CSA: 13th Box

The 13th and last box from my CSA (from LotFotl). I know I am late on this post, I originally got this on Nov 15th 2012. As I remember it... It was getting cold, and I think my time of raking leaves was finally done.  I all I can say the soups I made were awesome.

The box includes the following:

• Spinach 
• Potatoes (19)
• Turnips (4)
• Beet
• Winter Squash
• Cabbage 
• Lettuce 
• Carrots (8)
• Brussel Sprout 
• Red Onions (3)

You can check out my CSA price break down here (Frozen Gardener). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/
od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)  Stay tune for my price point comparison, where I total up my bounty and see what it would cost at the store for all of this.

CSA: 12th Box

The 12th box from my CSA (from LotFotl). This week was very exciting. As you remember I missed a week, due to a vacation. With that weeks credit, I got some extra goodies. as for the regular box, I know sautéed is just basic cooking technique, but most of these items are great sautéed in butter. It is just so easy and quick, especially the winter squash.

The box includes the following:

• Kale
• Carrots (7)
• Beets (4)
• Winter Squash (1)
• Potatoes (10)
• Broccoli
• Turnips
• Spinach
• Kohlrabi

Extra items from vacation box ($30.25)

• Eggs $4.75
• Chicken $14.50
• Yellow Potatoes 5 lbs (27) ($7)
• Honey (6oz) $4

You can check out my CSA price break down here (Frozen Gardener). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/
od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: 11th Box

The 11th box from my CSA, from 2012-10-19 (from LotFotl) . Sadly it is past box 10, so no more eggs. while i am not a real fan of  I do love carrots and the winter squash is going to make another tasty treat or maybe a tasty beer.

The box includes the following:

• Winter Squash (1)
• Carrots (6)
• Garlic (2)
• Potatoes (9)
• Onions (2)
• Kohlrabi (4)
• Mixed Salad Greens
• Gold Ball Turnips (4)
• Brussel Sprouts

You can check out my CSA price break down here (Frozen Gardener). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/
od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: 10th Box

The 10th box (Oct 4th, 2012) from my CSA (from LotFotl). I was a little late posting this, but fall is officially here. Cold nights, sun sets earlier, racking leaves, and fried green tomatoes. At Sweet Water Organic's Warehouse things were pretty quite and it was a quite trip to pickup my CSA box that week. While I quickly fried and eat the my huge green tomatoes. I spotted Steph's Snack Shack eyeing up the winter squash....

The box includes the following:

• Swiss Chard
• Napa Cabbage
• Brussel Sprout
• Green Tomatoes (2)
• Garlic (2)
• Potatoes (7)
• Onions (3)
• Beets (3)
• Winter squash (2)
• Green Bell Peppers (3)
• Eggs

You can check out my CSA price break down here (Frozen Gardener). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/
od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: 9th Box

The 9th box from my CSA (from LotFotl) I put on hold.

Yep, I went on vacation and just paused my order for that week. It was easy to do from  www.lotfotl.com. I just signed in and entered the dates I would be on vacations. Took all of 40 seconds out of my day.

I received an email telling my what I could do with me "missed" share:

Dear FrozenGardener, 

Have fun on your vacation! We have received your vacation request and will not be delivering your box while you are away. Please see below how to order your replacement box when you have returned.

1. Your account will NOT subtract the amount of the box the was held for your vacation.
2. Instead, you will see the amount subtracted as Vacation Box Fee
3. You will also see FARMIGO CREDITS added to your account
4. When you are ready to order your replacement box, go to our farm storehttp://csa.farmigo.com/store/lotfotl
5. Search in the OTHER catagory for Vacation Replacement Box, you can purchase this box with your farmigo credits
6. Thank you for only using vacation credits to order a remplacement boxes
7. Box must be ordered within the store hours to be received for the next delivery

Store hours:
Thursday delivery; store closes on the Tuesday prior at 11 pm

Enjoy your time off,
Tim and April

When I got back, I saw that I had a Farmigo Credits [$30.75].  I had some questions but I just emailed April and she got back to me. Now I just have to figure out what I should get.... You can check out the selection at http://csa.farmigo.com/store/lotfotl

The box includes the following:

• Nothing, went on vacation.

