The Suburban Herbivore

Full share from August 26, 2009

It was a big week! We received four pounds of tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pound of onions, a quarter-pound of basil, one pound of Japanese eggplant, one pound of red and yellow bell peppers, and one butternut squash.

Full share from August 27, 2008

I’m particularly happy about the squash, since I’m going to test out making my own baby food with it. Depending on how that goes, I may do a separate post on it. I’m also pleased about getting the eggplant. Getting a bunch of eggplant every week is not so good (for me), but having it come in every couple of weeks is perfect. The tomatoes should be winding down pretty soon, so I will have to think of something particularly good to do with these.

Last year, we got three pounds of Big Beef, Cherokee Purple, and Orange Blossom tomatoes, 2.5 pounds of potatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, two large spaghetti squash, and one pound of yellow squash.

Full share from August 12, 2009

I’ve realized that I’m spending all of my blogging time posting the CSA share descriptions and very little else. So what am I doing with all this produce? Well, I’ve simply been incorporating a lot of it into dishes that I make frequently. Sad to say, I haven’t really been trying anything new. But I figure I get a little bit of leeway now that we have a baby. I do have plans for posting some recipes in the near future. Here’s a taste: Black Beans and Rice, Hummus, Habanero Salsa, Caprese Salad, and Vegetable Lasagna. Mmmmmm….

This week, we got one large bunch of basil, one pound of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, three pounds of Big Beef and Pink Girl tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pound of yellow squash, and one pound of red and white onions.

Full share from August 13, 2008.

Sorry for the crazy photo of last year’s share! We were on the road and had to snap the picture of the produce laid out in the back of Jason’s car. What we got: three pounds of potatoes, one cantaloupe, three pounds of tomatoes, two pounds of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, and one pint of Sungold tomatoes.

Full share from August 5, 2009

In the past, I’ve found basil to be about one of the easiest things to grow. But this year my plant is shrimpy and non-productive. I’ve gotten a few handfuls of leaves from it, and that’s it. My current theory is that the tomato plants are casting too much shade on the basil for it to thrive. I’m thinking that next year I’ll see if it does better in a container on the deck. Fortunately, there is no lack of basil from the CSA!

Full share from August 6, 2008

In this week’s share, we received one large bunch of basil, one pound of red and orange bell peppers (plus a jalapeno), two pounds of potatoes, one pound of Big Beef tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pound of yellow squash, and one pound of white and red onions.

Last year: five pounds of tomatoes, two pounds of red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, one large butternut squash, and two white onions.

Full share from July 29, 2009

Things are definitely in a predictable pattern right now. I’m a little surprised, though, at the lack of squash and eggplant, as those are usually in abundance at this point. However, I’ve got no problem with having lots of tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes on hand! We got one large bunch of basil, one pound of red and yellow bell peppers, three pounds of white and yellow potatoes, three pounds of Big Beef and Pink Girl tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, and one pint of mixed cherry tomatoes.

Last year at this time, we received two pounds of red and yellow bell peppers and serrano peppers, three pounds of Rose Gold potatoes, two acorn squash, three pounds of tomatoes, and one pint of Sungold tomatoes. Rose Golds are yellow-fleshed and pink-skinned, unlike Yukon Golds, which are yellow-fleshed and brown-skinned. But both are equally delicious!

Full share from July 22, 2009

Our CSA newsletter over the last few weeks hints that some people are getting Cherokee Purple and Striped German tomatoes. I’m sad that I’m not one of them. Hopefully my Cherokee Purples will begin to be ready fairly soon. I’m not familiar with Striped Germans, though I did try growing German Johnson tomatoes one year. It was pretty much a failure. The plant grew wonderfully, and I think I got all of one tomato from it.

Full share from July 23, 2008.

This week, we received five pounds of Big Beef and Pink Girl tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pint of assorted cherry tomatoes, one cantaloupe, and three pounds Kennebec potatoes. I have to rave about the cherry tomatoes again. They are gorgeous and delicious! Kennebecs are a white-fleshed potato, and while to my mind, you can’t really go wrong with a potato, I do love the Yukon Golds.

Last year, we got: three pounds of tomatoes, two spaghetti squashes, two onions, one pound of bell peppers, one pound of Japanese eggplant, five assorted hot peppers (serranos), and two pints of Sungold tomatoes.

Half share from July 15, 2009.

We weren’t able to get a picture of the full share, so what you see is just our half. The list, though, is the entire amount. We got: five pounds of Big Beef and Pink Girl tomatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pint of mixed cherry tomatoes, one pound of green bell peppers, one jalapeno, one pounds of onions (white and red), and one pound of Japanese eggplant. The cherry tomatoes are beautiful – I love the yellow pears.

Full share from July 16, 2008.

I think it’s a little funny that there’s one jalapeno in the box each week, as if more than that would be way too much for anyone to handle. While it’s often advised to wear gloves while cutting hot peppers, I’ve never bothered and haven’t suffered from it. Yet. But I have suffered a lot from running the hot water when there are pepper seeds and stems in the sink. If you are cooking with hot peppers, please don’t do this!

Last year’s share: five pounds of tomatoes, two pints of Sungold tomatoes, one pound of Japanese eggplant, one pound of yellow snap beans, two yellow squash, one zucchini, one cantaloupe, and two onions (one white, one red). Check out those crazy eggplant!

Full share from July 8, 2009.

So, this is the point last year where I quit, though I didn’t know it for a while. I continued to take photos of our share each week and I saved the newsletters. And after a while of being out of the habit, it was too overwhelming to try to catch up. Fortunately, I have most of the photos, so what I’ve decided to do is present this week’s share in conjunction with the corresponding week’s share from 2008.

Full share from July 9, 2008.

This year, we got: four pounds of Big Beef tomatoes, three pounds of potatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, one pound of cucumbers, four green bell peppers, one jalapeno pepper, and three onions: two white (Candy) and one red (Candy Apple). Last year, we got: four pounds of Big Beef and Pink Girl tomatoes, three pounds of Rose Gold potatoes, one pint of Sungold tomatoes, two pounds of Japanese eggplant, four yellow squash, two zucchini, and one cantaloupe. The differences are pretty apparent, but it will be more interesting to see what trends develop.