You may recall that Patrick and I participate in a
CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share. We receive a box of farm goodies from a local farm every week. Farms set up their CSAs in different ways. One thing that differs between the programs is whether or not you are able to select what's in your box. Our CSA coordinator will send out an email at the beginning of each week and we reply with our selections. Some CSAs provide a random box of goodies according to what is being produced on the farm at the time. This was one of the main reasons we chose the farm we did so that we could have more control over what was in our box. However we do challenge ourselves to try vegetables that we are not familiar with. Another factor in choosing which CSA farm fits your needs best is the length of their season. Some will run the entire length of the growing season (spring through fall) while others may just do a spring, summer, or fall CSA offering.
If you're interested in a CSA
follow this link for more information. Patrick and I have thoroughly enjoyed our weekly box of veggies and knowing that we're supporting our local food economy! We first started our CSA in Spring 2011; how quickly time flies! If you are in the Triangle area we highly recommended
Brinkley Farms!
As I mentioned earlier, we receive an email at the beginning of the week with all the current vegetable offerings. Here's an example of one from October:
Individual $12.00 to spend
Couple $16.00 to spend
Family $20.00 to spend
Veggies:
squash $1.50/lb
zucchini $1.50/lb
cucumbers $1.50/lb
red tomatoes $2.50/lb
regular sweet potatoes $1.50/lb
white sweet potatoes $1.50/lb
acorn squash $2.00/each
butternut squash $2.00/each
spaghetti squash $3.00/each
regular eggplant $1.50/lb
regular kale $2.00/bundle
white turnips $2.00/bundle
green bell peppers .75cents/each
red bell peppers $1.00/each
purple hull peas $5.00/1lb bag shelled
butterbeans $5.00/1lb bag shelled
blue hubbard squash $4.00/each (odd shaped grayish/blue squash good for decor or cooking)
cinderella pumpkin $5.00/each (flat greenish/orange pumpkin good for decor or cooking)
regular orange pumpkins $4.00/each
pie pumpkins $3.00/each (great for making pies, or decoration)
mini orange pumpkins .50cents/each (decoration)
mini white pumpkins .50cents/each (decoration)
small autumn wing gourds .50cents/each (decoration)
Our coordinator provides descriptions for the more unusual offerings which is helpful (as is google).
We receive a "couple" box and then reply back to the email with a $16 selection of produce. Then Patrick picks up our box at the end of the week with all of our requested vegetables in it!
One vegetable we usually select are sweet potatoes because a) they're delicious, b) they're super healthy, c) they're easy to prep, and d) they don't spoil within the week. Recently I found myself with lots of sweet potatoes and I felt like all we've done lately is roast them as a side for dinner! Then I said to myself: save these sweet potatoes for breakfast! So I browsed a little for some inspiration: should I make sweet potato scones? sweet potato hash? pancakes? waffles?! The options were endless! Finally I limited it down to sweet potato muffins or biscuits and asked my husband what his preference was.
He wanted muffins! Without any further chit chat I will share the sweet potato muffins recipe I used. Patrick said they're a keeper (which is a big deal for muffins)!
Sweet Potato Muffins
Recipe from
The Weelicious Blog
Recipe says makes 30 mini muffins; I made 18 regular muffins
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs, whisked
1 cup sweet potato puree, cooked*
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Place the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the remaining ingredients.
4. Slowly combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients just until they are combined (be careful not to over mix the batter).
5. Place 1 tbsp of batter in each cup of greased mini muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Serve.
* To make sweet potato puree, bake sweet potatoes (or yams) in a 400 degree oven for one hour, allow to cool, slice in half lengthwise and mash flesh with a fork until smooth.
** You can place muffins in labeled freezer bags and freeze for up to 3 months.
Since sweet potatoes are a good source of protein and fiber, we had these for breakfast with a banana and coffee before heading to the Google Glass exhibit in Durham.
With Google Glass you would be able to access the whitskitchen blog while cooking and follow the recipe! How cool would that be?!