You can check out my CSA price break down here (Frozen Gardener). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/
od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: 8th Box

Here is the 8th box from my CSA (from LotFotl). I went to my pickup point,  Sweet Water Organic's Warehouse to pick up my CSA box this week. It has been awhile sense I cooked with Rutabaga's but I like the recipe of 'cubing and sauteing them' given to me in LotFotl's email.

The box includes the following:

• Kale 
• Tomatoes (16)
• Beans
• Rutabaga (2)
• Shallots (3)
• Potatoes (15)
• Corn (4)
• Brussel sprouts
• Bell peppers (3)
• Eggs (12)

You can check out my CSA price break down here (Frozen Gardener). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: 7th Box

The 7th box from my CSA (from LotFotl). As always I went to Sweet Water Organic's Warehouse to pick up my CSA box this week. Sweet corn was great while camping this labor day weekend. Stay tuned to Steph's Snack Shack as this camping trip had some tasty dinner ideas.

The box includes the following:

• Tomatoes (7)
• Garlic (2)
• Potatoes (16 red and 24 purple)
• Onions (5)
• Green Peppers (4)
• Swiss Chard
• Chives
• Sweet corn (4)
• Eggs

You can check out my CSA price break down here (Frozen Gardener). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/

od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/

FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: 6th Box

The 6th box from my CSA (from LotFotl). I always see the box as half full, and I am constantly impressed on the amount of food given the 3 weeks of drought we suffered here in Wisconsin. As always I went to my pickup point,  Sweet Water Organic's Warehouse to pick up my CSA box this week. Love cooking with new items. The Romanesco might be a challenge too cook with this week, but stay tuned to Steph's Snack Shack as she try's this cooking challenge.

The box includes the following:

• Swiss Chard
• Carrots (18)
• Tomatoes (9)
• Garlic (3)
• Potatoes (9)
• Onions (4)
• Romanesco (2)
• Eggs

You can check out my CSA price break down here (Frozen Gardener). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/
od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: 5th Box

The 5th box from my CSA (from LotFotl). I think these boxes are getting bigger... just look at the photo. I am still trying to finish the last of the fennel from the last box. As always I when to my pickup point,  Sweet Water Organic's Warehouse to pick up my CSA box this week. Also found out that Sweet Water Organic is a drop off point for recycling old electronic (BV Curbside). Finally my man cave will get a little cleaner.

The box includes the following:

• Carrots (19)
• Tomatoes (18)
• Garlic (4)
• Potatoes (13)
• Kale
• Onions (3)
• Fennel (3) 
• kohlrabi (3)
• Eggs

You can check out my CSA price break down here (http://frozengardener.blogspot.com/2012/06/csa-first-box.html). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: 4th Box

The 4th box from my CSA (from LotFotl) was a huge... don't know where they got the water but there was plenty in this bo. I got to my pickup point,  Sweet Water Organic's Warehouse, and was the 2nd to sort through the boxes at noon. I know I say this every time but you really need to check out Sweet Water Organic.

The box includes the following:

• Garlic Scapes
• 3 Sweet Onions
• 2 Cucumber
• 2 Summer Squash
• 4 Kohlrabi
• Tomatoes 1 red and 4 yellow
• 3 Fennel
• Lettuce
• Turnip Greens
• Eggs

You can check out my CSA price break down here (http://frozengardener.blogspot.com/2012/06/csa-first-box.html). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: 3rd Box

The 3rd box from my CSA (from LotFotl) was a little sparse, but remember the increadable drought we have been going through. The quality is still amazing. I got to my pickup point,  Sweet Water Organic's Warehouse, and was one of the first to sort through the boxes to see which looked the best (they all looked good). I other things in life have prevented me from showing up a the South Shore Farmers Market  on Saturdays (8-Noon), but next week I know I will be craving some fresh fish from Sweet Water Organic.

