Last Saturday was a beautiful day to go to the market to pick up our CSA. We went early to Haymaker Farm Market as we had a lot to do that day and we ran into Care’s sister, Casey, Joe, Tom, Jeff and a whole host of friends. So much for getting in and out. We hit the jackpot with our CSA from Birdsong Farms with wonderful potatoes, baby carrots, kale and peas. Carolyn and her sister Beth enjoyed talking with Matt and getting the lowdown on what is in the box for the week. It is always a pleasure to stop in and know our food is being grown by such a wonderful farm. Carolyn mentioned it is like Christmas when we open the box and we are never disappointed
Care and Matt going over the goods!
I am not sure what we were thinking as we stopped at several booths picking up green and wax beans, some tomatoes, onions, red raspberries. I love summer.
What were we thinking?
We also stopped at Ohio City Pasta and picked up some tomato basil and mixed herb both winners! Again the people there are wonderful and expecting very soon!
Two things I look forward to doing this summer. Making a mess in the kitchen with our own pasta and even more of a mess with homemade italian sausage. I will take photos of the disaster when it happens.
Lettuce Never Squash Our Love 
We can sympathize about buying too much, but it’s all so good and the season is so short! Since our box included the carrot tops, I just had to make vegetable broth last night. I tossed most of the scallions, the carrot tops, a few sliced carrots, some salad greens, even a few leaves of kale, garlic, celery, a splash of red wine, and water to cover and simmer all evening. It used up a bunch of veggies for a delicious broth – which in some ways just traded one cooking challenge for another!
I don’t think that I am that industrious, but I think that Bethy has made many a vegetable broth to keep in the freezer for soups. She will say if she has. I bet that it is so very much better that vegetable broth in a can or a box! I make a lot of vegetable soups but I love the flavor of chicken broth!
Yea you totally made a haul this week!
By the way, homemade pasta doesn’t have to be a big mess. That’s not just the neat freak in me speaking; I had a friend in Minneapolis who would make pasta quite often in small batches with little to no fuss. I think it’s just a matter of practice. Maybe Fabio would come teach a master class for us some Saturday after the market!
Oh my goodness we should totally ask him. Of course you would think that he would be busy with the new baby for a while. By the way Elyse took Bethy and I to the West Side Market yesterday, and the selection of meat and cheese, olives, bread, desserts, etc. is unbelievable! The produce is great too, but we don’t need it while we have our local farmer’s market for sure!
Interestingly enough, the main Ohio City Pasta store is there, and they bring us a lovely assortment right here in Kent!
I once asked Ohio City Pasta about making pasta when I was at the West Side Market. They were really pretentious about it: “Our pasta making is on such a larger scale than what you would be doing, there’s really no comparison.” I take that to mean: “Our machines do it all and we have no idea how it actually happens.”
I didn’t make a huge mess when I was making pasta last summer. The Kitchen-Aid mixer is perfect for it and plus I have this pasta roller from some great guys I know 🙂 That reminds me, I still owe you some. Oops 🙂
While it does not have to be a mess I am like pig-pen in Charlie Brown. Dirt and Flour follow me everywhere just ask Care!
I’m finding that even though I hate canned peas I love fresh peas….so yummy, any of them. Now I just need my own pea farm 🙂
That’s about the most impressive part of being part of a CSA for us Jeff, that we have had almost all of these vegetables before but they taste so different and wonderful when they are fresh! I wish that everyone on the planet had access to the fresh local food that we do!
Jeff, peas are so easy to grow…you just have to be ready to plant in March. I never end up using a whole package of seed when I plant because my garden is so small…I’ll split my seeds with you next year!
I have made veggie broth. My former next door neighbor from Romania told me how to do it. I just save all the “junk” parts from my veggies. Onion skins, pepper middles anything. I just keep adding them to a bag in the freezer. When I get alot , I boil them with some water to cover. She put a little s & P in it too. You just reduce the heck out of it.
I’ll take a pasta class!
Ha, ha, let’s ask him! Elyse, you can come too!
Thanks for the fun time at the West Side Market yesterday Elyse!