We were so thankful to get such positive feedback from our first CSA Box. Thank you to everyone that took a chance with us!!
When we originally sent out information about the boxes we said that we might include items other than grown goods such as eggs, goats cheese, etc. Many families asked that we please DO include these items.
I have been wanting to start milking and start making cheese again. My Bestie, Molly Jeter McCullar, came to my rescue this week and helped me wrangle goats and start the milking process. This was no easy task. Someone should have been out here filming "2 New Orleans Ladies and a Milking Machine". Due to language it definitely would have had to be on cable lol. BUT we got it done which leads me to the first item in our box...
Goat Cheese: Cow's milk and goat's milk have similar overall fat contents. However, the higher proportion of medium-chain fatty acids such as caproic, caprylic and capric acid in goat's milk contributes to the characteristic tart flavor of goat's milk cheese. (These fatty acids take their name from the Latin for "goat": capra.) It also has a lower lactose content than cow's milk.
Goat cheese has been made for thousands of years and was probably one of the earliest made dairy products. In the simplest form, goat cheese is made by allowing raw milk to naturally curdle, and then draining and pressing the curds. Other techniques use an acid (such as vinegar or lemon juice) or rennet to coagulate the milk. Soft goat cheeses are made in kitchens worldwide, with cooks hanging bundles of cheesecloth filled with curds in the warm kitchen for several days to drain and cure.
I had some on crackers with blackberry jam last night night which conveniently brings me to the next item in the box...
Blackberries: The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus Rubus in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus Rubus, and hybrids between the subgenera Rubus and Idaeobatus. The taxonomy of blackberries has historically been confused because of hybridization and apomixis, so that species have often been grouped together and called species aggregates. For example, the entire subgenus Rubus has been called the Rubus fruticosus aggregate, although the species R. fruticosus is considered a synonym of R. plicatus.
Cultivated blackberries are notable for their significant contents of dietary fiber, vitamin C, and vitamin K (table). A 100-gram serving of raw blackberries supplies 180 kilojoules (43 kcal) of food energy and 5 grams of dietary fiber or 25% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) (table). In 100 grams, vitamin C and vitamin K contents are 25% and 19% DV, respectively, while other essential nutrients are low in content (table).
Celery: Celery (Apium graveolens) is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, leaves or hypocotyl are eaten and used in cooking. Celery seed is also used as a spice and its extracts have been used in herbal medicine.
A typical 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving of celery provides 67 kilojoules (16 kilocalories) of food energy and consists of about 95% water. Celery is a good source of Vitamin K, providing about 28% of the Daily Value (DV) per 100 g (3+1⁄2 oz) serving (see right table), and consists of modest amounts of many other vitamins and minerals.
Celery is used in weight loss diets, where it provides low-calorie dietary fiber bulk. Celery is often incorrectly thought to be a "negative-calorie food", the digestion of which burns more calories than the body can obtain. In fact, eating celery provides positive net calories, with digestion consuming only a small proportion of the calories taken in.
Carrot: The carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) is a root vegetable, usually orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist. They are a domesticated form of the wild carrot, Daucus carota, native to Europe and Southwestern Asia. The plant probably originated in Persia and was originally cultivated for its leaves and seeds. The most commonly eaten part of the plant is the taproot, although the stems and leaves are also eaten. The domestic carrot has been selectively bred for its greatly enlarged, more palatable, less woody-textured taproot.
The carrot is a biennial plant in the umbellifer family, Apiaceae. At first, it grows a rosette of leaves while building up the enlarged taproot. Fast-growing cultivars mature within three months (90 days) of sowing the seed, while slower-maturing cultivars need a month longer (120 days). The roots contain high quantities of alpha- and beta-carotene, and are a good source of vitamin K and vitamin B6.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that world production of carrots and turnips (these plants are combined by the FAO) for 2018 was 40 million tonnes, with 45% of the world total grown in China. Carrots are widely used in many cuisines, especially in the preparation of salads, and carrot salads are a tradition in many regional cuisines.
