Exploring Local Farms

13 Jul

Recently, I’ve had a strong desire to help support farms in my area.  I know that farming anywhere is hard, but in the dry climate of Arizona, I’m sure it’s even harder.  I already have bought from a very local farm and from our Farmer’s Market, but knew that there were more farms in our county that I wanted to see what they had to offer.  Today, a friend and I set out into the “country”.

Our first stop was Sunizona Family Farms.  They grow a variety of vegetables, some fruits, and micro-greens that are certified organic, and what they call veganically grown.  They use no animal products for growing, only plant-based materials.  They provide their produce mostly to the state of Arizona, available in Whole Foods and AJ’s Fine Foods, some farmer’s markets, and also through their FarmBox program.  The FarmBox program is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, a way to get their product out to people.  This is what I signed up for and drove out to the farm for today.  They have pick up locations in Phoenix or Tucson, plus pick up at their farm.  I opted to pick up at the farm so I could see that farm and to see what it would take to get a delivery to my city.

We were greeted by Janice, who got my box for me, and then also took us on a tour of the farm.  It was great to see where and how the food I’m eating is grown.  This time, I got the small standard box for $22, plus extra carrots for $2.50 and a loaf of Spouted Khorasan bread for $5.50.  I also got to sample some thumbprint cookies.  They also have a large box for $30 or an option to make a custom box of items available in their web store, with a $22 minimum total.  They also have a variety of bakery items as well, breads, cookies, pies, hamburger buns, dinner rolls, and pizza crust.  Here is a picture of all that I got:

I got beets, a red pepper, tomatoes (1 is missing because my husband had to try one as soon as I got home), chives, white onions, lettuce, cabbage, basil, and collard greens (which apparently didn’t make it into the picture).  You can also see the thumbprint cookies, the bread, and the carrots.  It all looks amazing, and I can’t wait to cook with and eat all of it.  I will definitely be going back, but probably every other week because it is a bit of a drive.  I also think that I will do a custom FarmBox instead, and pick what I want from the store, which I think is a great option to have.  I like that the program is flexible like that, I can pick up different locations, put a hold on my subscription, change my subscription, or add-on extra things each time I get a box.

We stopped for lunch, then headed to Apple Annie’s Produce and Pumpkins.  I have been to Apple Annie’s about once a year during their harvest season for the last few years.  They have the produce and pumpkins part that we visited today, plus an orchard nearby.  Both locations have produce they pick or you can go out and pick your own produce.  Today, I did a mix of their picked produce and you pick produce.  Here is what I got:

Green beans, eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, and okra.  All of this cost $6.89!  I was pretty impressed with that price.

I also got 5 dozen ears of sweet corn for $26.99 to share with my friend.

They also had cantaloupe, watermelon, black eye peas, yellow squash, green chiles, and cucumbers available.  We had thought about stopping at the orchard as they have peaches available right now, but we’d been lucky in missing most of the rain storms in the area today and didn’t want to push our luck anymore.  I have a couple other farms I want to check out, and hopefully will get to soon.

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Strawberry Lemonade Chiller

11 Jul

I wasn’t sure what to call this, because I didn’t add any ice cream or milk like a smoothie, I called it a chiller, like the ones at McDonald’s, but with fresh ingredients.  To make it, I used the 2 packages of the frozen strawberries and 1 package of the frozen lemon juice cubes I had made recently.  It turned out great and super sweet, so you could add more crushed ice to it to help make it less sweet.  Or, reduce or omit the sugar, the strawberries I had were probably sweet enough to do without any sugar.  We had some friends over today, and all the kids loved it!

Strawberry Lemonade Chiller

What you need:

2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar (use less or omit depending on how sweet you want it)
1 lb frozen strawberries, about 4 cups
1 cup frozen lemon juice cubes
Ice cubes, optional

How to make it:

Bring the water and sugar to a boil on the stove long enough to dissolve the sugar.  Allow to fully cool.

