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What’s in the Share – Week of 7/16 – Deep summer deliciousness

 CSA Farm Share, CSA/Farm Market, Get Educated, Get Involved, Local Food, Recipes  No Responses »
Jul 162017
 

252618_10151035682480935_2070985791_nWe congratulate Omar Flores and his wife on the birth of their new baby, who joins their two year old. The share list is late this week because of the birth! We wish mama and baby vibrant health and many blessings. Baby is super cute and I hope to have a picture to share with you soon.

I have 2 shares to sell for members who are moving:
 5x biweekly full share with fruit add-on which would either this week 7/18 for EM/Richmond, or next week, 7/25,  all locations, for $675.
 I also have  2x shares of produce and choice of either meat or dairy for $158- this also makes a great gift. Member fees waived.  If people are interested, they need to email me farmshares@thefarmbus.com, and I will manually set them up.

Thanks everyone and happy cooking.

Suzi

Here is what is in the share, subject to change:
orange cherry tomatoes
fairy tale eggplant
green onions
bitter melon – used in Asian medicine for a host of benefits. Here’s what Dr. Axe says. And recipes.
colored peppers
tomatillos – My tomatillos this year were volunteers, and are a huge patch in the middle of the yard. They are awesome!! We put them in all sorts of things, and love to make raw salsa verde, ready in moments by putting in the blender, or you can get all fancy and grill your peppers like Jamie Oliver. Here are a bunch of other ways to use it.
string beans
baby celery – one of my favorite things. you’ll never want to use store celery again.
Austrian crescent fingerling potatoes from Dominic Carpin
sweet jalapenos
carrots
peaches
corn
cantaloupe or blackberries

fruit – blackberries, raspberries, peaches

meats – ground bison, pork chops, polyface breakfast sausage

Bread – mixed

Cheese – Eberly Farms Stonewall

 Posted by Suzi Lilly at 6:15 pm  Tagged with: Capitol Hill, community food systems, CSA, DC, Eastern Market, eggplant, Farm Shares, Farm to Family, grass-fed dairy, grass-fed meats, local food, Polyface Farms, produce, Richmond, RVA, sustainable food, vegetables

What’s in the Share – Week of 5/11

 CSA Farm Share, CSA/Farm Market, Get Educated, Local Food, Recipes  No Responses »
May 072017
 

Happy Cooking for this wonderful CSA share this week in Richmond, VA and Washington, DC.

13063115_10153923646585935_5214467713006134061_oVeg is looking like:

  • Bibb
  • Romaine
  • Asparagus – grill bacon wrapped asparagus . We also made asparagus kale soup last week. Here’s a vegan version.
  • Strawberries –  I posted info on how to freeze them to use later in the season in smoothies. You can also make fruit leather, dehydrate for snacks, or jam. Here is the boss small batch strawberry balsamic jam recipe I posted in the group that I made for Mother’s Day gifts last year. I cooked it in the slow cooker. this makes only 4 half pints, so refridgerate, eat on the biscuits, or give away. No need to process. But if you want to process, I used a saucepan, and a veggie steamer and it worked great. I used this on baked brie at mom’s for Easter.
  • Ramps or rhubarb – not sure yet
    • if Ramps: Treat them like you would garlic or onions, only better, and you’ll be ok. Here’s a great video on how to find, clean and pickle them. They are forest foraged, so still have soil on them. Clean them well, dirt can hide in them, like leeks. Use the leaves to make pesto, or chimmichurri – this recipe puts it on grilled polenta. If you aren’t going to get to them for a bit, cut off your leaves – use those quickly, and keep the bottoms in a bag in your fridge. I have actually had them stay in the fridge for a month or so.  They are great in biscuits. Put on pizza.
    • If Rhubarb – Here’s sweet recipes. Here’s savory recipes. Here’s my blog on rhubarb that includes my grandma’s rhubarb pie recipe, and then down in the comments my mom posts how to make rhubarb ice cream, and rhubarb sauce.
  • Arugula – good on pizza with the ramps. add it to asparagus soup, Make strawberry arugula salad. .
  • Swiss chard –  Swiss chard is delicious, versatile, and don’t forget to pickle the stems. It is hearty enough to stand in for pasta, say in a lasagna. The stems take longer to cook than leaves, so I usually put stems in first, then leaves. Here are some ideas.
  • Cilantro – use it in your ramp chimmichurri.
  • Red radishes – young radishes have a sweetness to them. Try roasted radishes with brown butter, radish tops, and lemon. You can also sautee the tops like any green.  Slice and add to salad. Pickle. Here are some recipes. There is a radish corn salad in here, that would be good with your corn if you haven’t used it yet.
  • Garlic – this goes in your pesto, or chimmichurri
  • Bok choy – bok choy with garlic
  • Chamomile — so many neat things you can do: fresh tea is amazing, but you can use it in ice cream – here’s a vegan salted caramel chamomile version, make simple syrup, put it in cocktails, add it to salads, crostini, chop fine and add to yogurt like you would with dill. bake a cake here’s ideas. Here’s some health and beauty things you can do.
  • Sugar Snap Peas – quinoa salad with sugar snap peas, Here’s a few more ways.
Fruit – Strawberries. Possibly rhubarb, if he finds some.

