Licking Creek Bend Farm is located at 28 Donahoe Lane, Needmore, PA 17238. Growers Michael and Esther Tabor grow a variety of fresh, certified naturally grown, produce for sale at area farmers’ market and their CSA. One share feeds a family of 4 or 2 people who eat a lot of vegetables. There are several CSA pick-up sites: Adams Morgan (Saturday between 10:30am and 1pm at 18th St & Columbia Rd); Gaithersburg at NIST (Tuesdays between 10:30am and 1pm); Bethesda at NIH (Tuesdays between 10:30am and 1pm); and Brookland Metro Station – under bridge (Tuesdays between 3pm and 7pm). Licking Creek Bend Farm offers the following seasonal shares:

• June-July (9 weeks for $315 or $35/week)
• August-September (9 weeks for $315 or $35/week)
• October-November (9 weeks for $315 or $35/week)

We joined for the Oct-Nov share. Here’s what we received and did with our bounty of produce…

WEEK 1 | Saturday, October 3, 2009

PRODUCE | 1 quart of purple and green beans, 5-7 hot peppers, various colors, 3-5 sweet peppers, various colors, 1 medium head of bok choy, 1 medium bunch of collard greens, 1 large butternut squash, 3-4 potatoes, 1 bunch of radishes, 4 tiny bosc pears, 2 red delicious apples, 2 golden delicious apples, 1 bunch of green kolrahbi

RECIPES | Fall Vegetable Stew with Lemon Thyme Biscuits, Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas & Sauce, Spaghetti Squash with Moroccan Spices, Raisins, Swiss Chard & Okra

WEEK 2 | Saturday, October 10, 2009

PRODUCE | 3 ears of decorative (not-edible, but very pretty) multi-colored corn (purple, yellow, white, red-organge); 1 medium acorn squash; 2 apples (red delicious and golden delicious); 2 medium Bosc pears; 2 small Bartlett pears; mixture of hot peppers – including one habanero, several jalapeno, and some long red ones; 1 small kohlrabi; several red, green, and yellow green bell peppers; 1 small bunch of red/green swiss chard; 3 medium/large white potatoes; 1 quart fresh apple cider; 1 small red cabbage; 1 medium nappa cabbage

RECIPES | Carrot Ginger Soup, Roasted Autumn Vegetables, Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce,Mexican Lentil Stew with Cornbread

WEEK 3 | Saturday, October 17, 2009

PRODUCE | 1 bunch kale, 1 bunch arugula, 1 head broccoli, 1 bunch turnips, 1 pint tomatillos, Assorted sweet peppers (red, yellow, purple), Assorted hot peppers, 5 medium potatoes, 4 apples, 1 pear (this turned out to be a quince), 1 small butternut squash, 1 decorative gourd

WEEK 4 | Saturday, October 24, 2009

RECIPES | Sweet Potato Quesadillas with Tomatillo & Cilantro Salsa, Apple Cake, Autumn Vegetable Pot Pie

WEEK 5 | Saturday, October 31, 2009

PRODUCE | 1 liter of apple cider, 1 acorn squash, 6 red apples, 2 green apples, 3 pears, 4 sweet potatoes, 1 butternut squash, 2 turnips, 1 bunch Tok Choy (similar to Bok Choy and to be used in the same way), 1 bunch spinach, 1 bunch arugula, 1 small green cabbage

RECIPES | Multigrain Pancakes with Apples, Raisins and Maple Syrup, Indian Chai Tea, Eastern European Beet Stew and Baba’s Pierogies, Moroccan Chickpea Curry with Couscous, Chive Cream Cheese Sandwiches with Arugula & Apples

WEEK 6 | Saturday, November 7, 2009

PRODUCE | 1 large head of cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, 2 bunches of bok choy, apples, Bosc pears, cabbage

RECIPES | Eastern European Beet Stew and Baba’s Pierogies, Cider Braised Chicken and Cabbage with Mashed Potatoes

WEEK 7 | Saturday, November 14, 2009

PRODUCE | 1 large head of cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, bok choy, tat soi, apples, Bosc pears

RECIPES | Pizza with Roasted Cauliflower, Potatoes, Pesto & Bok Choy, Indian Cauliflower Curry with Mint Cilantro Chutney

