Now is the time to prep your kitchen to make cooking with your CSA easier! Here are the things I use most often:

-- Knife and cutting board. (okay, duh, but be sure those knives are sharp!)
-- Good pans, including cast iron skillet. (optional on the cast iron, but I use mine every day. It's my go-to pan.)
-- Salad spinner. While you can make do without, I use mine a lot because we love salads. Ours is one that you can also store the dried lettuce in the fridge to keep it fresh, so that's why it's an "essential" for me. We prep the lettuce as soon as we get it and eat on the salad all week long, or as long as it'll last.
-- Food processor. This one is a pricey investment, but I use it ALL the time. I use the shredder attachment to shred carrots, beets, zucchini and more. I make a carrot or carrot-beet salad of raw shredded carrots with either plain yogurt or mayo with a little cinnamon and raisins. It's a great salad if you're out of lettuce!
-- Crock pot or Instant Pot. These are great for when you need to throw something together in the morning and have dinner ready when you walk in the door. Soups are great this way, or a beef or pork roast. Here's a good Cuban-style marinade for steaks or to cook roasts. (When you cook a roast, it's good to have an acid in there to help break down the meat).

These are probably my top five. Some other suggestions include:
A sharp peeler is a good tool, and some people tell me a peeler-spiralizer is great, but I don't have that yet. I think there are other kinds of spiralizers, too.
An immersion blender is something I use a lot too, for making creamy soups or morning smoothies with veggies thrown in.
I use my dutch oven (a heavey ceramic coated pan) a lot for roasts, like roasting a whole chicken, or slow cooks in the oven, but you can also just use a baking dish or even a cookie sheet with a good lip.

If you want to get fancy and go to the next level of food preservation, you could look into a dehydrator and fermenting crocks. And some people tell me they love their mandoline, microplane grater and Julienne peeler, but so far, I've been able to live without those.

So tell me: what are your kitchen essentials? Did I miss anything? If you've been in the CSA awhile, and have some cooking tips for new members, please share, and I'll pass it along! Do you meal plan? Food prep the day you get your veggies? How do you make the CSA work for you?

Produce Manager Job Description:
The Produce Manager makes sure that we supply our customers with the best and freshest produce in the proper amounts. The Produce Manager at Barr Farms will oversee the “Pack Shed” operations, including post-harvest handling and order fulfillment logistics of all farm products. The ideal candidate will be reliable, have a positive attitude, strong communication and organizational skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced work environment. The Produce Manager will manage incoming freshly harvested vegetables and outgoing products. Daily tasks include receiving, washing, packing, storage, and distribution of harvested crops. 


See Full Job Description HERE.

Want to win a free farm share this season? 

Don’t worry! If you have already signed up and you win, Harvie, our software partner and sponsor of this giveaway, will simply reimburse your share.  And don't miss out on veggies or meats! CSA deliveries start May 21, so if you're not already signed up, do that first! You can sign up here.

To enter:
Follow us on Facebook or Instagram @barrfarmsky.  Once there:

1. Like @harviefarms and like us
2. Comment on the free farm share post and tag a friend who would be interested in a free farm share!

That’s it!

Get an extra entry by posting the image on your own Facebook or Instagram page with the same text and tag @harviefarms and @barrfarmsky to get credit.

The deadline is May 31st and we will announce the winner the first week of June.
...
*Fine print: Up to $500 value. Winner will be randomly selected. Giveaway ends May 31, 2019 11:59pm est. Winner will be announced and notified by DM. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook or Instagram in any way.⁣

Note: This article originally appeared on Macaroni Kid Louisville East in March 2019

I grew up in the suburbs but married a 7th-generation farmer. We’re raising our three children: Cedar, Sylvan, and Hazel, on a 260-acre piece of land in rural Kentucky. For as long as they can remember, our children have been part of spring activities on the farm. They help us feed the baby chicks that arrive by mail in March. They learn to walk in the hoop house where their dad, Adam, plants seeds in February that will feed our community from May-October through our customizable CSA Farm Share program. It’s a wonderful, life enriching experience for them - but you don’t have to live on a farm to enjoy the life cycle of plants and animals. Now is a great time to bring the farm home and learn about spring growth with your own little ones!

Growing Plants with Kids - A Great Project for Spring!
In Kentucky, the prevailing wisdom is that we don’t plant outside until after Derby. That doesn’t mean we can’t start seeds inside. An egg carton, dirt and a few seeds are all you need to make your own “Egg Carton Greenhouse.” You can start seeds inside now and move them outdoors into the ground or a larger planter after the threat of frost is past.

Cherry tomatoes and peppers are great plants to grow at home in pots. They will continue to fruit and provide entertainment for your child all summer. If your child likes a reward sooner, fast-growing flowers like calendula and marigolds are beautiful and beneficial for the garden.

Kid-Friendly Crafts with Plants
Herbs are also very fun plants to start inside. This herb terrarium project uses baby herb plants to makes a beautiful centerpiece for under $15. It’s a great project to inspire creativity in  little kids and big kids alike! Plus, herb plants are priced by size, so buying small herb starts now is like an investment in your summer garden. They grow very fast and by May will be ready to be transferred to a bigger pot or planted outside. You can plant some established herbs (like lavender, thyme, and mint) directly in the ground in May and they’ll be able to survive the next winter. Others are more delicate (like rosemary) and should stay in a pot you can bring indoors next winter. Most seed packs or plant tags will give information about plant hardiness in our ‘planting zone’.

Be in the Know About Bugs
If you have a kid that enjoys bugs you have a great teaching moment. Bugs are essential to plant health. Bees and butterflies spread pollen. Some bugs like ladybugs and lacewings and help us by eating the pests that destroy crops. We are really lucky to have a great resource in the area. Idlewild Butterfly Farm teaches kids (and their parents) about beneficial insects and plants that attract good bugs, and hold events where you can learn more about how bugs help plants grow. It is fun to get supplies to raise a butterfly at home and release it. It’s even better if you raised a plant that butterflies love to feed your baby butterfly!

It’s OK if Your Project Doesn’t Work!
Life can seem like one giant science experiment - and with experiments come successes and failures. Sometimes that seed just won’t sprout. It’s ok - there is plenty to learn from a seed that doesn’t sprout as well as the seed that does. Half the fun is in exploring together with curious minds. If the plant doesn’t grow, draw a plant together that you imagined. Hypothesize about what might happen next time. Most importantly, have fun, no matter what the result. Each day on the farm can be an adventure if we let it, and the same can hold true when you bring the farm home.

Happy Farming!

About the Author:
Rae Strobel and Adam Barr are raising three small children on their 7th generation family farm in Rhodelia, KY. They also raise organic vegetables, pastured pork and chicken, and 100 % grass-fed beef. Their new customizable CSA / Farm Share makes getting fresh vegetables from a local farm easier than ever with an online order dashboard, home delivery, and flexible subscription options for every type of family. Learn more about their farm here.

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