Put the strawberries and sugar/water mixture in a blender and puree until smooth.  Add in lemon juice cubes, and again, puree until smooth.

If mixture is too sweet for you, pour the mixture into a pitcher, then use blender to chop up 1-2 cups of ice cubes, and add to the pitcher, mix in well.

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Basket Breakdown: 7/7/2012

9 Jul

This week, I contributed for the conventional basket and the Italian themed veggie pack.

This week, we got cauliflower, tomatoes, mangoes, peaches, lettuce, bananas, plums, cantaloupe, green grapes, strawberries, and limes.  Plenty of fruit!  I’m most excited about the cauliflower, I’ve learned many ways to cook cauliflower now that I’m excited to be able to use it again.  I’ll probably end up at least making a pizza crust, probably roast some, then eat the rest raw.  It’s my favorite veggie!  With the limes, I want to make Fiesta Lime Chicken, which I haven’t had in a long time.  I may also attempt a lime-ade of some kind, maybe strawberry lime-aid?  We’ll see.  The plums are amazing, and I may need to come up with a creative use for the peaches.  Or, they may go in a smoothie with the mangoes and a banana.

I also got a few items from this week’s organic basket from my friend who said she won’t use it all this week.  The organic box looked great this week, it had the hugest head of cauliflower that I’ve ever seen!  Here is a picture of the items she gave me:

The giant head of cauliflower, baby bok choy, purple kale, donut peaches,  and plums.  The rest of the box, not pictured, included mangoes, cherries, sweet corn, broccoli, mushrooms, celery, and cantaloupe.

 

Finally, here is the Italian themed veggie pack.

This week, it was Italian flat parsley, oregano, eggplant, red pepper, yellow squash, rosemary, mushrooms, garlic, yellow onion, red onion, and basil.  I’m still undecided on what to make with this weeks items, but I’m thinking I want to grill the eggplant, then maybe add sliced tomatoes and some mozzarella cheese and broil to melt the cheese.

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how case ends are distributed once everything is distributed evenly. I also volunteered and got an extra item for volunteering.

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Our 4th of July Barbecue

4 Jul


Today is a day we celebrate our freedom in the USA.  So, I planned to make a little extra food today in celebration.  We had invited a friend over to join us, but he ended up cancelling.  We had a ton of food ready to go, but the extra will take us through the next few days with some spin-off dishes.  So, what did we have?

We had top sirloin steaks, which I got on sale for $3.99/lb at Safeway last week, that I marinated in Dale’s Seasoning.  The shrimp was from Zaycon Foods, and I marinated to give it a spicy, garlic, lime flavor (see recipe below).  I also grilled corn on the cob, and to do that I cut each corn cob in half, sprayed with olive oil, sprinkled a little salt and ground black pepper on, and wrapped in aluminum foil, and put on the grill for 10-15 minutes.  Finally, I made a potato salad.  Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a hurry and didn’t cook the potatoes quite right and so they were a little crunchy, but the rest of the taste was right on.  This recipe called for sweet relish and onion, so since I had made Refrigerator Pickles a couple days ago, I chopped up the onions and “pickles” to add to the potato salad.  The recipe for this is below as well.

I have quite a bit of steak and corn left, so I am thinking I will cut up the leftover steak and saute with green peppers and onions to make steak fajitas.  Then, I will use the corn to make Roasted Corn Salsa as a side to go with it.  I also made a few extra hard-boiled eggs when I boiled eggs for the potato salad, so I chopped them up and chopped up more of the onions and pickles to mix in with it, and then mixed in some mayonnaise and mustard to make egg salad for sandwiches for lunch tomorrow.

