This is the last one.  And, while its fairly good for us, I was surprised that there weren’t more storage crops in it.  There are also a lot of duplicates from last week.

The good:  green peppers, grape tomatoes, apples, broccoli

The ok: buttkin squash, eggs (medium?, and really you can get eggs pretty much anywhere), carrots, spinach, scallions, leeks (again, really), red cabbage, escarole

The waste/donate: cilantro, kale

In a final attempt to add some variety, this week I’ll take the “good” category plus the spinach, scallions, and cabbage.

The farmer’s markets also close this week.  Though, we have a holiday version prior to Thanksgiving to give everyone one last chance to stock up for the holiday or whatever they can store for the winter.  I fully expect to buy a large supply of apples, if nothing else.

Well, we’re holding and maybe moving backwards.

The good:  broccoli, green peppers, grape tomatoes, apples, leeks

The ok: buttkin squash, escarole, red cabbage, spinach, carrots

The waste/donate: cilantro, kale

This week I’ll take the “good” category plus the buttkin squash.  Not sure I’ve ever had that one, but I’m assuming its a winter squash of some sort.  Frankly, this time of year I’d prefer to have beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and lettuce vs the “ok” and “waste” categories.  I’ll have to track some of those down on my own.

Not quite as good as last week, but still only one true miss.

The good:  apples, pears, cauliflower, red leaf lettuce, green peppers, swiss chard, winter squash

The ok: broccolini, parsley, spinach, carrots, romano beans, escarole

The waste/donate: beets

Again, I only need to purchase the “good” category!  This is two weeks in a row, which is fabulous.  My guess starting this was that we’d do better in the fall than the spring and that seems to be proving itself to be true.  I do feel like a few of these things are coming a lot so I will need to think about getting them used promptly even though they keep longer, or I’ll end up with cauliflower overload, for example.

This is the best week yet – only one total miss!

The good:  broccoli, swiss chard, green leaf lettuce, pears, wax beans, cauliflower

The ok: spinach, cubanelle pepper, escarole, carrots (I’ve mentioned before we’re not huge fans of their carrots.), radishes

The waste/donate: eggplant

I only need to purchase the “good” category!  It’s nice to not have a wasteful week, or one that requires lots of thought.  I’m sure I could find a way to use everything in the “ok” category, if necessary, but I’m just as glad not to worry about it.

This is a pretty good week.  There’s some things we will eat right up, some things we might not normally buy but could use, and not too many misses.

The good:  red leaf lettuce, corn (but not enough for us), gala apples, orange cauliflower, green beans, swiss chard

The ok: butterkin squash, green cabbage, scallions

The waste/donate: eggplant, tuscan kale, Chioggia beets, kholrabi

Getting close to enabling me just purchasing the “good” category, but not quite.  I’ll take the green cabbage also.

We should still be in a great time of year for us, vegetable-wise.  But, the weekly basket isn’t really loaded with what we’d use.

The good:  swiss chard, green leaf lettuce, corn (but not enough for us), MacIntosh apples, broccoli

The ok: acorn squash, carrots (we eat a lot, but haven’t liked theirs in the past), cubanelle pepper

The waste/donate: shell beans, beets, eggplant, tuscan kale

So, ok, but not a great week.  I’ll take the “good” plus the acorn squash.

More bad news on this specific CSA.  I went to the farm stand today to see if I could get more local peaches – and they’re gone!  I know they are definitely still around and I found some later in the day, so now worries just more stops.  I think that’s my biggest issue with this particular CSA – too many veggies and not enough fruits.  Our family need more balance.

The good:  tomatoes (regular & grape), boston lettuce, broccoli, orange cauliflower, pickle cukes (we’ll just eat them), green peppers, wax beans

The ok: baby arugula, radishes (don’t need them, but haven’t had them in a while either), zucchini

The waste/donate: eggplant, beets, basil (this is way past overkill for us)

Despite my complaints about the veggie/fruit ratio, this is a good week.  I’ll take the good category, which actually gets me more than the requisite number of items!

This week tips the scales back.  While there are some things I appreciate, most items I could live without.

But, I bought plenty of produce last week and apples and broccoli are coming into season which are always popular.

The good:  tomatoes, corn, broccoli, red leaf lettuce, apples, pickle cukes (we’ll just eat them)

The ok: zucchini & summer squash, romano beans, swiss chard (not sure what to do with it two weeks in a row)

The waste/donate: eggplant, cubanelle pepper, red & white beets, basil (this is way past overkill for us)

I’ll take the “good” catagory plus the zucchini (one can always hide it in something) and romano beans (not sure we’ve ever tried these).

Separately, I happened across another CSA this week.  Obviously they’re all different, but this one looked like it might have a better fruit/vegetable mix for us.  I think I’ll have to investigate it further.

This week is a bit of a mixed bag.  Plenty to choose from for me to pick the half I’ll use, but plenty of things I wouldn’t use if I was given the whole box too.  The last few weeks have restarted my thoughts that I like the CSA more as the summer moves along.  If only, one could just do the last 10 weeks I might reconsider and join.

That being said, we’ve been doing pretty well this year eating enough produce, and specifically enough seasonal produce that we like (vs what we’re given) that I don’t feel too bad about it.  And, I’m not sure a CSA is super cost effective unless you eat everything.  Between the items that don’t get eaten and the fact that things are not as cleaned and prepped as they might be at the farm stand (I don’t mean pre-cut.), there’s both waste cost and extra work involved.

The good:  tomatoes, corn, green pepper, green leaf lettuce, pickle cukes (we’ll just eat them), wax beans, swiss chard

The ok: zucchini & summer squash, muskmelon, scallions

The waste/donate: beets & chioggia beets, tuscan kale, sicilian eggplant

I’ll take the “good” catagory plus the muskmelon.  I’m not sure I’ve ever had a muskmelon.  I am sure that the boys won’t eat it, but maybe I’ll like it.

This week is a bit of a mixed bag.  Plenty to choose from for me to pick the half I’ll use, but plenty of things I wouldn’t use if I was given the whole box too.

The good:  peaches, green beans, red leaf lettuce, tomatoes, baby spinach

The ok: zucchini & summer squash (not anyone’s favorites, but we’ll eat them), scallions & basil (more than I can use), shell beans, garlic

The waste/donate: kale, eggplant, kholrabi, beets

I’ll take the “good” catagory plus the summer squash and shell beans.  I’m not sure what I’ll do with the shell beans as I’ve never had them before, but we can try something new.