The  second  box includes the following:

Peas

Kohlrabi

Parsley

Swiss Chard

Cabbage

Garlic Scapes

2 Broccoli

Eggs

You can check out my CSA price break down here (http://frozengardener.blogspot.com/2012/06/csa-first-box.html). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: The Second Box

I picked up my second CSA box (from LotFotl) on Thursday June 14th 2012. My pickup spot is the  Sweet Water Organic's Warehouse. I still love seeing Sweet Water in action. Still can't believe they have warehouse gardening thing there. I was able to talk to a representative of  Sweet Water for a bit and found they sell fresh fish on site... yum. I also found that they will be showing up a the South Shore Farmers Market  on Saturdays from 8-Noon.

The  second  box includes the following:

Lettuce

Sugar Snap Peas (Give Peas a Chance)

Hakurei Turnips

Spinach

Kale

Garlic Scapes

Broccoli

Summer Squash

Zucchini

Eggs

You can check out my CSA price break down here (http://frozengardener.blogspot.com/2012/06/csa-first-box.html). Getting that Farmers Market itch? check this list of Milwaukee farmers market here (http://milwaukee.about.com/od/sportsrecreationhealth/qt/FarmersMarkets.htm)

CSA: The First Box

Wow... that looks great. How do I cook all this?

I picked up my very first CSA box (from LotFotl) on Thursday May 31th 2012. My pickup spot is the  Sweet Water Organic's Warehouse from 4pm- 7pm. If nothing else you should go to Sweet Water just to be inspired as a gardener and see the cool engineering they created for their urban farm.

The first box includes the following contents

• Lettuce, butterhead
• Lettuce, romaine
• Spinach
• 10 Hakurei Turnips
• 10 Radish
• 5 Shallots
• 15 Asparagus
• 1 bunch scallions

As a newbie to CSAs I went with the small potions this year. (Learn more about CSAs here) For me the choice was the "Every Other Week" (EOW) Gonzo Box share for $375 . In addition I added EOW Egg share for an additional $45. Here is the break down of what I get for the price:

375(Full EOW) + 45 (Eggs EOW) = $420 for 26 weeks.
$420 / 26 weeks = $32.32 / 2 weeks =  $16.16 / week

We get the following in each box (depending what is in season at the time):

• 3 Green peppers
• 1 bunch scallions
• 8 oz. Spinach
• 1-2 eggplants
• 1.5# rose finn apple fingerling potatoes
• 3 large onions
• 1-2 red cabbage
• 3 heads broccoli
• 4-6 shallots
• 1 bunch scorzonera
• 1# tomatillos
• 12 eggs

Here is a link to all CSA photos

Hooray for CSAs

The way of the CSA...

Local Farmer Open House

Saturday March 17th

 (St. Patrick's Day)

11am-4pm

Urban Ecology Center

Riverside Park

1500 E. Park Place

Milwaukee, WI 53211

If you were thinking of joining a CSA or wanted to learn more about Milwaukee's Farmers Markets, then this meet up is a must. While I am going to see if I can find the best CSA deal for the money, this is a great time for you to start learning where good locally grown food comes from. But beware parking is tight so you might have a little walk to get to this event.

What is a CSA?... Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a system in which you the consumer receive food directly from the farmers. This is a little diffrent than farmers' market, CSA supporters actually share in part of the farmers' risk. That is, they pay in advance for a portion of the farmer's total crop. Crops that do well will be abundant in the share, crops that do less well will be less abundant.


What else is there going on at this event? Down stairs are a few vendors selling food items. While there may not be fresh veggies (remember it is still winter), last year I came back home with honey, fresh bacon, pickled veggies, and eggs.  There was also nuts, milk, all kinds of meat (although they ran before I could buy any)

There are also some workshops that might up your alley.

1. Intro to CSAs – 11:30 a.m. or 2:45 p.m.
2. Cooking from your CSA box – 12:15 pm or 2 p.m.
3. How Pesticides & Food Choice Affect Our Health & Water Quality – 1 p.m 

Stay tune for more CSA adventures, as I wait for all kinds of delectable dinners from Stephs Snack Shack

Local Farmer Open House
CSA 2012 Farm List.pdf
CSA Comparison.pdf
CSA Reference