It’s CSA sign-up time
Juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, plump eggplants. Summer will be here before you know it and with it, all that amazing local produce. Want a piece of the action? Now’s the time to join a CSA.
“We’re just super excited to get dirty and get out and see all those smiling faces,” said Zac Heacock of Full Circle CSA in Glenmoore. “We’re all about the community and families we support.”
Short for Community Supported Agriculture, members buy directly from local farmers, investing early in a share of the harvest. And there’s a new crop of CSAs taking root like Aldebaran Farm in Bechtelsville.
“I joined a CSA as a working member, and I just really fell in love with it,” explained Heidi Ochsenreither, a textile designer-turned-farmer. “Being outside and doing something hands-on, that felt important to me.”
She and Dan Risser, a chef, “met as farm apprentices,” founded Aldebaran in 2017 and launched their CSA this year.
“We decided to just start small, so we could get the hang of it and give the best service as possible,” Ochsenreither said. “I think it’s really good when people can know their farmers and talk to them and understand where their food is grown.”
So do Mary and Field Benton of Snouts and Sprouts in Pottstown.
“Each visit, we get to know the customer better, and they get more familiar with who we are and what we do,” she described. “It builds a connection and community that you don’t get when someone only comes to the farm once or buys our product from a grocery store.”
The first-generation farmers “have pork, chicken, beef, egg and vegetable shares - all grown and raised 100 percent organic.”
Aldebaran Farm also embraces organic practices, growing food that’s chemical- and pesticide-free. And at Full Circle CSA, they use the term “more-ganic,” pushing beyond organic standards.
“Sammy (Samantha Smenkowski) and I are out there on our hands and knees, looking at the plants, smelling the soil, seeing how the microbiology and worms are working or not,” said Heacock, who moved to a new location last year.
“A lot goes into the food that people consume. Where do you want that food to come from to fuel your body?”
Downingtown CSA changing lives
At first glance, Forge Hill Farms in Downingtown may look like a typical CSA, but “this farm is also doing something more than providing the general public with nutritious food,” said Jennifer Simpson.
She and her husband, Scott, offer young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders on-the-farm training through the Chester County Intermediate Unit’s Discover Program.
“Everybody wants to feel as if their contributions to this world are valued,” Simpson explained. “The vocational program was the whole reason for having the CSA. The CSA wouldn’t exist without the vocational program.”
She considers last year “the first real season” and describes the market-style CSA as “a place where every week you come to pick up your vegetables, and when you pick up your vegetables, you can pick up so much more.”
Think eggs, meat, honey or a fruit share from North Star Orchard in Cochranville.
“The hope is that it makes people’s lives easier,” Simpson added. “There are really wonderful things going on in terms of what local farms can do for the community.”
Pork and Apple Meatloaf Ingredients Meatloaf:
2 pounds ground pork 2 tablespoons bacon grease or cooking oil
1 medium/small apple, grated or finely diced
1 medium small onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup spinach, chopped fine 1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 2 eggs
1 1/2 to 2 cups panko breadcrumbs or 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar or 1/2 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon molasses
1/2 onion, finely chopped by hand or blended in a food processor
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mustard (I use stone-ground)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place ground pork in a large mixing bowl. Heat a large skillet to medium and add the bacon grease. Sauté the onion 2 to 3 minutes then add the apple. Sauté them together another 3 to 4 minutes until the onion begins to look translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or two. Add the spinach and sauté until the greens are wilted. Add the thyme, mustard, salt and pepper. Splash the apple cider vinegar into the pan to loosen any bits that may have stuck to the bottom and bring all the ingredients together. Mix the sautéed ingredients into the ground pork. You can use a spoon to do this, but I find mixing it all together with my hands is the best way to make sure all the ingredients really meld together. Next, add eggs and breadcrumbs and mix again by hand. Your meat should still be moist but hold together well when pressed. Choose a medium-sized baking dish and mold the meat into a long loaf in the pan. Place in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes.
While your loaf is baking, mix all your sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan and heat until the ingredients combine and the sauce gets a smooth glossy look. If you do not like the texture of the onion in your sauce, you can strain it through a wire strainer after heating, but this is completely optional.
When the 50 minutes are up, remove the loaf and cover with your sauce. Place back in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, so the sauce can adhere to the loaf. Check the temperature in the center of the loaf to make sure it reaches 160 degrees. (Pork chops and roasts are good at 145 degrees, but ground pork should be taken to 160.) Slice and serve!
RECIPE COURTESY OF SNOUTS AND SPROUTS
Quick Pickling Ingredients
1 pound fresh vegetables such as cucumbers, carrots, green beans, cherry tomatoes, salad turnips, radishes, onions, peppers (hot or sweet), kohlrabi and beets
2 sprigs of fresh herbs such as thyme, dill, basil, chives, cilantro or rosemary, optional
1 to 2 teaspoons whole spices such as black peppercorns, coriander, or mustard seeds, optional
2 cloves garlic, smashed or sliced, optional
1 cup vinegar such as white, apple cider or rice
1 cup water
1 tablespoon kosher salt or 2 teaspoons pickling salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, optional
Instructions
Refrigerate and enjoy. Makes two pint-sized jars.
RECIPE COURTESY OF FULL CIRCLE CSA
Simple Slaw Ingredients
4 cups shredded green cabbage 1 cup of kohlrabi (make sure to peel exterior, then julienne)
1 cup of your choice of julienned carrots, salad turnips and/or shredded kale
1/2 cup chopped herbs such as cilantro, basil, mint or parsley (1 small bunch)
For a kick, add half of a hot pepper like a jalapeño, serrano or poblano, minced
1/4 cup chopped scallion Orange zest from 1 orange and juice
Lime zest from 1 lime and juice
Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons white vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1/4 cup honey or agave syrup 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Black pepper, to taste 2 tablespoons white sugar
Instructions
In a bowl, toss together first set of ingredients. Whisk dressing and combine with slaw. Makes 6 servings.
RECIPE COURTESY OF FULL CIRCLE CSA