Farm Share 101 - Beets

I married a man who loves beets. Early on he tried to convince me to eat beets saying, "Women need more iron." Then I had a physical in which my doctor told me I am in the very small percentage of American women who does not have an iron deficiency. Ha! Take that husband. Fast forward nearly eight years of marriage and almost that many getting an annual CSA and now I love beets. Here is what I learned that made me love beets.

My secret: DO NOT BOIL BEETS Its what our mothers did to make us hate them...(sorry mom)

Prepping Beets for Roasting:
Wash thoroughly, scrubbing off all of the dirt. If you leave dirt on the beets, you will taste it.
Cut off the greens, leaving about half an inch of "top" on the beets.
Next, peel the beets, yes before cooking. This is secret number two and comes from Ina!
Slice the beets at desired thickness, discarding the tops and bottoms.
Toss in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, the options are endless and season as desired.
Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, depending on desired crispyness.
Note: even when I am trying a new roasted beet recipe, I always follow my easy prep tips, my hands stay cleaner and my beets turn out delicious every time. 


Prepping Beets for Freezing:
Several of you asked about freezing beets. Everyone in our family enjoys beets and we go through them so fast, I never have thought to freeze them. But after asking a few trusted resources, Jami's advice and technique won. I look forward to trying her approach this season. If you've had success freezing beets, I would love to know what worked for you!

Bottom line, beets can be delicious as long as they aren't dirty or mushy. 

What are your favorite recipes for beets?

Check out our other Farm Share 101 posts!

Fresh from the CSA

Tomorrow is the start of my seasonal CSA. I can hardly wait to see my friends who run the farm, introduce a CSA newbie to the experience, and dive back into the routine of eating local and seasonally. I recently posted my top ten reasons to eat farm fresh. I am beyond excited for the pickup tomorrow. It is yet another indicator that summer is aorund the corner. To me, summer means windows open, shorts, and piles of produce on the kitchen counter. How about you? What makes it really feel like summer in your house?

And some link love: 

Two blogs I read over the weekend that might help you start your summer off right: 

Simple Bites: Smart Summer Snacking

&

Sun Savvy

First Foods

Behr started eating solid food last week.

We are making our own baby food from our CSA farm share.

Most of the food is organic and we are skipping grains. 

...in other words rice cereal and cheerios are on hold for now

Check out Nina Planck for our reasoning.

We puree some food and serve others whole.

Behr loves gnawing on a cool cuke.  

It might have something to do with teething.

We have received grief for some of these decisions, but we are sticking to our guns.

That is, unless Behr shows us otherwise.

Clearly he is enjoying his first taste:

What is on the list for our next foods?  

Why, I am so glad you asked:

The blueberries are in!

It is week 4 of our CSA.  Oh my, how a month has flown by.  It is amazing what the end of June means for produce, especially blueberries.  Here is what we received in our share this week: Blackberries {hiding behind the blueberries} LOTS of blueberries, sour cherries, cucumbers, squash, red beets, and lettuce mix.

My favorite part of the CSA is we get all of this produce each week!  Which means we have to be creative and hurry up and eat it before next week's bounty.

Last night I made Mark a smoothie with blackberries, blueberries, and mango.  Loads of antioxidants!

Tonight we will make a big salad for dinner with the lettuce mix and cucumbers, and maybe even some beets.

Oh beets, we have a love/hate relationship.  Mark loves you and I hate you!  Each time I get beets {which is quite a few times throughout the CSA season} Mark reminds me that beets are an excellent source of iron.  I try yet another recipe that falls short of my expectations.  For the record I am expecting to find a recipe that makes me eventually like beets.  This go around, I think we will turn to the goddess of cooking.  And if she doesn't work, maybe I will hit up The Pioneer Woman.

The squash will most likely become a main dish sautéed with a bit of EVOO and seasoned with fresh cracked pepper.  My favorite way to eat most vegetables, which I was happy to learn is also the preferred preparation method of Nina Planck my new dietary hero.

Last but not least the sour cherries.  I am searching for a quick and easy recipe for these babies.  This time I will turn to Martha Stewart.  If I love a recipe, I will share it with you all.

So there you have it folks, a week chock full of fruits and veggies.

What are you going to be eating this week?

During the writing of this post I lacked a go-to heath food related website.  Where do you turn for nutritional information and/or guidance?

Do you blog about cooking?  Want me to try some of your recipes?  Let me know!

The CSA season has begun!

