LEAF Night: week four

More beautiful produce, complements of City Fresh and LEAF.  What is LEAF?  To find out check out this post.

LEAF Night; week three

Today was our third week participating in the CSA program City Fresh here in Lakewood, Ohio. Above is a picture of the single share that Jon picked up this afternoon and consists of one bunch each of lemon balm, mint, garlic scapes, and green onions plus a pound of peas and a bag of popcorn.

For more information on CSA programs, City Fresh and LEAF, check out this post.

LEAF Night, week two

Today was our second week participating in the CSA program City Fresh here in Lakewood, Ohio. Above is a picture of the single share that we picked up this afternoon. It was a beautiful day so we rode to the library on our bikes where we picked up our produce. Our single share fits perfectly in my new bike basket which consisted of one bunch each of mint, radishes, garlic scapes, bokchoy, and green onions plus a pint of strawberries (my favorite) and 8 oz of maple syrup. Since we have a TON of mint growing in our back yard we traded it at the barter table for an extra bunch of garlic scapes. Apparently, a lot of other people are growing mint too, as 99% of the barter table had little baggies of mint on it. For more information on CSA programs, City Fresh and LEAF, check out this post.

As a reminder, there’s a lot of great stuff going on the next few days at Crafty Goodness including Drop In And Craft tomorrow (Thursday), Craftapalooza on Friday, and the Ears to You Earring Benefit on Saturday. Click on the links for more details.

LEAF Night, week one

Above is what our single share in the CSA program, City Fresh, looks like.  So for dinner tonight we made ourselves gigantic salads using some of the greens, rosemary, green onions, and garlic scraps.  We also added some carats, and apple that we had from Trader Joe’s as well as a few fresh basil leaves from our own garden.  We ate a few of the strawberries too.  Those were nice and tart, just how I like them!  For more information on CSA programs, City Fresh, and LEAF, check out my post from one week ago here.  It includes an overview of what these things are as well as links to the different websites in case you are interested in participating in the near future.

Road Worthy

Now that it’s summer it’s time to get the bikes out and tune them up!

Last weekend my husband and I went garage sale hunting and found the bike shown above.  It’s shown here after we took the parts we wanted, which included the seat, brake pads, handle bar grips, and wire basket.  Not bad for just $5!

The white handle bar grips, breaks, and seat were put onto my 10 speed pink Univega.  I’ve had this bike ever since I was about 15 years old.  Before that it was my Dad’s bike and I have no idea where he got it.  This bike is also sporting two brand new tires and inner tubes, compliments of my Dad.  (Thanks Dad!)

The basket went on our old Schwinn.  My Dad gave this bike to my husband a few years back since he didn’t have one.  Again I have no idea how old it is or where it came from.  If fact, that’s pretty much the way it is with a lot of things my Dad owns.  It probably came from and auction or a friend.

I’ve been riding the Univega for the last couple of weeks to go to my brother-in-law’s house and feed his dog everyday.   Yesterday was the first time Jon and I went out together for a ride.  We went down to the park on the lake then rode around town a while.  After we came back home we were talking about the bikes and decided to lower the seat on the Schwinn to see if I’d like the way it rides better.  I did.  I can’t really explain why, but it’s much easier for me to peddle and the brakes are a lot better (despite the fact we just put better brake pads on the Univega).  Since I ride everyday, Jon said he’d feel better if I would just use the Schwinn instead, and when he did want to use a bike he’d ride the Univega.

So that’s that, I have a bike that I really love riding and tomorrow I’m going to the local bike shop to get a few more necessities (bike lock, helmet, pump, and maybe a rear view mirror).

Tomorrow evening is our first LEAF night veggie pick up.  We’re planning on going to it in style on our bikes and carrying our produce back in a box strapped to the rear rake of the Univega and putting the rest in the basket on the Schwinn.

Biking is the most efficient form of transportation, so get on your bike today and go somewhere!

Spring Fest 2011

Today I had the pleasure of attending the First Annual Spring Fest on the front steps of the Lakewood Public Library.  As far as I can tell, LEAF (Lakewood Earth And Food) put on the Spring Fest event, which included a plant swap, hands on activities for children, local craft venders, Local food venders (cheese and honey) and a sampling of local restaurants.

But what is LEAF?

“LEAF is dedicated to the development of a more sustainable, healthful and economically viable community through environmentally responsible actions producing broad access to fresh, local foods, knowledge and culture.”

Every Wednesday Lakewood Earth And Food hosts LEAF Night Market (similar to Spring Fest) at the Lakewood Public Library which is the pickup location for several CSA (community supported agriculture) programs.  The program that Jon and I are participating in this year is called City Fresh.

City Fresh works with 16 local farmers to bring shares of produce to people throughout Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. LEAF Community volunteers work with City Fresh employees to manage the Lakewood Fresh Stop.

Chris (above left) was kind enough to explain to us how the process of picking up our produce on LEAF Nights will work.

How the program works: (taken directly from the LEAF website)
Shareholders are required to pre-pay for shares at least 1 week ahead. Low-income shareholders receive a discount. The price for the regular income shares is slightly padded to subsidize the low-income share cost and some administrative expenses. Ohio Direction Card is proudly accepted.  The program will run for approximately 20 weeks. Delivery will be weekly at LEAF Nights (Wednesdays a the Lakewood Public Library) starting on June 8th.

Jon and I are very excited about getting fresh, locally grown veggies on a weekly basis throughout the summer.  It’s something that we wanted to do when we lived in Sandusky, but since the farmers market was on Saturdays, we were never able to make it due to our jobs.

The following are some more photos I took today at Spring Fest.

mmmm…honey!

These are super fun and tasty! It’s like a liquid pixie stix!

Plant Swap!

Cheese from Lake Erie Creamery. This creamery is located in Cleveland and distributes all over this area, including the Catawba Island Club, right down the street from where I grew up!  Unfortunately, we weren’t in the market for any cheese this week, but the Goat Feta was really good and the young couple watching over this booth were super nice.  We were told that Lake Erie Creamery will have a booth at LEAF Nights every other week, so we’ll have to get some cheese next time around.

Robin of The T-Shirt Diaries.  Robin is an eco-friendly mom who makes really great upcycled clothing.  You can find some of Robin’s creations at my favorite local handmade shop, Crafty Goodness!

Puppies! LEAF Night is a dog friendly venue, as we saw many furry friends this evening. As you can see, these little guys really liked Robin’s booth too!

If you are in the Lakewood area I hope you come out the a LEAF Night in the future (every Wednesday from 5:30-8pm for the next 20 weeks).

For more news about events like this, like zween on facebook!