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Spicy Garlic Lime Shrimp

What you need:

1 pound large shrimp, fully cooked, peeled, and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons tequila, optional (I omitted)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne (red) pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

How to make it:

Mix together all ingredients, and toss to coat shrimp well.  Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Option 1: Place shrimp on metal skewers.  If using bamboo skewers, soak the skewers in water while the shrimp marinades.  Heat a grill to high and lightly oil the grate.  Place shrimp on grill and cook for 2-3 minutes per side.

Option 2:  Heat a large skillet on the stove to medium high heat.  Pour contents of bowl into the skillet.  Stir, and cook about 5 minutes, just enough to heat shrimp through.

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Potato Salad

What you need:

1 lb potatoes
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish (I chopped my Refrigerator Pickles and some onions from that for the relish and onions)
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Ground black pepper to taste

How to make it:

Peel and chop potatoes.  Place in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Place on stove and bring to a boil.  Boil for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender, but not mushy.  Drain water and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes and the rest of the ingredients.  Stir well.  Chill in refrigerator before serving.

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Basket Breakdown: 6/30/2012

2 Jul

This week, I got the conventional basket, the original granola, and the organic honey whole wheat bread.

In this week’s conventional basket, I got cantaloupe, bananas, carrots, mangoes, celery, green peppers, grapes, onions, grape tomatoes, Romaine lettuce, and cherries.

I have some marinated pork loin, which I think I will cube, then use the tomatoes, onion, and green peppers to make shish kabob on grill.  I’m also thinking about making baked onion rings to go with out 4th of July grilled meal.  The carrots and celery are almost all eaten up by my girls, it’s their favorite!  I may make a dessert with the cherries this week, a cobbler or pie.  We’ll see!

I also got the Original Granola.  I thought this was one I had gotten before and wasn’t real thrilled with, but either it was much better than last time or it’s different!

This granola has oats, honey, canola oil, whole almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, sliced almonds, and vanilla.

I also strayed from our normal organic 9 grain bread to have the organic honey whole wheat bread this week.  It’s just as good!

 

 

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how case ends are distributed once everything is distributed evenly. I also volunteered and got an extra item for volunteering.

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Watermelon Lemonade

27 Jun

I had watermelon that was sitting around not getting eaten, which is actually odd for my house.   So, I needed to come up with a way to use it.  I searched allrecipes.com and came across a recipe for Watermelon Lemonade.  It’s still rather easy, like the Lemonade recipe I had posted previously, just adds in a couple of steps for the watermelon.  It ends up being a nice, cool treat on a hot day like today is!

 

Watermelon Lemonade
Based on recipe here

What you need:

4 cups cubed watermelon
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 4 – 6 lemons)
1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar
Water

How to make it:

Put the watermelon in a blender.  Cover, and blend until smooth.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer.  You will end up with 1-1/2 to 2 cups of liquid after straining.  Pour the strained liquid into a 2 quart pitcher.  Add lemon juice into a 2 quart pitcher.

Heat 2 cups of water and the sugar, and stir until sugar dissolves.  Let cool.

Pour sugar and water mixture into the pitcher.  Add enough water to fill the 2 qt pitcher.  Stir well.

Chill in refrigerator for a couple of hours or serve over ice.

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Safeway just for U

27 Jun

I have to admit that I haven’t had as much time for my couponing lately, but I’m still managing to get a few good deals here and there.  On my trip to Safeway last week to pick up milk and a few other sale items, they had a table set up near the entrance to explain the just for U program that was just launched here in AZ, and I’m guessing some other parts of the country as well.  You can register for the program online through Safeway’s website, or you can get their free app for iPhone and Android devices.