Meats-

Rappahannock River Oysters

Rappahannock River Oysters

Oysters and Clams –  how to shuck an oyster with Chef Pete at Merroir. How to prepare them raw 0 use your ramps, garlic, or green onions! Grill them. Here’s a few other methods of cooking like roasting, and steaming. Here’s how to steam clams. Here’s the Ultlimate Pasta with Clams – perfect if you still have your pasta from the other week! Clams with bacon, cilantro, ginger and galic (sub ramps!!) Make oyster shooters. You can use sake, tequila, vodka etc. Look them up. You’ll be in heaven.

Alt Meat – not sure yet. If you had alt meat last week — check with Mark to see what your selection is.

Cheese – Goat Feta from Peachy Family Farm – Snap pea salad with radish and feta. .

pea, feta and mint toasts (sub chamomile!) 

Bread – Prairie Grain

 

 Posted by Suzi Lilly at 9:48 pm  Tagged with: arugula, Capitol Hill, clams, community food systems, CSA, DC, Eastern Market, Farm Shares, Farm to Family, grass-fed dairy, grass-fed meats, local food, oysters, produce, recipes, Richmond, RVA, sustainable food, Virginia

What’s in the Share – strawberries, asparagus, bison – week of 4/17

 CSA Farm Share, CSA/Farm Market, Get Involved, Local Food, Recipes  No Responses »
Apr 172017
 

 

11084032_10153185802240935_7942784199934615198_oHope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather and are settling into your CSA food. We have a lovely share coming your way this week. Keep in mind that these previews are what we think will be in the share, and may change due to a number of reasons. We ask you stay open minded when substitutions arise. Thank you!

Produce – so far:

