To CSA or not to CSA

Sister Barefoot got a CSA share last year and Mr. Barefoot and I watched jealously as she received fresh radishes, arugala, tomatoes, squash, and other veggies.  Okay, we weren't so jealous of the chard.  Chard is a little....gross.

So now we're trying to decide whether we want to get a half-share of the same CSA this year.  Is having fresh tomatoes and zucchini (zucchini bread!) worth the possibility of getting way more chard and kale than we can handle?

Part of figuring this out is to go through my cookbooks and see what recipes intrigue me.  I have a recipe for kale chips, which sounds a lot like eating that seaweed that you wrap sushi in.  Also chard frittata, which sounds like a pretty good way to mask the chard flavor.  I'm hoping to start making more casseroles, and I think casseroles are probably a great use for greens.

The pros of a CSA seem to be:
1.) Fresh, organic, locally grown vegetables come to us
2.) Don't have to go to the farmer's market every week
3.) Supporting a local farm
4.) Expand our horizons and eat different, crazy vegetables - and more of them, since we definitely don't eat enough vegetables.
5.) Approximately $13 a week, which is similar to what we spend on produce

The cons are:
1.) Vegetables we might not like at all, but feel like we have to eat all of since we've already paid for them.
2.) Don't get to go to the farmer's market every week (although I reminded Mr. Barefoot we could just go for the handmade mini donuts.)
3.) Harder to menu plan, since we won't know what we're getting until Monday night.
4.) Might end up with too many vegetables, and end up throwing things away.
5.) We could just take that $13 a week to the farmer's market and buy produce.

Do you have a CSA?  Would you recommend it to me?  Do you have any suggestions for great recipes for greens?  What can I do with chard?

Crab Mac & Cheese

So there is a bar around the corner called Crazy Lil's. And they make crab macaroni and cheese. So I decided to try it. Considering how expensive a jar of crab is, it was actually more expensive than getting it at the bar (although it did serve four of us instead of just me). I made it for a post-tubing meal for my hockey teammates and myself today.
I did it in the slow cooker as my friend does not yet have a stove (but she has a gorgeous kitchen.) The recipe isn't perfect yet, but it was delicious and Mr. Barefoot has spent the evening eating the leftovers I brought home and there are none left.
Ingredients:

• 3 boxes cream cheese (you can use 1/3 less fat kind)
• 1 box pasta (I used elbow macaroni, but I think next time I'll use penne)
  
• cheese (I used 2 cups of yellow cheddar, but it actually wasn't that cheesy, so I would add some white cheddar as well)
• 1 1/2 cups half and half (try it with milk and let me know how that goes)
• 1 lb crab meat (buy it at Costco - the Phillips lump crab meat)
• old bay

Procedure:

1. Pour pasta into slowcooker (uncooked).
   
2. Add half and half or other dairy liquid. Add old bay.
   
3. Add cheese. And more old bay.
   
4. Add crab meat. And some more old bay.
5. Cook on high for 4 hours (our slow-cooker cooks so fast I actually cooked it on high for an hour and then I switched it to low for 3 while we went tubing.)
   

This was delicious. I was really surprised that the pasta cooked in the half and half and the moisture from the cheese/crab meat. But it did. I stirred about an hour into it, combining all the cheese and the crab meat (and added more Old Bay). It came out sticky and creamy and a delicious combo of crabmeat and cheese and pasta.
Try it. Play with the recipe. Get back to me on how you made it and whether that worked for you.

I have a beef with canned food.

The following is a list of things that should come in cans:
Soup (including broth)
Fruit (including pie filling)
Beans
Spaghetti Os
Coconut, condensed, and evaporated milk

Canned food should be generally used for:
Quick and easy dinners
Dinner when you/somebody else is sick
Nuclear winters
Taco night
Baking
Countries/cities in which there is not a regular supply of fresh produce.
People who don't have running water.

Does Thanskgiving fit anywhere on that list? NO!

I understand that some people do not have the benefits of potluck Thanksgiving, in which four people spend Thursday slaving away in front of a hot stove, instead of just one person doing the work. But that is NO reason to make Thanksgiving dinner out of your bomb shelter! What is next, canned turkey? (I'm sure it exists.)

