Quick and Easy Veggie Breakfasts

Farm Update

Fred's been using our old Farmall Cub to cultivate the fields.
Keeping the weeds under control has been a lot easier now
that the weather is turning.

 Hi everyone!  It has been a lot cooler this week, which has been a relief for both the plants and the people at the farm.  Things are looking a lot more tidy around the farm as we get the weeding under control and turn under more old plantings.  We're also planting some cool-season crops for the fall, such as kale, Swiss chard, and beets.  We are definitely into tomato season now, so if you are interested in canning tomatoes, let me know!  They'll be $12 per half bushel, and you can get however much you think you can handle!  I've been canning tomato sauce and salsa myself this weekend, and I intend to do a bunch more before the season is out.  We also still have some piggies available, so if you are interested in a whole or half pig, let me know and I'll put you on the pig list.  Also, if you pick up at the Alma drop-off and you won't be there on Labor Day, just let me know by Sunday and we'll make arrangements for your share.  You can either postpone your share and get double the following week, or we can bring your share to the Mt. Pleasant drop-off on Tuesday instead.  While this weekend may be the unofficial end of summer, we still have eight more weeks of the CSA left, and plenty of excellent veggies to enjoy!

What to Expect in Your Share this Week

Here are the options in each veggie station this week!  If you have a half share, you'll choose one from each category, and if you have a full share, you'll choose two.

• Lettuce or winter squash

  

  Green beans and cherry tomatoes will be just some of the nice
  things in the shares this week.

• 5 Tomatoes
• Cherry tomatoes
• Peppers or Onion
• Kale or green beans
• Potatoes
• Surprise veggie

If you have your share delivered to your home or workplace, or if you pick up at our East Lansing drop-off, here are your options for this week.  If you have a half share, choose one, and if you have a full share, choose two.

Share A:                                      Share B:

Lettuce                                        Delicata winter squash
5 Tomatoes                                 5 Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes                         Cherry tomatoes
Sweet pepper                              Onion
Kale                                            Green beans
Potatoes                                      Potatoes
Surprise veggie                          Surprise veggie


If you have a preference for share A or share B, just let me know by noonish the day before your delivery day, and I'll make sure you get your preferred share.  If you don't have a preference, I'll just choose for you. :-)

Quick and Easy Veggie Breakfasts

I just can't get enough of our pretty specialty tomatoes.
Throw these into pretty much any of these easy veggie
breakfasts.

It's back to school time!  If you are one of the many people who have kids starting school next week (or maybe you're headed back to school yourself), mornings are likely to get a little more packed in the next few days.  By now we have all heard about the importance of a healthy breakfast, but how do we make that happen when we're rushing to get out the door?  Here are several veggie-ful breakfast ideas that don't take forever to make!  Try them out, and see what a difference it makes to start your day with a healthy meal!

Scrambled eggs with veggies:  This one is great because it takes about ten minutes or less to make, is totally customizable depending on what you have on hand, and is packed with lots of good protein to help keep you full longer.  Simply scramble a few eggs, and toss in a few chopped veggies and maybe some cheese.  It's that easy.  If I were making this this week, I'd chop an onion, a green pepper, and a tomato up and toss them in with the eggs as they cook, then I'd stir in some shredded cheese just before taking it off the heat.  Or you could do garlic and kale, and throw in some leftover chicken from last night's dinner.  The possibilities are endless, and it's almost as fast as (and way better for you than) cereal.

Sauteed veggie side dish:  This could be whatever veggie you want.  Pretty much every morning, we have some sort of sauteed veggie along with our eggs/ oatmeal/ bacon/ etc.  Simply cut up carrots, kale, green beans, potatoes, beets, cooking greens, or whatever else looks good, and saute in your oil of choice, then salt and pepper to taste.  I like coconut oil for carrots and olive oil for pretty much everything else.  This is also pretty quick (about 12 minutes if you're a fast chopper) and most of it happens while you're making some other part of the breakfast.  Potatoes and beets will take longer than all the others, just FYI.  You can even do the chopping the night before while you're making dinner and then just throw them in the pan the next morning to save a few minutes.

A recent planting of kale is growing in the greenhouse in
anticipation of the fall shares.

Toast with eggs and summer veggies:  This is totally easy and totally great.  Just slice a large green pepper so it looks like a ring.  Then place it into a pan with some cooking oil or butter, then break an egg into the pepper ring.  Wait for the egg to cook, then take the whole pepper/egg combination out and place it on a slice of buttered toast.  Top with a slice of tomato, sprinkle with the tiniest pinch of salt, and boom.  You're done in less than ten minutes.

So there you go.  You now have no excuses for eating a breakfast devoid of veggies.  As the mornings get crazier next week, you can go forth knowing that you are properly fueled for your day.  You're welcome. :-)