  • bibb lettuce – Linda Bruce, Rain or Shine Greenhouse Gardens
  • mushrooms – Rob Woolfolk, Beaver Dam, VA
  • asparagus –  Sneads Aparagus Farm, Emmet Snead, Fredericksburg, VA. We made eggs benedict with asparagus and bacon for my mom for Easter Brunch.
  • strawberries – Anne + Chuck Geyer, Agriberry, Hanover, VA – We also made vegan strawberry shortcake with coconut whip for my mom. I’ve taken her off dairy and gluten for her eczema, which has been super helpful. I am planning a batch of strawberry balsamic jam, and going to try it in my Instant Pot. I made it last year as gifts for Mother’s Day and it is the best jam I’ve ever made. This recipe makes 4 jars.
  • spinach – Flores Farm, Northern Neck VA – Try my spinach strawberry salad with caramelized nuts(uses honey, but you can sub maple syrup to make vegan) – you can top with chèvre! The Agriberry vinegars are amazing in this.
  • leeks – Flores Farm, Northern Neck, VA – Mac and Cheese with braised leeks, asiago + park breadcrumbs.
  • red onions – Flores Farm, Northern Neck, VA  – spinach, mushroom, goat cheese pizza.
  • Chives or thyme – Flores Farm, Northern Neck, VA – Romanian gypsies are said to have used chives in their fortune-telling rites, and hung garlands of chives around their homes to ward off disease and evil spirits. I have them growing in my kitchen herb garden, and snip them into small bits, into eggs, potatoes, salads, vegetables. Here are thehealth benefits along with a fines herb omelet. Here are some other  ways to use them.
  • honey** – Hungry Hill Farm – Try strawberry honey butter. Steal a strawberry and some  yogurt away to make this face mask. Here is a strawberry honey smash cocktail perfect for porch sitting. **If you are vegan and home delivered, email me for a sub. Otherwise, check with Mark at pickup. 
  • Virginia Peanut Company – chocolate peanuts – lightly salted. These are ridiculous. Store in your refrigerator. Hide them from your children.

Meat

  • ground bison – Edmonds Farm, Lancaster, VA – we love to make burgers with these – go easy on toppings and condiments, they are so flavorful all you really need is salt and pepper. You can use the Bibb lettuce as a bun. However, you can make almost anything wth bison you would use ground beef in. Bison is super lean, so make sure to use coconut oil, butter, ghee, olive oil, bacon fat or another fat when frying. Cooking time is fast, temperature is lower.  Here are some cooking tips. We love Don and  Kim Edmonds and their 3 little girls. Their farm is a Dr. Dolittle kind of place – Don was a vet tech, and has a soft spot for rescues and odd creatures. He has a pet possum, emus, some other exotic birds I can’t remember, a tame bison named Ginger that grew up in the house alongside a fawn, lots of cats, dogs, ducks of many types, chickens, pigs and of course the majestic bison.
  • Bison Jerky – Edmonds Farm, Lancaster, VA – super good snack to keep you from going  hungry!
  • Smoked bacon – Edmonds Farm. This bacon is super tasty. Its got terrific smoked flavor, but not cured, so make sure to cook it up quickly after defrosting. Try roasted asparagus with mushrooms and bacon.Its amazing with greens,

Bread

  • Billy Bread– Leckers Baking Company, Richmond, VA – This bread is renowned in RVA and served in many of its best restaurants. It’s one of Mark’s favorites.  Its a crusty artisan multi-grain sourdough, and includes spelt rye and whole wheat berries.  It’s 100 percent hand-made and naturally leavened. Do not be dismayed by its hard exterior! it is best eaten quickly, but here are some tips to use it if you don’t.  Try goat cheese toasts with honey and thyme. Use it to sop up sauces and to convey goat cheese to mouth.  Eat spread with very good butter and very good preserves or the strawberry honey butter above.

Cheese

  • Peachy Family chèvre – We love the Peachys, an Amish farm family from Pennsylvania who we have gotten to know over the years, and we are happy to partner with them.  One of my favorite easy treats is plain chevre drizzled with honey with strawberries. Its great on pizza, in a salad, on a cracker or veggies. Top the asparagus with it.  Here’s 39 other ways to use goat cheese.

 

 Posted by Suzi Lilly at 2:28 pm  Tagged with: community food systems, CSA, DC, Eastern Market, Farm Shares, Farm to Family, grass-fed dairy, grass-fed meats, local food, produce, recipes, Richmond, RVA, sustainable food, Virginia, Washington DC

 Permalink  CSA Farm Share, CSA/Farm Market, Get Educated, Get Involved, Local Food  No Responses »
Feb 222017
 
News about BusFarm/Farm to Family + The FarmBus Mobile Markets
We proudly serve RVA and Washington, DC
Call us: 804-767-8570 or 804-397-7337
DC Markets: Tuesday @ Eastern Market
RVA Market Open:  By Appointment  804-397-7337
Veteran owned. Always honoring Veterans and Active Military – 10% discount

CSA-Day-Logo-3Farm to Family CSA in DC/RVA/Hanover Celebrates CSA Day
with Extended Discounts!

