch

A few weeks ago, the folks at Food and Water Watch emailed us with some information about their events near Charlotte.  I asked them if they wanted to write a blog post about the work that they are doing right now.

****

Cargill made big news this week. On Thursday the company announced that it was recalling 36 million pounds of turkey meat. Already, at least 76 people have gotten sick from salmonella poisoning and 1 person has died from the outbreak. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a recall like this. Think back to the spinach recall on spinach, Skippy Peanut Butter recall, Smithfield Pork , and others– all in one year! .And what about all the pesticides on our food, GMO produce, and factory farms? These scares are getting a lot of people to question what we are eating and where our food comes from. Shouldn’t our food system allow us to make safe and healthy choices?

Summer Fun: The low down on Charlotte farmers markets

I have a small addiction to farmers markets.  It’s a great way to get fresh produce and chat with the local producers.  When I’m visiting a new place, I generally go to the farmers markets to see what there is to eat.  This small obsession with farmers markets has taken me from the lovely Salamanca Place in Tasmania to the awesome Atwater Market in Quebec (both fabulous attractions).  Fortunately, Charlotte also has some awesome farmers markets, and in honor of May’s farm-to-fork month and the coming summer months, I think it’s time to make a list.

Farm to Fork: a Celebration of Local Food in Charlotte

During the month of May, Richard Gruica, founder of Good Eats and Meets, has partnered with several local restaurants to bring Charlotte a three-course lunch and dinner option to celebrate local food.  From Erin’s Restaurant in Rock Hill to Kabuto in Huntersville, over 15 restaurants in the greater Charlotte area will be offering three course meals at lunch ($14.95 or $18.95, not all restaurants will participate) or dinner ($18.95, 28.95, or $38.95, each restaurant will have one or more of these prices) highlighting local food.  Part of the proceeds from dining will go to the newly formed North Carolina Farmers Fund.  Please check with Carolina’s Farm to Fork for more information on this city-wide event.