Thank you for your assessment of Farmer Dave’s, Linda! Now I have a late fall farm share in my sights. A mid-October start will give me a chance to catch my breath after summer produce has wound down for real.
Description from their site:
“Harvest and weather permitting the late fall share may include: Brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, celeriac, turnips, winter squash, leeks, winter greens, spinach, lettuce, apples and more.
Depending on when the last frost of the season occurs, warm weather crops may be included early in this share.“
I share your hunch that I would expect a lot of root vegetables.
Last winter I did the Winter Moon Farm roots CSA through Clover food lab and it was fantastic. Carrots were like candy; interesting radishes made for great pickles and roasts. Other roots were sweeter than I’ve ever had from the grocery store. And oh those potatoes!
So I say rah rah for roots CSA, you made a good choice for the cool season!
I would be down with that but I’m also unreliable, especially as of late with spring onion’s school situation still up in the air. But I would definitely support this endeavor and contribute when I can.
This is a BIG effing deal for me. I never worry about running out of food items - this country has an embarrassment of riches. Doing away with bulk foods at any grocery store has been one of the most disheartening food-related consequences of this pandemic. I look at my pantry now and I wanna cry at all the plastic-wrapped foods in there, including things like rice/grains, beans, nuts, popcorn, etc, that I used to buy in bulk. I buy bags of all these things and immediately dump them into my glass containers so I don’t get daily reminders of all the plastic I just bought. I keep and wash out as many plastic bags as I can but one can only keep so many. It drives B nuts, though he understands my motivation. He’s gotten used to my ban on paper towels in our lives (going on 16 years of living with me), amongst other disposable things.
Yeah, I was crushed when I saw I couldn’t get several items I usually buy from their bulk section. Had to buy the prepackage containers of several items - in quantities much more than I wanted, but luckily they’re both items that will “keep”.
I couldn’t stop myself from not using paper towels, although I do buy the rolls that have the “pick a size” so I can tear off smaller pieces.
ack, this gave me the terrible realization that my planned trip to Cambridge Naturals to replenish some herbs and such is not going to mean just weighing out what I want on my own. I hadn’t even thought about how the system there is probably completely different now.
This. I went to Debra’s in West Concord to stock up on their amazingly fresh and reasonably-priced bulk spices, and as soon as I pulled up I realized that, of course, they can’t have bulk. They had portioned out spices and an employee was happy to wait with me and grab everything that I wanted, which was great, but I just don’t need that big a quantity and will probably end up throwing quite a bit away in a year or so.
And something simple like getting a couple of store-baked rolls for sandwiches at the supermarket just isn’t possible anymore. I rarely buy an eight-pack of rolls and my freezer is pretty full already so it’s hard to store the extras. Of course, I get that it’s just not safe to have self-serve in situations like that. (It’s still possible to get Iggy’s brioche rolls individually at their Cambridge store. Yay!)
I am proud that we haven’t bought paper towels at all during the pandemic and now really prefer using cloth for just about everything, so that’s been a plus. And, I am much more disciplined about using leftovers, which cuts down on food waste. I’m feeling more comfortable not putting loose produce in plastic bags and using my cloth bags instead, and am thrilled that we are finally able to bring our own bags again. I still feel like we’re using too much plastic, though.
I haven’t stopped using paper towels completely, but have found that using cloths for napkins and general spills is easier than I realized with a towel. There are occasions, though, when I still get creeped out and use them.
The East Street farmstand is not far from me, but the Farmer Dave’s CSA is pricey, and just too much produce for one person. I am happy with Misfits Market, which I joined 18 months ago. $25 covers front door delivery of 10-12 pounds of organic produce (the smaller of two size options). You pick weekly or biweekly delivery, and your day of the week. No problem skipping weeks or changing days, and you can cancel at any time. I have a 30% off code if you’d like to try it. The photo is a typical shipment (packaging includes frozen gelpacks, and is recyclable).
I also would enjoy having this post. It could be fun and helpful to hear what gems people come across in area stores, and how they prepare them. I must admit, though, that I am a pretty inconsistent poster. (No excuses, since I’ve recently retired earlier than expected due to the pandemic, and I really like the wonderful people on this board.)
Tuesday evening I called the Burlington, MA, TJ’S. I explained that I hadn’t been there since pre-Covid days, and use the ride-on cart. I wanted to go yesterday, after Lahey Clinic appointments, and wanted to ask how crowded the store usually is at 4p.m. I was told that the line is usually short until 5. So yesterday I called TJ’S when I was done at Lahey, before booking an Uber. No answer, no recording. The phone rang for several minutes. I tried again, same result. Figuring something could be amiss, I went to Weggies instead. No lines, no enforcement. Entering just ahead of me was a maskless 30-something pushing her toddler in a kiddie cart. I was disappointed that the instore bakery discontinued Russian pumpernickel bagels. The bakery associate said a couple of varieties were dropped because of low pandemic demand and will presumably return one day. Ditto the excellent Mull of Kintyre cheddar. Save for paper products and flours, everything seemed well stocked, from my cursory tour. There is packet yeast, hurray!
Also the Keitt variety of mango, not a common find but worth a special trip. As flavorful, juicy, and non-grainy as Ataulfo (a.k.a. champagne) mangoes but much larger, and still green when ripe.
Depending where you are I would recommend the CSA winter share from Heron Pond. We did the summer share and really liked it. Mainly because we can pick what we want from a list.
An email is sent out over the weekend with the items available. Gives us a chance to sort out our meals for the week. And there is often a bonus of some sort.
Our pick up is in North Andover on Thursdays. There are a couple of options.
Thank you for the tip! Big advantage you have here. You must have sensed that I was getting ready to press the buy button on a late fall share.
As I think you know, in most CSAs the weekly share is the same for everyone. You get what you get. Sometimes I’d like to be able to choose though I have adapted.
I had just signed up—yesterday!—for a small late fall share from Farmer Dave’s, which has a Westford pickup location that’s convenient enough for me. Reading your tip, I was so very, very tempted though I decided to stick with a smaller share that I can collect closer to home.
I hear good things bout Farmer Dave, he is often at the local farmers market.
The ability to choose is really why we went with this particular CSA.
But pick up location can definitely be a deciding factor.
Check out this hot sauce, Hillside Harvest, not least of all because it is Black-owned, but because it is effing awesome. Well-balanced between citrus-y and spicy. I got it at my local farm, Lex Farm. I am going to stock up tomorrow on all 3 varieties (we just tried the original) for myself and for holiday gifts.
Today at LexFarm, I got a beautiful head of lettuce which is astounding to me given the recent drought (it may have been grown in the greenhouse, but I didn’t ask). Kale, tomatoes, potatoes from the farm are in my substantial soup pot, to be eaten tonight along with Bread Obsession multigrain sunflower sourdough. Kale salad with chickpeas, pecorino dressing, and their heirloom tomatoes is also planned.