{via}

Tuesday morning brought a bit of chaos after I nearly forgot to squeeze in a detour to the farmers market where I pick up our csa share {this is my fourth year}.  And yet, as I opened my box of produce, all was momentarily right in the world!  Glorious strawberries, crisp lettuce mix, brightly colored rhubarb, green asparagus, homemade cherry and blackberry jams and apples stored from last fall smiled back up at me.  There is nothing better than a house full of fruits and veggies.  Our csa forces us to eat healthier and our food tastes better.  I am so glad csa season is finally here!

What fruits and veggies do you look forward to most this time of year?

Real Food

It is no secret that I am a wanna be foodie who promotes the likes of eating local and supporting my CSA. 

I have professed my expectations of parenting are high and my willingness to let these expectations fall to reality,  best explained by Julie here.

This book is right up there with everything I hope to be and more!  Perhaps that is slightly overstated.  Let me rephrase.  Nina Planck provides information in a frank manner and weighs an ideal circumstance with the practicality mandated by real life. 

Nina Planck

The book is broken down into the basics of eating healthy.  The same truth about food applies when you are trying to conceive, pregnant, breast feeding, and introducing food to your baby. {Note: I promptly skipped the conceiving and pregnancy chapters.}  However, as many momma know, living through this time of life raises questions that never would have been obvious before.  Nina addresses these questions    However, the parts of this book I did read left me motivated and excited about our relationships with food. 

If the rules of the food revolution scare you, have no fear.  There is no one more practical than Nina and her cheese monger husband.  Their family really loves dairy.  {Bonus!}  Here is her take on seasonal vegtables:

Good as local, seasonal, and ecological vegetables are, it’s more important for your family to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Lots of studies show that people who eat more fruit and vegetables are healthier than those who don’t. I’d bet my last carrot that these studies weren’t conducted with local, seasonal, and ecological peas. In deepest winter, when local produce is scarce and expensive here in New York City, I go directly to the supermarket or local greengrocer, head held high, to buy greens. I have no idea what the carbon footprint of this choice is. But I know the price and convenience calculation without thinking.

This book gives you the freedom of living within your lifestyle.  I cannot emphasize enough the no-nonsense approach that Nina takes to serving her family be best available without the restrictions that much of the food movement holds high.  If you are looking for a book to read, pick this one up or her first book, Real Food.  Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!

Can you tell I liked the book?

Baby + Early Fall = Honey + Tissues

What on earth am I talking about?  My past week.  Let's just say that allergy season is back in full force causing me to go through a lot of tissues...and a lot of honey!  Fortunately for my CSA I can go the natural route with my allergies and use local honey which helps tremendously.  {Amanda, thanks for the tip!} 

Here is a picture I took of our honey jar a few weeks ago...

This jar is now almost empty!  I am at least midway through the "mason." Now if only my hormone inflicted pregnant body would stop producing the stuff that stuffs me up!!

Spring Allergies: GOOP Solution

It is springtime in the mid-atlantic, and so with the beautiful flowers and fresh cut grass come allergies. Fortunately, we also have CSA season to look forward to...

Well, Gwyneth Paltrow's blog, GOOP, has been cooking up so fabulous natural remedies to springtime allergies and CSA inspired recipes leading you to healthful living.

Spring Allergy and Detox Remedies - Chinese Medicine Style

I cannot wait to get my first bunch of asparagus to try some of those delicious recipes! What are some of your methods for fighting allergies this time of year?

CSA: Community Supported Agriculture

This past summer, my friend Carrie decided to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). After reading about her positive experience, I decided to visit the website of the farm in which she buys a share. Much to my surprise and excitement, Orchard Country Farm offers three 8 week sessions (spring, summer, and fall) and I still had time to join!

When we first moved to DC, I didn't think about joining a CSA because we live a short walk from Eastern Market, and there was a Friday farmers market near my work. But with busy summer weekends and a new job no longer near a farmers market, getting fresh produce was more difficult.

Typically CSAs run March-October, having three sessions allowed me to participate even though I was very late in deciding to do this! I paid a one time upfront fee and each Tuesday I get to pick up a cooler (this way we don't waste bags) of fruits and veggies from a farmers market at the Department of Transportation. The cost is just over $20 a week. It fits into a budget, and because we get so many fruits and veggies that we have to use before the next week's share arrives, we now buy less junk at the grocery store. We are also eating less meat (something I have been working on for a few months). I think our grocery expenses may have actually gone down, but I need to wait to see if this is a consistent pattern.

Aside from the general good it is doing for Mark and me, it is also great to know exactly where my money is going and support a small business. (Can you see the conservative principles coming through?) I have come to enjoy my Tuesday errand where I get to see what's in season, start planning out our meals, and enjoy conversation with Gregg the owner of Orchard Country. I cannot wait to sign up for the full season next year!

Here are some pictures I have taken over the past few weeks of my share:

A resource for you: Check out Local Harvest to find a CSA!