Now, this is a good week.  For the first time I feel like we would actually use everything we might get, though not everything actually provided.  But, the good definitely dominates.

The good:  peaches (finally!), cucumber, wax beans, red leaf lettuce, green pepper, arugula

The ok: zucchini (not anyone’s favorites, but we’ll eat them), garlic

The waste/donate: beets, kale, eggplant

A truly good week – I’ll take the “good” catagory and leave the rest for someone else.

This box is pretty green again, and no fruit (except the tomatoes) – not up our alley.

The good:  pickle cucumber (we’ll just eat them – though the quantity is a lot), wax beans, green beans, red leaf lettuce, green pepper

The ok: zucchini (not anyone’s favorites, but we’ll eat them), romano beans (never cooked them, but we can give it a try), basil & scallions (I can use these, but not in the quantity given), plum tomatoes (not what I’d usually buy for eating, but we can probably make use of them), radish, garlic, muskmelon (not sure I’ve ever had one, so we’ll try it)

The waste/donate: beets, tuscan kale, eggplant, kohlrabi

I need to pick 9 items this week, which is big for this list.  I’ll go with the “good” plus romano beans & muskmelon (to try them both) as well as plum tomatoes and garlic.

Unfortunately there’s so much in season right now that we do love that’s not on the list that I’m feeling particularly uninspired.  Corn, tomatoes, blueberries, peaches, plums, and early apples would all make my shopping list ahead of many of these things.  Today or tomorrow I’ll have to try to hit up the farmer’s market for some of these items.

The CSA box is finally starting to take on more color.

The good:  swiss chard (I have a great fish recipe for this), boston lettuce, pickling cucumber (we’ll just eat them), red onions, corn, tomatoes

The ok: zucchini (not anyone’s favorites, but we’ll eat them), basil & scallion (I can use these, but not in the quantity given

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

I’ll go with the “good” plus the basil.  This is the best week yet, though it begins to highlight my issue with the CSA.  I have no interest in the “waste/donate” category, but I could use way more corn than comes in the box, just to have one meal let alone two which we could easily do in a week.  So, its not just the mix of produce, its the quantities that don’t work so well for us.

Well, we went away for another short trip, but now will be back for the duration of the summer.

It’s been hectic lately and with the heat I haven’t wanted to take the time after getting home to lay out all the groceries.  Better to get them in the fridge.  I need to get back to the photos.  But, I did take a few photos of some of the more interesting items this week.

Mustard was $0.50 each after sales & coupons.  I bought one ketchup – we’ll use it, one had to buy 4 total items to get the best sale price, and I needed one more coupon to have three for the mustards.

I also took a photo of my produce purchases for the week.  There was one more plum & one more banana, but they got eaten before the photo.  Obviously the bananas aren’t local.  Neither are the tomatoes.  But, the blueberries, peaches, and plums are.  The peaches and plums were tiny, but very tasty.

It’s CSA week 7 and its the first week where I could use everything in the box!

The good:  athena melon, Boston lettuce, corn (though not enough for us), tomatoes, cucumber, swiss chard, wax beans

The ok: romano beans, zucchini, basil & scallions (more than we could ever use of each), carrots (I really can’t tell the difference between local & CA from the grocery store)

I’ll go with the “good” this week.  That’s not to say that there’s anything bad in the ok selection.  But, I’ll need more corn and I’d prefer to add some in season fruits like blueberries or peaches (just coming into season so this will only work if I can find them).

The CSA box is finally starting to take on more color.

The good:  swiss chard (I have a great fish recipe for this), boston lettuce, pickling cucumber (we’ll just eat them), red onions, corn, tomatoes

The ok: zucchini (not anyone’s favorites, but we’ll eat them), basil & scallion (I can use these, but not in the quantity given

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

I’ll go with the “good” plus the basil.  This is the best week yet, though it begins to highlight my issue with the CSA.  I have no interest in the “waste/donate” category, but I could use way more corn than comes in the box, just to have one meal let alone two which we could easily do in a week.  So, its not just the mix of produce, its the quantities that don’t work so well for us.

Well, the green produce rolls on.  I feel like we’ve even gone a bit backwards as the good list is really short this week.

The good:  baby spinach and strawberries.

The ok: escarole & summer squash (not anyone’s favorites, but we’ll eat them – though we have a bunch of each already), dill (so much that it would need to be frozen), boston lettuce, arugula

The waste/donate: radish (don’t need three weeks in a row + school project), garlic scapes, kale, beets, Tuscan kale, kohlrabi

I’ll go with the “good” and “ok” categoryies minus the boston lettuce since we have that in our garden.  As I mentioned yesterday, we got a bunch of radishes from school.  We’ve also harvested lettuce and strawberries from our garden this week.  And, I bought some more tomatoes.

I remain glad that I did not sign up this year.  Specifically, we’re in the height of strawberry season here and there are not strawberries in the CSA box.  I bought a bunch.

The box itself is still very green.

The good:  english peas, spinach, cucumber, sugar snap peas

The ok: arugula & iceberg lettuce (I already have plenty of lettuce in our garden.), escarole & summer squash (not anyone’s favorites, but we’ll eat them), basil & cilantro (so much that it would need to be frozen)

The waste/donate: radish (don’t need two weeks in a row), garlic scapes, kale

I’ll go with the “good” category plus the summer squash & arugula.  I also purchased tomatoes this week.

We were able to harvest some strawberries from our garden – not too many but enough for two kids lunches.

Well, I’m glad I didn’t sign up for the CSA this year if this week is any indication.  Don’t get me wrong, its a lovely variety, but gets an F for our family because of the large amount of produce we just wouldn’t use.

The good:  blueberries, baby spinach, radish, swiss chard

The ok: green leaf lettuce & romaine lettuce (I already have plenty of lettuce in our garden.), zucchini & summer squash (not anyone’s favorites, but we’ll eat them)

The waste/donate: beets, rhubarb, golden beets, pea tendrils, kale

Per my earlier pledge to select half the items on the list any given week, I’ll go with the “good” category plus the zucchini & summer squash.  I also purchased peaches (slightly out of area, but from the farm stand) and tomatoes this week.  I was hoping local strawberries would be in, but haven’t seen them yet.

On a more positive note, we have more strawberry buds than ever in our garden.  The deer have taken a few – next year I’ll have to put up some netting, but it looks like we’ll still get a good harvest.

I also added corn and a jalapeno pepper to the garden this week.

Since local produce is finally coming out of the frozen tundra, the CSAs will start up in a few weeks.  But, I’ve elected not to join one this year.  We have in the past, but I find we don’t receive enough of the foods we want to eat, and we always end up with too much of what we don’t.  So, my plan this year is to make my own weekly CSA baskets.

Around here that is easier than it might seem.  First, we have a number of local farms and farmer’s markets to choose from.  I’m not limiting myself to doing the basket in one day or one location, so I can piece it together over the week.  Second, one of the farm stands publishes what’s in their weekly basket online.

So, my rules are that I have to purchase a basket – by volume.  And, it has to include at least half of the items on the weekly online list.  I can purchase these items at any of the local stands/markets.  I am not counting produce marked as local that I purchase at a grocery store, although I’m not going to turn that down either.

As for cost, I thought about forcing myself to spend the CSA amount per week, but I decided that didn’t make sense.  Their baskets are leveled over the summer and mine can be also.  I will total up what I spend and compare it to the CSA costs at the end.