Gorman Farm Seems To Have Hit Its Stride; The Share That I Got To Sample Was A Real Gift

Cucumbers sliced and seasoned into kimchi

Gorman Produce Farm seems to have really hit its stride.  Check it out if you want local vegetable adventures.

When I started blogging, I thought that I was going to become entranced by community-supported agriculture.  That's a CSA where you pay a farm's fee at the start of the season, then get a weekly share from the harvest.  In the plan, you get great vegetables, and you get surprises to inspire you.

But I never clicked.  Mostly, it's just that my cooking never got inspired by a box of surprises.  I felt bad when I left something unused, and my mind always ran to menus that required a grocery run to augment the CSA box.  But, in part, I don't think I had the best CSAs.  I did two, both when the farms were new.  Farming is hard.  I got some rough produce and some piles of pedestrian stuff.

Gorman Produce Farm in Laurel changed their model a year or two ago.  They closed their daily farm stand.  Now they just sell through a CSA, and I was lucky enough to sample last month when our friends went away on vacation.  The full share that I picked up in Gorman's barn was an absolute delight.

Spinach, parsley, squash, onions, eggplant, cucumbers, garlic flowers and on and on and on.  I filled two large bags with the full share, and the vegetables blew me away.  They were crisp, fresh and full of flavor.  Mostly, I did simple stuff.  Sauteed the spinach.  Made salad with the lettuce.  But I turned the cucumbers into a Korean kimchi oi-sobagi using Maangchi's cookbook that I need to review in the future.

Monday I steamed Gorman's eggplant that had been in my fridge for at least 10 days.  The eggplant was pristine.  That's amazing for any vegetables.  That tells me that the Gorman folks are able to concentrate on the CSA now -- planning their harvests and caring for the vegetables so that customers get premium supplies.

The Gorman Produce Farm website seems to say you can still sign up for a 2017 share.  I don't know the details.  But definitely check it out, maybe for 2017, maybe for next year.  I don't know that CSAs work for my life right now, but it's not many developed suburbs that have an organic farm sitting right in their midst.

Gorman Produce Farm is right off Rte 29 on Gorman Road.  It's really easy to reach from anywhere in Columbia and for anyone who commutes south towards DC.

Cooking Your Local Produce Brings Inspirations For Your CSA Or Your Farmers Market Shopping

I have to admit that I'm super-surprised that CSAs didn't take over my kitchen.  I have joined them for several years now, and I always figured that the shares would become a theme through HowChow with me writing about the dishes that I made.

It never happened.  I love Gorman Farm in Laurel.  I have posted several times about CSA options around Howard County.  But the new discoveries were few, and I felt bad when the cabbages rotted in the back of my fridge.

All that said, I recommend the adventure to anyone.  The vegetables have been terrific, and I know a bunch of people who get thrills along with good food -- including AnnieRie and Kat who blog about their CSA finds.

With more assistance is my friend Lisa from the Lisa B., Mrs. S. blog with a carry-along companion for your forays into CSAs and farmers markets:

The CSA and farmers market season begins soon. (May 7th here in Howard County.)  If you're new or even just relatively new to CSAs, at one point or another you will likely look at an item in your share and wonder, "How do I even cook that?" The answer is here:

My friend Greta Hardin has written Cooking Your Local Produce, and reading it had me feel like she was in the kitchen teaching me. 

The recipes are easy to follow -- even for the ingredients you may have never cooked before (garlic scapes, anyone?) -- while also offering variations to make the months of kale and collard greens more interesting.  One of my favorite recipes is the Warm Fennel and Purple Cabbage Slaw.  Traditional coleslaw is great, but try this if you're looking for something less sweet-and-sour, more savory and fresh.

This cookbook really shines in its organization.  Instead of sorting recipes by season or dish, chapters are organized by ingredient type.  Leaves and shoots, flowers and fruits, seeds and roots each get their own sections, and the resources in the back can't be beat.  Greta includes an ingredient guide with photos, descriptions, and quick cooking ideas to make those farmers market trips easier.  Follow Cooking Your Local Produce on Facebook to get more cooking tips and inspiration, as well as news about a future app.

If you're in this market, I also recommend Jacob Bishop's Vegetables Everyday that I reviewed several years ago.  He also organizes the recipes by the main ingredient.  He has really smart, interesting and simple preparations that you can follow or doctor with your own inspirations.  And check out the farmers market news and schedule on the county's Web site about the farmers markets.

'Tis The Season To Think Summer Vegetables

The CSA board at Gorman Farm

The cold still hasn't really arrived, but now is the time to think about summer vegetables and sign up for a CSA.