Farm to Family is celebrating National CSA Day, Friday, February 24, ALL WEEK!! and we are offering discounts for our DC,  Richmond and Hanover area members and new members along with free Home Delivery within our RVA delivery area.  We have extended the 5% CSA Day discount to begin now, thru Sunday2/26 – sign up now to get the best value on all shares, including payment plans.

10154035_10152105348736483_4621415552134914340_nYou will save 5% on all shares and payment plans using discount code CSA17 ALL WEEK! Share pickups in DC are at Eastern Market, 7th G, and 23rd Place and E st, NE. DC home delivery is $4/time.  Pickup for RVA members is at the Farm to Family Market at 2817 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Richmond VA 23223 (not Mechanicsville).  Pickup location is adjacent to I-64, I-295, Church Hill, Downtown, Northside, Mechanicsville.  FREE RVA home delivery is available within 5 mi radius of the F2F market, with 2 drops in Hanover (Ash Creek and Bell Creek neighborhoods pending 10 members).

Additional savings are available with 10% discount code FULL17 for FULL share (combo produce, meat, dairy, bread) pd in full up front, and 10% discount for active military/veterans (email farmshares@thefarmbus.com for code).

The Spring season starts on Tuesday, 3/28 with weekly and biweekly shares, and runs for 24 weeks.  All drop locations start Wed, 4/8 (biweekly only). Shares include locally grown produce (veggies and fruit), fruit only (starts 4/23), grass-fed dairy and eggs, grass-fed/pastured meats, and combo full share that features produce, dairy, meat and bread. Add ons available.

Pampatike Organic Farms Delivery!

Pampatike Organic Farms Delivery!

We offer flexible payment plans and vacation holds.  Farmers and vendor partners include Polyface Farms,  Edmonds Bison Farm, Morning Glory Farm, Agriberry, Flores Family Farm, Farmstead Ferments, Bombolini, Twin Oaks, Rappahannock River Oysters, Local Food Hub, Trickling Springs Dairy, Old Church Creamery, Mt View Dairy and others.

To sign up, or for more info, visit http://thefarmbus.csaware.com/store/, email farmshares@thefarmbus.com or call 804-397-7339. For up to the moment info, recipes and more on our CSA, join our Facebook group.
If you believe in the value of the work our local farmers and small artisan vendors do and would like to help them be successful, sign up for a CSA this week. Your membership guarantees support for them for a 6 month season and is integral in the success of local farms and small business economy.  Use the hashtag #CSAday #farmtofamily or #RVA to share our offer, and join the online conversation. For more information on CSA day, visit www.csaday.info.

 

Joel_Turkeys-574x268-1

 

 Posted by Suzi Lilly at 2:35 pm  Tagged with: Capitol Hill, community food systems, CSA, DC, Eastern Market, Farm Shares, Farm to Family, farmer's market, grass-fed dairy, grass-fed meats, local food, Polyface Farms, Richmond, RVA, sustainable food, vegetables, Virginia, Washington DC

What’s in the Share – Valentine’s Edition – Update on Spring CSA

 CSA Farm Share, CSA/Farm Market, Get Educated, Get Involved, Local Food, Recipes  No Responses »
Feb 112017
 

We hold you dear to our hearts this coming Valentine’s Day, and we hope that eating our food is supporting your heart, and whole body health!  One of the biggest benefits we have heard from our members, is how much healthier they feel by eating local food, and committing to a CSA helps them stay on their food goal track. If you have any success stories you’d like to share with our public, please email them to me (pictures are good too!) Thank you! Don’t forget to sign up for Spring! It starts on Tuesday, March 28.  You can sign up online, or in person at Eastern Market on Tuesday nights 4-7pm.

f2fdelivery bikeWe are super excited about home delivery for our CSA this spring on the Schlep trikes, that he is cutting the delivery fee in half – from $8/time to $4/time.

