Last Day to Order Your CSA Share!

Hello all! Today, Thursday the 11th, is the last day to order your CSA share!

CLICK HERE TO ORDER!

Payment is due at first pickup, which is next Tuesday!

Grocery Store vs CSA Share

We did a little experiment using Peapod.com to calculate how much it would cost to buy an equal share of organic veggies from Stop & Shop vs a CSA Share.

For this test we used the sample summer box of:
- Sweet corn
- Eggplant
- Zucchini
- Tomatoes
- Beets
- Cucumbers
- Bell peppers
- Broccoli

We filled our cart with roughly the same amount of produce (12-14lbs of the 8 varieties) and calculated the total cost as:

$38.76

Compare that to the $27.50 per week that the CSA Shares break down to and you can already see the savings. Now factor in the fact that the produce from your CSA Share is

+ Fresher (the produce is harvested one day before delivery, never packaged, and delivered directly from the farm to Vassar to you)

+ Local (you know exactly where your produce comes from and how it is grown, you can even visit the farm and meet the farmers themselves)

+ Supports local farmers (participating in a CSA Share helps the farm guarantee their income)

+ Supports the community (for every share purchased, Glebocki Farms donates an equal share to a local pantry. Last year they donated over 100,000 lbs of produce!)


So if you purchased roughly the same type and amount of produce from Stop & Shop, for the length of the 10 week share, you would end up spending about:

$387.60

Whereas participating in the CSA Share will cost:

$275.00

That's more than $100 of savings! Now we know that it is hard to pay such a large sum at once, but looking at this sample breakdown you can see that you'll actually be saving money in the long run. If you are unable to afford this, we have multiple programs in place to help you participate. Email us at vassarcoop@gmail.com for more info.

CSA Shares!

We're happy to announce this year's CSA Shares! The poster is here but we thought we'd give you a little more info here as well. 

CSA Shares are a great way to support local farmers and get delicious, fresh produce every week. You pay the farmer upfront and then get a weekly selection of their seasonal produce for the length of the share (usually 10 weeks). Above is a photo of one of last year's share.

Glebocki Farm CSA Share

- Full share = 10 weeks

- Cost: $300 to be paid in full at the first pick up 

- Start: September 16th 

- End: November 18th

- Each share includes 6-8 different varieties of vegetables and weighs about 12-14 lbs

- Half Share: If you cannot find anybody to split a share with you but you are still 

interested in buying half of a share, email us and we will try and match you with 

another person also buying half a share.

- Subsidized Share: If you would like a share but cannot afford the full price, please 

email vassarcoop@gmail.com with your name and the amount you would need 

subsidized and we will do our best to match that amount (add part saying we are 

doing this because we know local/organic food is expensive and want everyone who is 

interested to be able to participate)

- Add on Shares:

- Organic Egg Share: a dozen per week - $60

- Organic Raw Honey Share: 1lb every two weeks - $72

- Organic Mushrooms: 1lb of mushrooms a week (Shiitake, Crimini or Portabello) - $80

- Farm Fresh Creamline Milk Share (pasteurized, not homogonized): 1/2 gallon per week - $50

Sprout Creek Cheese Share

- Get 1/2 lb of cheese every week
- Start: September 9 or 16
- End: November 18th
- Option 1: Basic Cheese Share - Doe Re Mi goat cheese every week: $6 a week, $60
- Option 2: Cheese Lover’s Share - new delicious Sprout Creek cheese every week $7.50 a week, $75
- All their types of cheese can be found on their website sproutcreekfarm.org

For more info about the farms. 

TO ORDER click here


-The price of shares must be paid in full at the first pick up (if you have a problem with this please email vassarcoop@gmail.com and we can work out a payment plan)

- Pick ups are every Tuesday from September 16 until November 18 in the College Center from
12-5pm

- Payments can be in cash or checks made out to Vassar Food Co-op

- Email vassarcoop@gmail.com to order or for more information

- All orders must be in by September 12th!

Crispy Baked Eggplant with Marinara

This recipe for baked eggplant is a treasure- yes they're breaded, but they are baked and amazing and relatively guilt-free. If you make them right the outside is perfectly crispy and the inside practically melts in your mouth. Whip them up in an hour and you can dazzle your friends (or eat an entire eggplant's worth yourself, I won't tell).

This is a great side dish, but I often eat it as a meal. You can also use this method of salting and breading the eggplant (which turns out wonderfully) to make eggplant parmesan. Also good on a salad if you're in to that stuff.

Crispy Baked Eggplant 
(serves 2-3)
adapted from Almost Italian

Ingredients

1 large eggplant
Salt (enough to salt the eggplant and season the eggs)
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1-2 cups of panko bread crumbs (I usually just cover the plate and add more as needed)
Olive oil
Black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. I like mine a little thicker, you can also get away with 1/4 inch if you want them crispier. 

2. Layer the slices on a large dinner plate like you would stack cookies, covering each layer generously with salt. This is a little freaky the first time you do it but don't be stingy with the salt- you'll wash it off later. Put a bowl or second dinner plate over the layered eggplant and weight with something heavy, like a teapot or cast iron skillet. Let sit for 20 mins.

3. Drizzle olive oil on a large baking sheet and set aside. Preheat oven to 475°

4. After 20 mins, put the eggplant in a colander and rinse all the salt off. Lay on a paper towel to dry and place to the side for a few minutes.

5. Mix the salt and pepper with the eggs and whisk in a shallow bowl. Prepare a plate or bowl with flour and another with the breadcrumbs. I like to line up my ingredients in an assembly line- flour, egg, panko, baking sheet.

6. Take a slice of eggplant, cover it in flour, tapping the excess off. Dip into the egg mixture on both sides, using your hand or a fork (can get messy) and then press into the panko breadcrumbs on both sides. Place on baking tray and repeat. 

7. When all of your eggplant is breaded and on the tray, drizzle with olive oil and place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes, turning them over halfway through.

8. Take out and serve immediately with marinara sauce. Can be stored for 2-3 days but fair warning they won't be as crispy! Enjoy!