Community Supported Agriculture is a fancy term for season-long plans where you pay a farmer now and pick up vegetables all season long.  We signed up to split a third year with RDAdoc, but you have options around here -- farms from Laurel to West Friendship, pickups in Columbia, Elkridge, and Fulton.

To start, check out AnnieRie's posts about CSAs on AnnieRie Unplugged.  Scan down for great information about local farms and AnnieRie's analysis of costs and benefits.  Plus, she blogs about her cooking.  She shows what she got -- mostly from the Sandy Spring CSA.  Similarly, Kat blogs on Kitchen Scribble with photos and story about what she got from Breezy Willow farm.

My big question is whether you're amused by the idea of getting a box of vegetables every week.  CSAs are about giving up control.  You depend on the season, the weather, and the farmer's choice of products.  It's fun for people who want to look into the box and break out a cookbook to see what they can make.

If that's you, then check local options like this:

• Gorman Farm in Laurel runs a CSA. They're signing up returning members now and will open to everyone soon.  We've done this for two years, and the vegetables are delicious and long-lasting -- although Gorman doesn't do the exotic vegetables that bigger programs sometimes offer.  Gorman also sells fruits and vegetables from a farm stand just south of Columbia.
• Breezy Willow Farm runs an almost-year-round series of CSAs -- early bird, main season, etc.  They go past vegetables into bread, eggs, jams and more.  They also sell meat and -- new for 2013 -- artisan ice cream.  They have drop-offs at libraries and schools from Elkridge to Fulton to Columbia and more.
• Sandy Spring CSA runs pickups around the Washington area, including one in Columbia.  AnnieRie has bought from Sandy Spring, so I really suggest that you see her posts for what she has received and the fun that she has had.
• South Mountain Veggies is a variation where they deliver vegetables from local farms.  You pick the size of your bag, and you can have some control over what you get.  This family brought you South Mountain Creamery, which delivers dairy products and sold its milk, cream and cheese at the Saturday farmers market in Cooksville.
• The Zahradka Farm in Baltimore County appears to deliver to offices and homes.  Their CSA has run drop-off points like at an Ellicott City school in 2012.  I don't know the details, but AnnieRie has dealt with them too.
• (Update:  Friends & Farms in Columbia appears to be a company that does meat, fish, vegetables and more.  Anonymous recommended them in the comments, and it seems like a cool option.  Anyone know more about them?)

Anyone else have experience with CSAs in or near Howard County?  Any other options?  Any other advice for someone considering a 2013 sign-up?

This Is The Sad Face Of Community Supported Agriculture, And I Support The Full Experience

The first thing we do, let's kill all the stink bugs.

People blog all the time about the happy, sunny side of community supported agriculture.  Then this week, I realized that Hurricane Irene had smacked around my farm.

When I say "my" farm, I mean Gorman Produce Farm in Laurel where we're splitting a share with RDAdoc and family.  The weekly bag came with some nice-looking tomatoes, but also a note that made me realize that my share of the 2011 harvest has shrunk.

Wind and water ruined tomatoes ready to pick.  They blew flowers off eggplants and peppers.  They forced Gorman to pull squash long before they were cured.  Bummer, but I signed up for the risk.

And the real risk is stink bugs!  They ruined many tomatoes in my personal garden, and Gorman reports the same kind of problem.  Their note has the nicest explanation of why they were sending squash covered in blotches:

We can't just too them into the compost pile, there is plenty of good meat to the squash.  We ask for your understanding and that you eat these right away!  I brought some home hacked off the bad part, skinned and cubed the squash and have mine stored covered in the fridge.  It is ready to go into any meal this week.

That's the reality of CSAs.  On the up side, I have a delicious-looking yellow heirloom on my counter.  On the down side, my fall eggplants got wiped out by that hurricane, and my squash are being molested by exotic insects.  But it is pretty cool to know what the farmer is eating for dinner.

Link: Buying Half A Cow On Kitchen Scribble

The Wagon Wheel Ranch will sell you half a cow -- butchered and packed into managable-sized vacuum bags, and the Kitchen Scribble blog has the report and photos of a table filled with roasts and steaks.

I don't eat enough meat to justify this type of local eating, but kat bought a half cow and split it with another couple.   If you want more about Wagon Wheel, check out my prior post where Penny described her experience, including smaller orders like a "Taste of the Farm" with chicken, lamb and beef.

While you're checking out kat's site, you should read her weekly report about the Breezy Willow CSA.   Kitchen Scribble and the Sarah Says blog have both created weekly posts that should be invaluable if you're wondering if you should sign up for a CSA next year.

