jun 5 grocery challenge / csa week 1

this week's harvest:

rhubarb - 1 bunch
bok choi - 1 bunch
chinese cabbage - 1 head
red leaf lettuce - 1 head
romaine lettuce - 1 head
spring kale - 1 bunch
garlic chives - 1 bunch
mustard greens - 1 bunch
oregano - 1 bunch

menu:

oriental cabbage salad (basically an asian style slaw) from greens glorious greens**
rhubarb cake
curried mustard greens (also from GGG)
tossed salad

**i highly recommend this book. it is full of good info on storing and preparing all sorts of greens, as well as great recipes. i picked this up on a whim at a book sale some years ago and never used it much, until last year's CSA season blessed us with a plethora of greens of every size and shape, many of which i'd never used before. now it is my go-to guide for greens!

notes:

i had initially planned to make raw kale salad as well, but the bunch of mustard greens was smaller than i had anticipated, so i ended up adding the kale to the curry, which was great.

we also got a surprise bunch of mizuna, which i added to the slaw with the bok choy, cabbage and garlic chives.

i traded the oregano for an extra bunch of rhubarb.

my radishes are ready to pick so those will go in the tossed salad as well!

shopping list:

lime (for the kale salad i didn't make)
orange (for cookies)
red onions
ginger
sweet potato
carrots
cilantro
brown sugar
chickpeas
yogurt
butter
eggs
chocolate chips
pumpkin seeds
OJ
apples
crackers
peanut butter

grocery bill:

$45 (whoops!) maybe i'll do better next week?

CSA and the grocery challenge

this week brings our first CSA delivery of farm fresh veggies from stoneledge farm. we joined this CSA group last year and loved the veggies so we are back for round 2. every monday we get a list of what's coming in our share for that week so i can plan a menu and figure out what other ingredients may be needed. then on wednesday we get the food. hooray!

my whole menu planning and shopping strategy is different during the CSA season, so the grocery challenge posts are going to be different as well. i tried to figure out a good "system" or template for posting these, but couldn't come up with anything brilliant, so i guess we'll just see what develops as the season goes on.

i am still sticking with grocery challenge. even though i have not done very well overall at abiding by my self-imposed budget, i do think it helps to keep it in mind. my weekly CSA share works out to about $20 (a serious bargain for fresh local organic produce!!), leaving me about $30 per week for other groceries, in theory.

jun 1 grocery challenge

grocery bill:

about $65

menu plan:

dinner

leftover chili and spin pie. CSA deliveries start this week too, but i don't know what we're getting just yet.

shopping list:

bread

OJ

butter

muffins

yogurt

triscuits

pretzels

pretzel chips

terra chips

lemonade

mayo

tuna

pickles

lettuce

apples

peaches

race report: VCTC XC 5k summer series #1

that's a mouthful!! my running club hosts a series of cross country 5k races each summer in van cortlandt park. they are every other thursday beginning late may through mid august, plus we have a 2-person 2-mile relay in the middle for fun. i signed up for the whole series, partly because the races are replacing our regular thursday tempo runs (which i really enjoy) and partly because i've never done a cross country race before so i figured it would be fun. plus a ton of my teammates will be around so that is always fun too.

the first one this year took place may 23 in the midst of torrential rains -- a great introduction to xc racing! ha.

it was actually a lot of fun once you got over being wet, especially after the first plunge through ankle deep rainwater. once you're soaked you can't really get any wetter, and once your shoes are waterlogged, there's nothing left to worry about. the first mile of the course is pretty flat, then you head up into the hills. the trail is well maintained but it is muddy and rutted. many of the steep hills have the wood crossbars (like railroad ties) across the trail, to help with erosion and footing. it is very pretty as you're surrounded by woods, feels very far from the city, which is nice. i'm looking forward to running this many more times this summer. maybe after i learn the course better, i'll be able to look around a bit more and enjoy the scenery. especially if it isn't pouring. :)

i finished in 27:23, not too bad for my first xc race, especially given the conditions.

may 26 grocery challenge

grocery bill:

about $60

menu plan:

dinner

leftover chili, spin pie, and we'll probably order a pizza. also making blueberry oat muffins and chocolate chip cookies. yum!

shopping list:

eggs

bread

OJ

yogurt

cheddar

hummus

spinach

tortilla chips

triscuits

olives

salad dressing

tuna

chocolate chips

celery

onion

garlic

apples

apricots

orange