WEEK 8 | Saturday, November 21, 2009

PRODUCE | broccoli rabe, tatsoi, kale, brussel sprouts, apple cider, apples, bosc pears, potatoes, romaine lettuce

RECIPES | Roasted Tomato Bean Soup, Pasta with Chickpea Garlic Sauce, Broccoli Rabe & Tatsoi, Green Beans & Brussel Sprouts with Balsamic Shallot Butter, Cranberry-Apple Streusel Crisp

WEEK 9 | Saturday, November 28, 2009

PRODUCE | 7 apples (2 Albemarle Pippin, 2 Gold Rush, and 3 Winesap Stayman), 4 Bosc pears, 1/2 gallon unpasteurized apple cider, 1 medium bunch collard greens, 1 medium bunch pak choi (also called bok choy), 1 medium bunch kale, 1 stalk of brussel sprouts, 1 head of romaine lettuce, 1 small head of frisee lettuce, 4 small turnips, 4 medium Russet potatoes

This is the very last CSA share for the year and winter. How sad!

• 2 bunches collard greens
• 1 bunch bok choy
• 1 small bunch tatsoi
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1 pint broccoli crowns
• 1 pint brussel sprouts
• 1 small head green cabbage
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• 1 head red leaf lettuce
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 4 apples of assorted varieties
• 2 bosc pears

It’s our last week of our CSA. How sad!!! I just spoke with Farmer Mike and he said there may be a possibility to extend our share for a few weeks. It pays to know your farmer! On our walk home from picking up our CSA share, Farmer Mike told us that they still have a lot of winter greens, lettuce, and other vegetables to pick – thanks to plastic tarps and extending the growing season. Don’t want to get too excited, but hopefully we’ll be able to get a couple more weeks of fabulous produce. I love not knowing what we’ll get; the challenge of finding inventive recipes; and getting to chat with our farmer every week.

Here’s what we got in our CSA this week:

• 7 apples (2 Albemarle Pippin, 2 Gold Rush, and 3 Winesap Stayman)
• 4 Bosc pears
• 1/2 gallon unpasteurized apple cider
• 1 medium bunch collard greens
• 1 medium bunch pak choi (also called bok choy)
• 1 medium bunch kale
• 1 stalk of brussel sprouts
• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• 1 small head of frisee lettuce
• 4 small turnips
• 4 medium Russet potatoes

Yippee! I am finally a CSA member again. I was so disppointed to find out that Potomac Vegetable Farms doesn’t deliver their fall share to DC residents. But, luckily Rex found out about another CSA – Licking Creek Bend Farm – from a work colleague. The Licking Creek Bend Farm CSA was able to squeeze us (and our friends John and Greg) into the fall share. So for the next 9 weeks we’ll each be getting a fabulous box of lovely fall produce.

Today was the first week. I met Greg at 18th St & Columbia Rd to pick up our boxes. We found Michael Tabor, one of the farmers’, gave him our checks, and walked away with a lovely mixture of colorful produce. Here’s what was in our box:

• 1 quart of purple and green beans
• 5-7 hot peppers, various colors
• 3-5 sweet peppers, various colors
• 1 medium head of bok choy
• 1 medium bunch of collard greens
• 1 large butternut squash
• 3-4 potatoes
• 1 bunch of radishes
• 4 tiny bosc pears
• 2 red delicious apples
• 2 golden delicious apples
• 1 bunch of green kolrahbi

Greg and I decided to do some additional shopping at the 3 vendor Adams Morgan Farmers’ Market. I was so shocked at the prices. Only $1.29/lb for local apples, sustainably grown (versus the $2.49/lb I paid last week at the Dupont Circle FRESHFarms Market) at Licking Creek Bend Farm’s produce stand. I spoke with Michael Tabor a bit to discover that a lot of his customers are WIC and SNAP food benefit recipients. He took me behind the cashier area and held up a box, full of WIC and SNAP vouchers. For fabulous produce at such low prices, you really can’t beat it.

So, to get Rex and I through the week – I picked up a few more apples (perhaps I’ll make an apple crisp or other dish) and some sweet snap peas (fabulous lunch snack).

More later on what I do with my CSA week 1 bounty…