CSAs In Howard County 2011: You Need To Love Your Community Supported Agriculture

You need to love your CSA because it's more than food -- it's a relationship.

"Community supported agriculture" is basically farms that pre-sell a season of vegetables.  It's for people who want to something more than food.  They want local food or organic food or just the adventure of a "surprise me" box of food each week.

In Howard County, you have a huge variety of local options.  You sign up.  You pick up through the season.  You get what ripened that week.   The beauty of CSAs is that the food is constantly different.

The challenge of CSAs is that all CSAs are different as well.  Some are expensive.   Some are veggie-only.  Some add breads and even meats.   Some have great food.  Some don't.  Last year, we split a share with RDAdoc that didn't really work out.  This year, we're going to try Gorman Farms in Laurel.  We're hoping for a more-exotic mix and a little adventure.

Link: Winter CSAs By Breezy Willow, Martin Herb

Two local farms will try to continue to sell local produce through the winter, reports the Ellicott City Patch, although they're not both really farm-based CSAs

Read the details carefully.  The Breezy Willow Farms in West Friendship will run a CSA from March to June.  Martin Herb Farm, which runs CSAs at Centennial High School in Ellicott City and at Pointers Run Elementary School in Clarksville, will run from December into early summer -- and it will mix local herbs and root vegetables mixed with locally-stored apples and produce imported from Florida.  Think of it as "thoughtfully-imported" rather than an actually locally-farmed.

Link: Sarah Says Gets Another CSA Delivery

Sarah keeps posting the types of CSA posts that I had thought that I would do this eyar.  She gets huge and inspiring delivies of vegetables.  She writes enthusiasticly about what she and C whip up in the kitchen, and she links to recipes.  That seems like a fun CSA experience.  Check out Sarah's CSA posts.

Reviews Of Local CSAs For Howard County

What do you think of your CSA?

I had thought that I would be a natural at "community supported agriculture."  I thought that I would post every week about my first year of CSA deliveries and what I had whipped up with the vegetables.

As summer closes, I haven't been inspired to post much.  The drought made it had a hard year to farm, and I knew that I was buying into the risk/reward of a real share.

But I haven't done much more than cut up vegetables this summer.  We eat tomatoes with salt, maybe some cubed cucumber and mint.  We cherished baby lettuces at the start and the melon this week, and I was completely amused by the eggs that I got through a fluke.  But I have been a bit puzzled about what to do with four carrots or two beets or a dozen green beans.  I'm not planning right.  Or I'm not prepared with recipes.  So I'm puzzled and wondering if a CSA delivery is smart for me if I have to go shopping after work to create a meal.

What has your CSA delivered this year?  Would you do it again?  How are you using the vegetables?  Do you keep basics on hand so that you have what you need?  How do you use small amounts?

I'm still figuring out my thoughts for 2011.  Howard County has a bunch of CSA options.  I started small this year, encouraged by a place where I could pick up in the evening.  But I may need to go big and get deliveries like Sarah Says posts about.  I would have to figure out a way to pick up at one of the established places like Gorman Produce Farm or Shaw Farm, the Columbia farm whose manager has posted comments on HowChow.

(Update: For 2011, check out my February 2011 post about CSAs.  Please add your reviews there.  I'd love to know what you recommend.)

Should A City Mouse Eat Country Eggs? My Egg Tale

On Friday, I ate eggs that had sat outdoors . . . unrefrigerated . . . for hours.  How disgusting!  Oh, wait.  How natural!  How disgusting?  How natural?

I got a dozen eggs from farmers in Pennsylvania.  They crossed a little more than 100 miles and an experience gap of an entire lifetime.  I'm two generations from the farm, and my eggs were delivered through the hands of a PhD nutritionist and a physician before they reached my kitchen.

We split a CSA membership, and let's just say that we split on our view of unrefrigerated eggs.

Some people spend their professional lives discussing salmonella and sterilization.  They correctly pointed out that supermarkets refrigerate eggs and stamp them with "sell by" dates.  They sent me links about outbreaks.  Other people -- and by other people, I mean, "I" -- had a couple emails with the farmers (who have almost nine months of farming experience at this point) and the argument that, "The farmers say it's totally cool."

Let's just say:  More eggs for me.

I passed up the street food in Thailand.  I firmly believe in separate cutting boards for meat and vegetables.  But the farmers were so casual and confident, and I joined a CSA to break out of my shrink-wrapped experience with supermarket food.  Plus, I surveyed the Internet:  Chicken-lover Web site - check.  Survivalist Web site - check.  Somebody who claims to be "Answers.com" - check.  Everyone said eggs last days -- if not longer -- at room temperature.

