Community Supported Agriculture...CSA

a few samples of the weeks' bounty

I am so glad I have had the opportunity to be part of a CSA this summer - especially since it is nearby and it has been too hot to head to our own farm to do much of anything. I joined Stoney Lonesome Farm in Gainesville as a "Harvest Helper" and in spite of related back problems have really enjoyed the weeks spent harvesting and packing up food for the CSA. My main goals were to learn and to try new foods and both have been accomplished. Swiss chard, baby bok choy and different greens have been part of the "new" harvest over the weeks since May. The whole idea behind sustainable agriculture and organic growing methods has really been an eye opener. The farmer's market in Manassas on Thursday nicely supplements my Wednesday package.

This week I received tomatoes, cucumbers, blue potatoes, red onions, garlic, beets, leeks, herbs and fresh flowers and a huge zuchinni which will become a chocolate cake soon.

A few new cookbooks grace my counter and I am eager to try some new things with fresh veggies. My most adventuresome to date was swiss chard gnocchi. Not only was it delicious but also surprisingly easy.

Someday soon, perhaps my own farm will support my "new habit." Afterall the watermelons we picked last weekend were the best we've ever had (of course)!

too hot to handle

Can't believe it's been six weeks since I blogged. My how time flies when you are planning a wedding. We've been to the farm several times but it has been just miserably hot this summer. The garden is officially (at least in my book) dead. I brought two watermelons home and they are super sweet and juicy but most everything else has dried up. Sadly the flowers do not look like they will make it for the wedding. They were gorgeous last week but pretty much gone this week.

This weekend we had a birthday party for Hayley who had turned 13 the previous week. I thought the girls would be miserable but they seemed to have a great time. ATVing, tractor scoop rides (who knew they were like a roller coaster) and tubing on the James River were all a hit that almost made us forget the heat. The shower on Sat afternoon that brought the temp down by 25 degrees helped too. Camping in the heat is not my cup of tea and it seemed that every few minutes we blew a fuse with the a/c but a good time was had by all.