We also have a 10% discount on the FULL share (produce, meat, dairy, bread) that is paid in full, up front – discount code FULL17 at checkout. 10% discount for active military, or retired veterans (email for code).

We have added another neighborhood drop site, pending 10 members at 23rd Place, E St NE, near Kingman Park. If you have signed up and want to switch over, let me know.

Share with friends and family — if you refer someone and they sign up, it earns you $25 referral reward!

Sign up today!

Email me with questions or concerns.

Happy Cooking! Here is what’s in the share – I see some lovely Valentine’s meals here.

Produce

  • sunflower shoots
  • carrots with tops
  • Wade’s Mill white grits – these are phenomenal, and prized by chefs all over the region More about Wade’s Mill here.  How to make grits without recipe.
  • Romaine lettuce – apple carrot romaine juice
  • bibb lettuce
  • sunflower shoots
  • mushrooms
  • fresh horseradish – this is indeed a treat, and you have not had horseradish until you have had it fresh. It is terrifically aromatic, and it will clear out your sinuses and may make you cry (like chopping onons) so you might want to wear safety glasses and prep in a well ventilated area to avoid tears. (i had a restaurant job once where I wore swimming goggles when I chopped onions). Here are a ton of cool recipes. I like to use a plane zester and grate it into dishes. Fire Cider is also a great way to use it, easy, and not only makes a wonderfully spicy condiment and DIY on trend gift your friends will love,  it helps keeps the cooties at bay (here is another version, called Master Tonic  with video tutorial, that has a much more therapeutic spin on it.)  I try to keep some of this on hand at all times, not just for flavor, but for health. A shot a day.. Another easy favorite is horseradish preserved with vinegar. My dad had horseradish growing in the garden, and along the brook, and I remember he and my mom taking turns grinding it by hand, tears streaming down their face. Then they would put it in baby food jars, and freeze. Then we would have horseradish at every meal – its really good with potatoes, turnip mash, and with meats and eggs! You can easily grind it in a food processor or Vitamix type blender, put into your jars, and top with vinegar. it will stay fresh in your fridge for a long time, but also you can freeze, like my parents did. If you are a Bloody Mary person, this will really take your drinks to the next level. Here’s an easy recipe. Horseradish is, as my dad would say, “good for what ails ya” and just one of the weird folklore things I grew up with that I now find are REALLY good for you. Here’s more info on using it therapeutically from the late, great Dr. Christopher.
  • potatoes
  • leeks – potato leek soup with cheese rinds –  I hope you have been saving your Mt. View cheese rinds. I keep mine in a ziplock in the cheese drawer. They were made for recipes like this one.
  • bok choy
  • turnips – smashed turnips with horseradish

Meat

  • Smoked trout – this makes such a dramatic appetizer, and lovely on a bagel in the morning. Smoked trout and horseradish spread.
  • Sausage Craft Cerdito Sausage – Meant to emulate the flavors of roast Cuban pork shoulder; made from pork, cilantro, orange zest, garlic, cumin and other spices. Savory and warming like the Caribbean sun!  Cuban style sausage and beans
  • Chicken breast – here is an easy way to poach your chicken breast on stove top, perfectly. It calls for boneless, and to pound it, but I used this just fine earlier this week without doing either.
 Posted by Suzi Lilly at 1:18 pm  Tagged with: Capitol Hill, community food systems, CSA, DC, Eastern Market, Farm Shares, Farm to Family, farmer's market, food revolution, grass-fed dairy, grass-fed meats, local food
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