Those fresh eggs were just as delicious as people say on "SurvivalistBoards.com." I fried the first three in a little butter and sprinkled them with salt.  Clearly, the buildup encouraged me to taste more flavor and freshness than my supermarket eggs.  I really enjoyed them.  I also appreciate the lesson and the chance for a city mouse to try something new.

Anyone know a local source for fresh eggs?

Link: Shaw Farm In The Sun

The Sun profiled Brian Hughes of Shaw Farm in Columbia as part of its Earth Day coverage yesterday.

Hat tip to Tales of Two Cities, which posted about the article yesterday.  Shaw Farm is one of the local options for CSAs, but it is so established and popular that it already sold out its shares.  You can sign up for the waiting list.

Community Supported Agriculture in Howard County -- The 2010 Version Now That I'm Signed Up

Okay, people.  I signed up for my "community support agriculture" last week so now I can write without worry that you'll push me aside.

I posted about CSAs in 2009, then couldn't get a slot with South Mountain Veggies because there was so much demand.  (Not from HowChow.  Other demand.)  This month, I saw a comment by Jessie X -- the mentor of Howard County blogging and mastermind of Hoco Blogs-- about her friend who grew up in Columbia, ran a co-op, managed a catering business and was now going to run a CSA with drop-off at Jessie's home.

Jessie X emailed me that her friend was "making a go of it with her sweetheart to create a lifestyle and business on the value of locally-sourced food."  Remember that Jessie is in marketing.  She hooked me.  I signed the check.  And, then, I read the Buckland Farm blog and learned that Jessie had meant to say that Dan and Carrie have never done this before.  They just got the farm in January.  They still haven't put seeds in the ground.  Jessie sells a good story, but let's summarize the lesson: Blogs are your source for truth.

All joking aside, I'm sold on Buckland Farm's CSA.  CSAs are about giving up control.  Farmers pick what to plant.  Weather dictate what thrives.  RDAdoc and I will just grab our bags from Jessie's porch and go home to find new recipes.  I love being part of Buckland's first year, particularly because they're focusing on unusual varieties.  (Plus, they have cool chickens, see on Jessie's blog.)  If you want to join, you can check out the Buckland Farm CSA Web page.

If you want other options, you can check out other CSAs near Columbia or Ellicott City.   With some variations, the basic idea is that farms or groups sell "shares" that entitle you to a piece of the harvest. You get the produce when it comes ripe. Most CSAs are organic (or at least don't use pesticides even if they aren't certified yet). All are aimed to support local farms. So it's not the cheapest way to buy vegetables -- but it's a way that gives you product that never saw a refrigerated warehouse and is probably a few days (or hours) out of the field.

• Gorman Farm in Laurel runs a CSA.  Last week, they were full and taking names for a waiting list.   You pick up your box on Thursdays or Fridays.  They also sell from a roadside stand, although they haven't decided on 2010 hours yet.
• One Straw Farm runs a large CSA and one of its drop-offs is the My Organic Market in Jessup. Their season runs from June to November.
• Breezy Willow Farm appears to run a CSA with pick ups at the farm in West Friendship.  They also have pickups at the Miller and Elkridge libraries, Fulton Elementary, and Sinai Hospital.
• South Mountain Veggies created a new option for 2009 because they deliver boxes of vegetables to your home. This family brought you South Mountain Creamery, which delivers dairy products and sold its milk, cream and cheese at the Saturday farmers market in Cooksville. They're buying produce from local farms and then delivering to customers. Last year, they had limited slots.  I can't tell from the Web site, but it seems like they have expanded.
• Shaw Farm in Columbia also sold out its 2010 CSA.  You can be added to their mailing list.

All these options are aimed at people who want to cook vegetables. This isn't the potatoes, tomatoes and green beans that you buy 52-weeks-a-year in a supermarket. This will be whatever is ripe now, and there are tons of blogs where people talk about their CSAs, share recipes for unfamiliar produce, and chat about whether it was worth the investment -- like this and this and Nina's local Yet Another Food Blog. If you try one, buy a copy of How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman or Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop. Those are my bibles when I have a vegetable and need a recipe to cook right away.

If you commute south, you might want to look at the Sandy Spring CSA, which has a pickup place in Sandy Spring on Wednesday.

Please post below if you have any experience with local CSAs or know of some that I missed.  I'm thinking about a series seeking updates about people's 2010 CSA experiences.  If you're new to HowChow, check out my post about Vegetable Shopping in Howard County or my posts about the local farmers markets.