I guess there are some merits to a canned thanksgiving. It tastes the same, year after year, and man do you meet that RDA of sodium. Some things are not in season, I will grant you that. Some things are really hard to prepare from total scratch. But then consider why you are making that dish instead of something delicious and fresh. If you have young, screaming children - don't host Thanksgiving. Or at least have a potluck. Say you'll make a turkey, and everybody has to bring something. Worst case scenario? You end up eating turkey. Plus, all your lazy good-for-nothing relatives and friends learn how to bring food to an event, instead of just showing up to get fed. Lazy good-for-nothings, btw, are anyone over the age of 12. Yes. I get judgmental if you don't bring stuff to Thanksgiving, or don't let people bring stuff. The spirit of the holiday is to give thanks and celebrate togetherness, not to be a control freak. (I'm totally not being a control freak, no matter what Mark says. He has been put in charge of plenty of stuff.) Plus, young kids are great as little helpers - they can be put to work peeling potatoes, measuring stuff, stirring things, washing dishes, polishing silverware.

I don't think I've had canned yams. Ever. Yams should not come in a can. Mostly I wonder - what is so hard about yams? Peel the sweet potatoes, chop them, boil them, mash em up, cover them in marshmallows. You can do it in a slow cooker. You can prep them the night before. While I'm at it - potatoes should not come in a box unless they are being made into potato bread. Mashed potatoes can be made in just thirty minutes while the turkey sits. Put early arrivals to work. Buy redskins or thin-skin potatoes, wash, chop into quarters, boil for 15 minutes, then mash. Add salt, pepper and garlic.

Somethings can be made as a mixture of canned and fresh dishes.

I don't touch green bean casserole. I think it is probably the most disgusting idea anybody has ever come up with. I generally think this because it is based on canned green beans. Canned vegetables in general - wonder why they aren't on my list? THEY AREN'T FOOD!!! They are overcooked, oversalted, shadowy ghosts of what food USED TO BE. I wonder if maybe green bean casserole was made with fresh green beans (because, see list, canned soup is acceptable), would I be less nauseated by it? What if it was fresh green beans with a light Parmesan cream sauce and crunchy breadcrumbs on top?

Cranberry sauce? Okay. I will say that handmade cranberry sauce is delicious, but also a huge pain. Since cranberries are fruit, they do technically fall under the exception. But try, just try, mixing your canned cranberries with some mandarin oranges in the food processor. I can pretty much guarantee you that people who have never before liked cranberries will love them.

Stuffing? Use the breadcube mixtrue you can buy. Even buy the stovetop if you want. But add some stuff. Add, at the very least, fresh garlic, onions, and celery. This year, I'm thinking about adding fresh peppers.

You have three days until Thanksgiving. I challenge you to go out and replace one of your regular canned staples with something uncanned or unboxed.

Farmer's Market

Mark and I have been frequenting the local farmers markets where we live for a little while. Last year, the one by the Food Lion in Columbia was our preferred location, now it is the one under the 83 viaduct. (Saratoga St. between Holliday and Gay) It's from 8am to 12pm, running until December 21st.
The bigger question is probably why do we go to the farmer's market? Honestly, the main reason is not because we want to support locally grown produce or organic farming. The main reason is because our local grocery store's produce section sucks.
The relative difference is obvious - the farmer's market in Columbia was small - usually three or four produce stands, a bread stand, and one or two flower stands. There were usually about 10 customers at a time, more in the spring. The Baltimore farmer's market is huge - probably at least 10-15 produce stands, plus that many or more food vendors, local artisans, handmade dog biscuit sellers...it takes up an entire parking lot and is filled with people. The Baltimore Farmer's Market is like the Riverdale Farmer's Market on crack. There is a donut vendor here too, but the line was way too long - there is an advantage to a smaller farmer's market, sometimes.
I highly recommend checking out the Baltimore farmer's market, and if you don't live in the city, check out this - http://www.mda.state.md.us/md_products/farmers_market_dir.php - to find your nearest one.