CSA week #10

This picture is Katie and Dan at the Athens farmer's market for us. Since we already do Granville on Saturdays, we are fortunate enough to have friends that help us out. Assisting us in spreading the knowledge about local flowers!

Why you should buy local

Although you may be able to find what you want at the grocery store, who knows where it comes from. We get potatoes from Idaho, oranges from Florida and the list goes on. But, if you can buy it from your local farmer, why not do so?
By buying local, not only do you support your local farmer, but your local economy as well. This is back to the way that things used to be before we could package and ship food all over the world. A group of farmers worked together, all growing something different so they could provide for the whole community.
And, if you care about the environment then this decreases your carbon footprint. The fuel it takes to get that produce to its destination adds up quickly. Especially if there is refrigeration involved to store all the produce along the way.
When people think of local things though, they don’t usually think of flowers. We have not been trained yet to start to do so. Our mission is to spread this idea through the people that we encounter, and hope that the idea continues to infiltrate the rest of the flower buying community.
There are many reasons why local flowers are important. Cheap flowers that you find at the grocery store and most flowers used by florists, come from either California or foreign countries. Flower producers outside of the United States do not have to abide by the rules set forth here. This means that they can use whatever chemicals they want on the flowers because a lot of what the import people are worried about is the bugs that it may bring, so as long as there are no bugs, these flowers are allowed in.
Despite the growing conditions for the poor little flowers, what about the working conditions for the people employed by these big flower companies? As you can imagine, flower growers moved outside the country for a lot of the same reason that many companies do: cheap labor, no unions, and no worker’s rights.
Yes, it would be nice to buy local things year round, but unfortunately in Ohio we can’t do that. This takes much planning with preserving your products by drying, canning, or freezing. Really, it’s the effort that counts!

Suggested reading:
Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart
This book is the source of a lot of our information and is a great inside look at the world of flowers.



What’s included this week?
1. Tomatoes
2. Zucchini and yellow squash
3. Peppers
4. Carrots
5. Cauliflower- it may not look pretty, but it tastes good.
6. Flowers picked fresh for you!



Recipe of the Week



Zucchini Carbonara



2 large green and yellow zucchini
1 pound penne
4 large free-range or organic egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 good handfuls grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
12 thick slices pancetta or lean bacon, cut into chunky pieces
A small bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped



Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Halve and then quarter any larger zucchini lengthwise. Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the zucchini at an angle. Add the penne to the pot and cook according to the package instructions.
To make your creamy carbonara sauce, put the egg yolks into a bowl, add cream and half the Parmesan, and mix together with a fork. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat a very large frying pan, add olive oil and fry pancetta until dark brown and crisp. Add the zucchini slices and 2 big pinches of black pepper. Sprinkle in thyme and stir everything so the zucchini is coated with, and fry until they start to turn lightly golden and have softened.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little of the water. Immediately, toss the pasta in the pan with the zucchini mix, then remove from heat and add a ladleful of the reserved water and creamy sauce. Stir together quickly. (No more cooking now or you'll scramble the eggs.)
While you're tossing the pasta and sauce, sprinkle in the rest of the Parmesan to give you a silky and shiny sauce. Serve and eat immediately, as the sauce can become thick if left too long.



Thank you for your support,
Gretel and Steve