CSA Week #4

Here is what I am getting from the CSA:

Full share for Week 4 of the CSA:
1 jar of salsa

1 bunch of Dandelion greens
2 Kohlrabi

1 head of lettuce
1 bunch of hakurei turnips and radishes

1 bunch of green onions

1 bunch of Swiss chard or 1 head of bok choy
2 lbs. zucchini

1 greenhouse cucumber

1 bunch of beets
1 head of escarole
1/2 lb. bag of Salanova

Some notes:

Salanova is a type of lettuce!

The Jar of Salsa is from the peppers, tomatoes and jalapenos from the farm from last year.   There is a local sauce and salsa manufacturer and the farm sent them their excess produce last year to make into salsa for this year, so we get to reap some of the bounty.  I will give it to my sister as I make my own salsa, but I told her I want to taste it!   

ETA: Bonus - Edamame!  Andrea took that!  And we traded in the dandelion greens for another cuke!  

Duck Race

This weekend was our local Duck Race.  You purchase a duck in a raffle (for $5.00) and then the ducks race down the Housatonic River.

They sold 2300 Duck Tickets and then a payloader dumps them in the river!  (I didn't get a picture of this, but you can see the payloader in the upper right hand corner of the next picture and the yellow blob is the 2300 ducks!
After the ducks are dumped, they start to flow down stream.

Here, they are going downstream!

They end up in a boon and the firemen collect them!  The first 65 ducks win prizes.  This year, my brother-in-laws boss won the $1000.00 top prize!

Strawberry Jam

7 pints of Low Sugar Strawberry Apple Jam
7 pints of No Sugar Strawberry Honey Jam

Saturday was a good/busy day of picking and putting up.

I am going to keep a tally of what I put up this year!

Kathy - Let me know if you want to try the No Sugar Strawberry Honey Jam for your dad!  I will give you a jar!

Strawberry Picking

My daughter and I took two of the three trips (just the two boys) on a strawberry picking adventure!

We got quite a few pounds of berries.  The pickings were not as good as other years as we have had soooo much rain.  But we got enough for what we needed.

These photos show some of our bounty.  They don't show me falling off the Berry Ferry with Bruno (what a an idiot, I am), nor the dead bird the boys found on their way to the port-a-potty.  The dead bird and the fall were more of a draw to the boys than the strawberry picking....but we had a great time!  

Family Photo

Here is some of my hubby's side of the family.  About 1/2 the family is missing (vacation or other commitments), but 1/2 of us were able to attend my niece Amanda's high school graduation party.  It was an awesome day outside and the perfect weather for a party.  Our matriarch was not there, but she was there in spirit.  We thought about her all day!

CSA 2013 - Weeks 1 & 2

I have picked up weeks 1 and 2 from the farm the past two Fridays.  The share is mostly greens this time of year.....Lettuce, Asian Mix, Kale, escarole, kohl rabi, cukes, radishes, salad turnips, swiss chard, herb plants, etc.

This Friday, my sister and I will be getting and splitting:

Full share:1 bunch of Dandelion greens 1/4 lb. Garlic scapes 1 lb. bunch of Beets 2 heads of Lettuce 1/2 lb of Broccoli rabe or Broccoli 1 bunch of Green onions 1 head of Escarole 2 Kohlrabi 1 bunch of Hakurei and Radishes 1/2 lb. Leaf lettuce mix 1 bunch of Kale 1 Greenhouse Cucumber 1 herb plant

It's time

I haven't really been up to blogging.  Work, life, stuff....just got in the way.  And honestly, I just wasn't FEELING it!

But I am ready to begin again!  

Life goes on and since Nonni has passed, there have been birthday parties and graduation parties and a lot of fun happenings!  And I finally feel like writing about some of them.

This past week, we had my nieces' 8th grade graduation, my other nieces birthday, my daughter's birthday, my nephew's birthday, a christening (Nonni's great-great grandchild), plus everything else that goes on in our daily lives!  So, a few pictures are below!

And now, back to our regular blogging schedule....

Strawberry picking on Saturday (weather  dependent), so that means Strawberry jam on Saturday afternoon.  My other niece's high school graduation this coming Sunday, also!

Rest in Peace

Rest in Peace, Nonni.

For 101 years, you were here for us....now God has taken you home to be with your son and husband and all your friends and family.  We will truly miss you, but we are so happy that you never suffered.   We love you....always.

Mushrooms have begun

So far this year, I have picked some cardillio's from my back yard.  These are greens that I pick every year, although this year, the amount was a LOT less.

My brother went mushrooming last week.  I guess we got so much rain that these beautiful oyster mushrooms were found.  He gave me everything because he said he could find a lot more.  I fried them up and froze them so that they would be ready for both steak, mushrooms and onions and also for stir fries.