Veggies, week 8

[magid]

This week, the box wasn't full, but that was because there were a lot fewer leaves and a lot more... solid veggies:

one bunch of Swiss chard :-)
a bunch of baby carrots
a couple of handfuls of small new red potatoes
a big purple eggplant, the regular kind
a narrow light purple Asian kind (with an interesting curl to it...)
one rather unsatisfyingly anemic looking tomato
two green peppers (I don't like green peppers, and forgot to bring them in to foist off on cow orkers)
one red pepper

I already used some of the carrots and potatoes, and the tomato (also the squash from last week's share) in a frittata last night.

Porch update
The oregano is blooming and is basically out of control. Anyone want some fresh oregano? Anyone have experience with infusing vinegars or oils?
One of the mints is also blooming, and I pinched off the flowers on the basil plant.
I ate a handful of tomatoes, and it looks like I must have done something wrong, 'cause it's not growing any more. Ah, well. They were delicious.
The ginger is showing renewed signs of life. Not only are the original two shoots from one chunk growing happily, but the other pieces I planted are also finally showing greenery as well. Rather exciting.
The lemon balm is relatively happy, and the chives are huge, despite me using them in salads and cooked foods rather frequently.

(I suppose it's rather pathetic how happy I get about having locally grown produce, but there you are.)
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Comments

[gingicat]

I'll give you sage and/or lavender in return for oregano. *grin*

[magid.livejournal.com]

I've got two kinds of lavender growing (not that I've done a whole heck of a lot with it), but some sage would be cool. I grew it once, and ended up never finding it approachable: it's rather thicker (and fuzzier) than most other herbs, and it felt weird to put it into food that way....
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[cellio]

(I suppose it's rather pathetic how happy I get about having locally grown produce, but there you are.)

Why should that be pathetic? I think it's great that you can get good local produce.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I've been reading a bit about how much of the cost of food is from transporting it across the country, or the ocean, or whatever, and how therefore local is better for the environment (less energy to get it from field to table).
It is also fresher when locally grown (those potatoes were picked yesterday), and organic (though with all the rules and regulations and government interference that were listed in an article I read recently, it is becoming harder and harder for small farmers to get certified, as "organic" becomes a niche of agri-business).
Farmer's markets would do as well for all of this. The farm share supports a farm that also provides fresh veggies to food pantries and other places that help people who need help affording food.

I guess my feeling was that, though I live in crunchy-granola Cambridge, I still feel rather fringe on this issue in general (I'm not at the point of never buying imported fruit or anything, though). And I guess I don't hear other people mentioning the satisfaction of getting local stuff/growing their own stuff, so I assume I am far from some norm or another. Or that I spend far more time thinking about food-related stuff than 99% of the people I know, or something.
h

[cellio]

I would like to buy more local produce than I do -- not because I'm especialy crunchy-granola, but because I'd like to support local businesses and, as you say, it's fresher and less destructive of the environment and these are good bonuses. However, I'm basically lazy, so if a place doesn't have reasonable hours or I can't park (or walk) there, it'll be a less-frequent excursion. I feel somewhat bad about this.

[gingicat]

Sage is also a bit strong, so one leaf can go a long way. Which is why I haven't been using it as fast as it's growing. :/

Icelandic chicken

[cellio]

Roll out bread dough, and add some source of grease (the recipe calls for bacon, which obviously you and I won't eat; oil works), and lay sage leaves on top, and then chicken, and roll up the bread around the chicken and seal. Bake until done. (It's been a while and I forget; I think 350 for about an hour? Use a meat thermometer the first time.)

Re: Icelandic chicken

[magid.livejournal.com]

Boneless chicken, I assume?
That sounds yummy. What makes it Icelandic?

If that works, perhaps a sage focaccia would work, too...
d

[magid.livejournal.com]

Are there any farmer's markets around?

I know of around one/day in different towns around here, and all of them have some parking available (some more than others), as well as choice of farms. I find them more useful than going out to farm stands, which are farther away, and don't necessarily have the selection I want.
i

Re: Icelandic chicken

[cellio]

I make it with boneless, but the recipe I adapted this from actually calls for half-chickens, bones and all. (I guess you would then cut into it and dig out the bones.) It's called "Icelandic" because it derives from an old (13th century?) Icelandic source.

I was giving the recipe from memory, so I forgot about the salt and I think the leaves do go down first and then drizzle with oil (so that'll be next to the chicken).

Re: Icelandic chicken

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link.

I think I'd prefer the boneless option, myself... getting bones out of something like that while eating sounds like too much work.
¬

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

I'll take some oregano - it'll be good for making pizza sauce.

I'm fond of supporting family and local farming, especially given that a lot of costs of produce is transport - but I should mention that since costs of transport are supposed to be some of the biggest expense of produce I do have to wonder about local farms charging in some cases significantly more money for their goods. They don't move them anywhere near as far. I know agribusiness has economy of scale on production but it can't be that huge a difference currently.

If the prices were lower I'd get more farm fresh tomatoes instead of the vine ripened ones at the Costco.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Possible differences in pricing:

organic vs non organic
also heirloom vs regular types of things

and yes, I think that getting things grown farther away might be a bit cheaper if one looks at cost of living plus bulk differences. local living is not cheap....

I guess I'm willing to pay around the same or a bit more for stuff picked that day, by people who care. Maybe it just comes down to emotion, in the end...

[magid.livejournal.com]

I read an article that reviewed a restaurant in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon? Washington?) that not only wanted to use only local produce, it made sure that its entire menu was based on local crops, etc, as they came into season. I was amazed that it's possible, and love the idea of it....