My Seventh Communitty Supported Agriculture (CSA) Box - What I Got

I picked up my produce box at Teter Organic Farm, and on the way home, it started to rain - a real frog strangler!  I was glad I got my stuff loaded into the car before all THAT started.  We've had a lot of rain the past few days, and I'm tired of it - UGH.

So this week, we got some mixed salad greens (two bags!), some assorted small sweet peppers, more new potatoes (YAY!), slicer tomatoes, cherry tomatoes (I didn't take any since I'm not a fan), beets (double-YAY!), and some bonus bell peppers.

I'm looking forward to making wilted lettuce again - break out the bacon!!!  And more roasted potatoes.  Or, I have a recipe to try for roasted chicken breasts, potatoes, and carrots that sounds REALLY good.

And the beets - one of my favorites.  I'm afraid that when I cook these, they'll bleed all over the place and look pale and washed out.  To prevent that, you're supposed to leave a couple of inches of the stems on, but alas, there are no stems on these lovelies.  Maybe roasted they won't do that.  I'll need to do some research!

This is also the first week of  EGG SHARES!  For the next eight weeks, I'll pick up a dozen eggs every other week.  The new chickens have finally started to lay, so now we can not only provide eggs to families who attend the free Thursday night dinners at the church and donate eggs to a local food pantry, but we can sell shares.  The idea is for the shares to cover the costs of keeping the chickens, making them a sustainable part of the farm.  Of course, I'm super excited to get my paws on some "fruit of hen" because I help care for the lovely ladies.  Some of their eggs are beyond jumbo, so it will be fun to watch for double yolks!

RAIN (A Five-Minute Friday Post)

The past few prompts haven't inspired me at all.  It's not a problem with the prompts; it's a problem with ME!  After spending July writing like a mad thing for Camp NaNoWriMo, I guess I was a little burned out, but here I am, at last!

GO!

Rain resonates with me this week.  Suddenly, after an absolutely gorgeous day on Wednesday, at six o'clock, it poured!  Suddenly, after an absolutely gorgeous day yesterday, at four-thirty, it POURED!  Today started with a misting of rain, then worked its way up to a light rain, and since about two o'clock it has rained steadily, and our front yard has filled up.  Lake Williams lives!

I'm kind of sick of the rain today, but I know we need it.  Crops need rain.  Our reservoirs and rivers and groundwater need rain.  We NEED rain even though it's inconvenient, annoying, and floods our front yard.

"Into every life, a little rain must fall."

Not always literal rain.  We're going through some not so fun times right now.  Oh, nothing catastrophic, but just difficult. 

The air conditioning in my car got wimpy last week, so I took it to the shop.  An unexpected expense - not fun. 

The back window of That Man's pickup truck cap disappeared on the interstate.  He doesn't know exactly where it happened, but he stopped at a rest area to check the trailer hitch and the window and frame were gone.  Poof!  He's driving around with a piece of classy black plastic and duct tape fending off the elements - namely the RAIN we've been experiencing the past week and a half.  Again, not fun.

Oh, and another festive touch to the truck - the brake lines are rusty, so they're being replaced.  We don't need the brake lines to rupture while he's pulling the race car trailer through the mountains (or anywhere, for that matter).

And suddenly, my right knee has decided it doesn't want to do its job (holding me up) and has been complaining - LOUDLY.  Everything I do, it hurts and makes dire threats to quit on me.  So I went to the doctor, got x-rays, and I've been referred to an orthopedic surgeon.  Tricompartmental osteoarthritis - a mouthful that means I have a bad knee.  ACK!  Say it ain't so!

However...

In the past couple of weeks, we've also had some beautiful sunny days, That Man raced his car and did well, I went winery hopping with a group of friends, I ate fabulous food at the Indianapolis Greek Fest and the Tipton County Pork Festival, and I've been planning a trip to the Outer Banks with my sister.  So there have been good times alongside the rain.

Just as we need rain, we need some difficult times to make us appreciate the good times.  And I'm REALLY appreciating the good times!

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This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday link-up.  Today's writing prompt was "RAIN."  For more information on Five-Minute Friday, click here.

Greek Tabouleh Salad (A CSA Box Recipe)

Greek Tabouleh Salad

1 package tabouleh wheat salad mix (I use Near East)
1 c boiling water
1 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped (about 3/4 c)
1/4 c chopped fresh basil leaves (about 10-15 leaves)
3 oz crumbled feta cheese (about 3/4 c)
garlic powder to taste

In a 2-quart bowl, combine the wheat and seasoning from the mix package with the boiling water.  Stir well, cover, and let stand at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  Then stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well, cover, and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour or overnight.  Toss well before serving.

You may also add 1/2 c black olives and/or  1 c chopped bell pepper (any color).