There are a few things I like about this new program.  First, they now have the paper coupons from their ad available to download directly to your Safeway Club Card so you don’t have to cut into the ad or remember the paper coupons.  Second, they have quite a few store and manufacturer coupons through the Coupon Center that go directly onto your Safeway Club Card.  Third, and my favorite feature, is the Personalized Deals.  When I first signed up, I got the free dozen eggs, plus deals for other items I regularly buy at prices lower than even the weekly sales ad.  These deals typically change week to week.  I’m now on my third week of Personalized Deals, and it’s showing I can get another free dozen eggs, milk at $1.57, broccoli crowns for $.99/lb, radishes for $.44/bunch, plus a lot more at lower prices than in the weekly ad.  Finally, there is My List.  You can add items from the weekly sales ad, items you downloaded coupons for from the Coupon Center, and items from your Personalized Deals you added to your card.  You can print this list from online, or, if you have the app on your Smartphone or Tablet, you can view it online as you go through the store and check things off as you go.

I have to say I am pretty impressed with this so far.  Our other big grocery store here, Fry’s, has downloadable coupons, but they send personalized coupons in the mail.  They also have an app for Smartphones and Tablets through it’s parent company, Kroger.  I have liked using the program for Fry’s, but I have to admit, this Safeway program is working better for me so far.  I like having more available electronically over paper, because I lose or forget paper coupons.  But, what works for me, I know won’t work for everyone, but I think it’s at least worth trying out.

 

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Safeway.  This is my own opinion and review of the program.

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Cheap Blueberries!

27 Jun

Click to view the ad for your Safeway store

If you are looking to stock up on blueberries and have a Safeway grocery store near you, check your new ad!  My ad has a 2 lb container of blueberries for $5 Friday.  That means, this Friday, June 27, the 2lb containers of blueberries will be $5.  I didn’t see a limit, but it may vary store to store.  What you can’t eat right away, you can freeze very easily.

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Freezing Blueberries

26 Jun

Recently, I got a case of blueberries from Bountiful Baskets.  It had 12 6-oz. containers of blueberries.  We, of course, ate some right away, but the rest I wanted to freeze so we could have blueberries for smoothies and other things in the upcoming months when blueberries aren’t available.

I had read that it’s best to not wash the berries before freezing.  Then, because I wanted to vacuum seal them, I wanted the berries to be frozen first.  So, I took a large jelly roll pan and made a single layer of berries in the pan.  This was 7 containers worth of berries.

I let them sit in the freezer overnight, and actually part of the next day because I forgot about them, and made sure they were all fully frozen.  Then, I divided them into FoodSaver bags, one bag had the same as what was in each 6-oz. container, which was about 1 cup of blueberries.  I vacuum sealed them and put them in the freezer!  When I am ready to use them, I will rinse them first since I didn’t rinse them before freezing.

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Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Goat Cheese and Chives

25 Jun

I had thawed chicken for tonight’s dinner, but had no idea what I wanted to make.  I remembered I had bacon on hand, and bacon always makes everything better, right?  So, I started looking at bacon wrapped chicken recipes, and found a few that had a filling of cream cheese and chives.  I didn’t have cream cheese on hand, but I did have soft goat cheese from our Farmer’s Market visit, so I decided it would work.  I also had fresh chives from the fresh herb pack. Normally, this would be baked in the oven, but since it is so hot here, I didn’t want the extra heat.  I thought about grilling, but we had a threat of rain all afternoon.  So, I cooked this in a little olive oil on the stove top, and it turned out really well.  I served with baked potatoes and salad.

 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Goat Cheese and Chives

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz soft goat cheese or cream cheese
1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
4 strips bacon
Olive oil

How to make it:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Pound each chicken breast to 1/2′ thickness.  Spread goat cheese or cream cheese over each chicken breast.  Sprinkle each with minced chives.

Roll each chicken breast.  Wrap each breast with a piece of bacon, stretching bacon around each breast to make it thinner.  Place the wrapped chicken breasts in the skillet with the preheated oil. (You can see I was in a hurry and didn’t get the bacon wrapped around the chicken real well)

Turn wrapped chicken often to get even cooking on all sides.  Cook until internal temperature is 180 F.

Alternate baking instructions: Place wrapped chicken, seam side down in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 35-40 minutes or until a thermometer reads 180°. Broil 6 in. from the heat for 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

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