No farm share, but...
I've been going to the Farmer's market every Saturday morning. I walk around, check out what's available and figure out stuff to make.
The problem with this approach is that it doesn't force me to be as creative as I was with the farm share. For example, I am no longer staring at my fridge asking what does one do with 4lbs of Kohlrabi?
That said, I've been surprisingly experimental, at least for me. Last weekend, I made a strawberry lime pie. It failed miserably (that's not totally true, it just didn't set properly, it still tasted awesome). I made a spring onion and spring potato soup with fresh thyme, a touch of chili pepper and homemade stock which was really good. I gave some to my neighbor and in exchange she is showering me with greens.
This week, what with the chickens laying like mad hens (2 eggs a day so far, it's crazy!!) and our neighbor giving me some beautiful chard, I will likely make a Swiss chard quiche with the remainder of the gruyere I've got kicking about, or perhaps the cheddar, I haven't decided. I have a chicken (from our favorite meat farmer) in the fridge getting ready for the oven tomorrow. I made another batch of strawberry muffins (seriously, these strawberries are AMAZING!!), I'm going to try my hand at a strawberry rhubarb pie and I knocked out some fresh pesto, which I'll be having with pasta for dinner tonight.
Anyway, I'm getting used to the ladies. I'm calling them Rhoda and Heddie, though I haven't said that out loud to anyone other than Peter, so I'm not sure they'll stick. So far, they love kale and strawberries and dislike cilantro and rhubarb. Also, they are very dumb, and couldn't find their coop last night. I spent 20 minutes getting them to settle on the table and then catching them and putting them into the coop. I had moved it 10 feet earlier in the day. Next time, we move the coop while they are inside.
The problem with this approach is that it doesn't force me to be as creative as I was with the farm share. For example, I am no longer staring at my fridge asking what does one do with 4lbs of Kohlrabi?
That said, I've been surprisingly experimental, at least for me. Last weekend, I made a strawberry lime pie. It failed miserably (that's not totally true, it just didn't set properly, it still tasted awesome). I made a spring onion and spring potato soup with fresh thyme, a touch of chili pepper and homemade stock which was really good. I gave some to my neighbor and in exchange she is showering me with greens.
This week, what with the chickens laying like mad hens (2 eggs a day so far, it's crazy!!) and our neighbor giving me some beautiful chard, I will likely make a Swiss chard quiche with the remainder of the gruyere I've got kicking about, or perhaps the cheddar, I haven't decided. I have a chicken (from our favorite meat farmer) in the fridge getting ready for the oven tomorrow. I made another batch of strawberry muffins (seriously, these strawberries are AMAZING!!), I'm going to try my hand at a strawberry rhubarb pie and I knocked out some fresh pesto, which I'll be having with pasta for dinner tonight.
Anyway, I'm getting used to the ladies. I'm calling them Rhoda and Heddie, though I haven't said that out loud to anyone other than Peter, so I'm not sure they'll stick. So far, they love kale and strawberries and dislike cilantro and rhubarb. Also, they are very dumb, and couldn't find their coop last night. I spent 20 minutes getting them to settle on the table and then catching them and putting them into the coop. I had moved it 10 feet earlier in the day. Next time, we move the coop while they are inside.