Farm Shares and Frittatas

Over the past month or so, I have been reading American Wasteland by Jonathon Bloom.  It talks about food waste and how to combat it.  I am not a huge environmentalist (and not really an environmentalist in any sense of the word besides for I recycle, don’t litter, unplug things when I go on trips, turn off my air conditioning when I leave the house, etc—of course some of these things are really to economics more than the environment), so I have been intrigued by this book.  I have been learning a lot, and it helped me think of things that I can do.

Some things I already do.  I buy lots of frozen food, so I do not waste the fresh stuff, but that probably doesn’t count J  I eat leftovers like it’s my job and always leave the restaurant with doggie bags.  When I travel for work, I still get doggie bags and in many cases can pass my leftovers on to the homeless in the area. 

What do you do to prevent food waste?  Any good suggestions to help me and the other 10 readers?  Share it below in the comments….

One of the things Bloom mentioned was participating in local CSAs and farm shares.  When I lived in central PA, the highlight of my week was the farmers market where I could get produce for cheap but also from local farmers.  Reading the book sparked my interest in getting local produce, but also saving money!

Doing some research, I found Zina’s produce, which was 10 minutes from where I live.  I called and chatter with her and then Austin and I visited the farm and to learn more about the CSA program.  Zina is AMAZING, and in addition to the eggs that she has on her farm (and the cutest cow with a heart shaped white spot on its forehead—don’t worry, we won’t be eating this cow!), she works with 35+ local farms, butchers, fishermen, etc. 

Eggs from the farm share

We signed up for a meat share and a summer produce share.  Every two weeks, we get a variety of meats, fruits, and veggies.  I was excited but I was also nervous because before starting this blog (and maybe even now), I am not a very adventurous chef.  We’ll be getting things that I have never cooked before—It will be a challenge, but it’s something I’m looking forward too.

When we were leaving the farm, Zina gave us a dozen eggs and a pound of specialty sausage.  To celebrate, we shared a frittata the next day for lunch.  It was heavenly!

Sage Sausage and Spinach Frittata

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

½ lb sage sausage (I’m sure any flavored sausage would work, but this sausage was amazing, and I am so so excited to get more!)

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup fresh spinach

6 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, reduced-fat (I meant to use mozzarella but used cheddar by accident.  Both would be delicious.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In large skillet that can go in the oven, add sausage and onion; brown sausage.  Drain grease/liquid.

After beating eggs, mix in salt and pepper.  Pour eggs over mixture in skillet.  Add spinach.  Cook over medium heat.  As food sets, run a spatula around end of skillet and let uncooked portion flow underneath.  When mixture sets, top with cheese and bake 5 minutes.

 

Serves 4 heart portions, 6 points each.