These are a small carrot variety. Check out the little guy in the middle and remeber. "It's not about size, it's what you do with it"!!
Cucumber: Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae gourd family that bears cucumiform fruits, which are used as vegetables.[1] There are three main varieties of cucumber—slicing, pickling, and burpless/seedless—within which several cultivars have been created.
The cucumber is a creeping vine that roots in the ground and grows up trellises or other supporting frames, wrapping around supports with thin, spiraling tendrils. The plant may also root in a soilless medium, whereby it will sprawl along the ground in lieu of a supporting structure. The vine has large leaves that form a canopy over the fruits.[citation needed]
The fruit of typical cultivars of cucumber is roughly cylindrical, but elongated with tapered ends, and may be as large as 62 centimeters (24 in) long and 10 centimeters (4 in) in diameter.
Cucumber fruits consist of 95% water (see nutrition table). In botanical terms, the cucumber is classified as a pepo, a type of botanical berry with a hard outer rind and no internal divisions. However, much like tomatoes and squashes, it is often perceived, prepared, and eaten as a vegetable.
In a 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving, raw cucumber (with peel) is 95% water, 4% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contains negligible fat. Cucumber provides 67 kilojoules (16 kilocalories) of food energy, and supplies low content of micronutrients, as it is notable only for vitamin K at 16% of the Daily Value (table).
Depending on variety, cucumbers may have a mild melon aroma and flavor, in part resulting from unsaturated aldehydes, such as (E,Z)-nona-2,6-dienal, and the cis- and trans- isomers of 2-nonenal The slightly bitter taste of cucumber rind results from cucurbitacins.
In 2009, an international team of researchers announced they had sequenced the cucumber genome.
Squash: Straightneck squash is a cultivated variety of Cucurbita pepo grown as a type of summer squash that is usually yellow-colored. It is also known as yellow squash, though other squashes, such as crookneck squash, may also be known by that name.It has mildly sweet and watery flesh, and thin tender skins that can be left on the fruit for many types of recipes. It was almost certainly domesticated in the eastern United States, although other variants of the same species (zucchini and pumpkin) were domesticated in Mesoamerica. This squash grows on vined plants reaching 60–90 cm (2.0–3.0 ft) in height that thrive in mild weather. It is well known as an item in American cooking where it is fried, microwaved, steamed, boiled, or baked. It is often used in recipes interchangeably with zucchini. A good yellow summer squash will be small and firm with tender skin free of blemishes and bruising. It is available all year long in some regions, but is at its peak from early through late summer.
Oregano: Oregano Origanum vulgare) is a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is native to temperate Western and Southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region.
Oregano is a perennialherb, growing from 20–80 cm (8–31 in) tall, with opposite leaves 1–4 cm (1⁄2–1+1⁄2 in) long. The flowers are purple, 3–4 mm (1⁄8–3⁄16 in) long, produced in erect spikes. It is sometimes called wild marjoram, and its close relative, O. majorana, is known as sweet marjoram
Farm Fresh Eggs: A 50-gram (1.8 oz) medium/large chicken egg provides approximately 70 kilocalories (290 kJ) of food energy and 6 grams of protein.
Eggs (boiled) supply several vitamins and minerals as significant amounts of the Daily Value (DV), including vitamin A (19 percent DV), riboflavin (42 percent DV), pantothenic acid (28 percent DV), vitamin B12 (46 percent DV), choline (60 percent DV), phosphorus (25 percent DV), zinc (11 percent DV) and vitamin D (15 percent DV). Cooking methods affect the nutritional values of eggs.
A yolk contains more than two-thirds of the recommended daily intake of 300 mg of cholesterol.
The diet of laying hens also may affect the nutritional quality of eggs. For instance, Pasture-raised free-range hens, which forage for their own food, produce eggs that are relatively enriched in omega-3 fatty acids when compared to those of cage-raised chickens.
***Eggs are unwashed and do not need to be refrigerated***
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