Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA Review

Do you see this crappily-staged photo of our box?  Did you notice I haven't been posting about the CSA?  I know it's too early to write a review, but clearly, I'm not going to post about my CSA boxed share anymore, so now is as good of a time as any.

When we started, I was very excited about being in a CSA.  I had talked about joining one for a long time, searched through all the farms in our area, and was happy to find one that sounded good (despite not great Yelp reviews) and that was both organic and vegan-friendly.  After taking the tour, I was excited at the prospect of not only the fruit and veggies it appeared we were getting, but by the idea of helping support a farmer.  No farms, no food, right?

I posted religiously so I could keep track of what we got to make sure this was a worthwhile endeavor.  As the weeks went by, I realized I haven't wanted to post about each weeks box because I've become so disillusioned with the whole process.  Here are the reasons I won't be rejoining the Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA:

1.  Both Chesterfield and Pennington are about an hour away.  Had they been more transparent about the differences between the farms (i.e. Chesterfield gets figs, Pennington does not, etc.) I would have joined Chesterfield instead since you seem to get a larger variety of items from there.  

2.  Chesterfield's season started sooner, due to weather issues which I understood.  But then they were going to allow on-farm pickup people to start PYO at Pennington earlier than the off-site, boxed share people...how is that fair?  I think if people hadn't started emailing about it, the boxed share people would have gotten a week or two less produce than the on-farm pickup people.  They don't seem to understand that they should treat all CSA members equally.

3.  I am STILL annoyed with the PYO program.  I don't like that if you do the PYO during the week, you get more than on the weekends.  I especially don't like that the amount they post online is about less than what they actually let you pick; and that when I questioned it, they acted like I was crazy.  It literally happened every single time.  And I'm saying they posted it, and I was there a half hour later...not five hours later...

4.  People picking up at the farm seemed to pay less, yet get more produce as well as more of a variety of produce.   By my perception from when we were there and there were a lot of on-farm pick up people picking up their shares.  I don't know that for a fact.

5.  The amount of greens I got was unmanageable for us, and unless I remembered to freeze it, a lot went to waste.

6.  They started having some man sell honey and beeswax products at the farm.  I know people are all like yay honey!  But honey doesn't have the beneficial properties it used to.  It did when it was seasonal and the bees weren't being fed fast food (aka sugar water).  Sorry, but I'm not interested in animal agriculture of any kind.

7.  Not a direct issue with the farm, but someone from my pick up location was rifling through the boxes and either swapping stuff or outright taking things.  So I had to switch from going after work to going on my lunch break which was very annoying.

8.  It didn't feel like a community coming together as much as I'm a customer who didn't really matter to such a large scale CSA. I think they cater more to their local community, which is a more high-end crowd, who I'm sure care more concerned with telling their friends they're in a CSA than they actually care about how the CSA is run.  I could be totally off about that, but based on some of the people on the tour, and the kinds of cars in the parking lot...I don't think I'm totally off base.

It wasn't the right CSA for me, but maybe it is for you.  If you live close to the farm and can get your CSA pickups from there and do the PYO during the week, then you are definitely going to get more bang for your buck than I did.  The produce was really good, fresh and crisp. I enjoyed the newsletters. The corn was phenomenal.  There was also a convenience factor to picking up a box of veggies without having to go search around the grocery store trying to figure out what was fresh that week.  Since the items weren't necessarily things I would buy on a regular basis, I had to think outside the box in using everything up.  Follow me on Instagram if you want to see what I've made.

I am on the fence about taking part in a CSA next year.  We did find some really great farmers markets near us.  Well, actually the ones near us, like Rutgers, does it during the week during work hours...perhaps they also want to cater to higher-income folks that don't work, who knows.  I mean, why make organic, locally grown produce easily accessible to middle and lower-middle-class folks...but that's a different discussion for another time.  But further away from us, there are great ones, selling produce from local, organic farms on the weekends.  We were thinking about going to a farmer's market on the weekend, put aside the same amount we were spending to be part of this CSA and buy our own produce.  Let's see if that works out better or not.  If not, then I'll try to find a CSA.

I'm not disappointed that we joined this CSA.  It was an interesting experience, and I am still very pro-CSAs.  I would recommend that everyone look into CSAs in their area.  Try it out for a season and see what you think.

Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA: Week 13 Pennington Premium Boxed Share

This week we picked up: 

spaghetti squash, potatoes, parsley, summer squash, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, hot peppers, slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, snap beans and a leek.

Things have been hectic, and there has been some food waste.  I hate food waste.  I have to get on top of using these veggies.  Thank goodness for the tomatoes.  My garden has been a mess this year thanks to the rain.  I need to pickle these bell peppers or freeze them, we can't eat them fast enough.  I've also been super sucky drying or freezing the herbs.  That's been annoying.  They're such nice bunches and I'm letting them go to waste.  And I have no clue what I'll do with the leek.  I braised them using a Martha Stewart recipe a million years ago, I may have to dig that up.

In terms of the CSA, I will say on weeks that I'm not cooking as much, it's been hard to use things up before they go bad.  I'm also on the fence regarding value.  At about $26 a week, I'm not sure it's worth it.  Also, having to get there early because some crappy person is either taking things out of boxes, or perhaps swapping stuff so they get the bigger produce, is annoying.  

The PYO (pick your own) stuff has seemed good with tomatoes, peppers, okra, herbs and flowers being offered.  But knowing that just because they list a pint and a half of something in the morning, that when I drive an hour there, it'll be down to only a half pint make it not worth it.  The whole situation with the PYO has really left a sour taste in my mouth about the CSA at Honey Brook.  If their attitude was more, "Thank you for telling us, that is something we'll work to correct" as opposed to "Sorry if that happened to you once...sorry YOU had such an EXTREME issue..."  Okay, that's not a direct quote, but you get the gist.  They acted as if I were making up a problem that didn't exist... If you post a quart, then it should be a quart.  If half way through the day, you have to reduce that to a pint, fine...but not right after you post it.  And to always reduce the amount you can pick on weekends...I mean come on.  Box share people can't come during the week, we shouldn't be penalized because I have to work and can only come on weekends.

Whateves.  I was so excited about this CSA, and now I'm getting more and more blah.

Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA: Week 11 and 12 Pennington Premium Boxed Share

I forgot to take a picture of the veggies from last week.  We were on vacation, had grabbed the box, threw everything in the fridge and ran back out the door. Sorry.  Here's a list of what we got: 

Cherry Tomatoes, Onions, Potatoes, Parsley, Chard, Heirloom Tomatoes, Shallots, Slicing Tomatoes, Summer Squash, Peppers, Watermelon.

Then last Tuesday, we went and picked up our Week 12 box.

Eggplant, Potatoes, Parsley, Sage, Chard, Heirloom Tomatoes, Peppers, Hot Peppers, Slicing Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes

If you want to see what we're going with our box, you should follow me on Instagram.  I made a black rice with bloody mary tomato salad from Anna Jones' book A Modern Way to Cook.  I also fried up a bunch of eggplant slices using panko and VeganEgg by Follow Your Heart.  I served it with a simple tomato, garlic, onion sauce for a quick weeknight dinner.

We even did some veggie sushi with tomato "tuna," mirin and rice vinegar pickled peppers, and carrot lox.  Nothing tasted really fishy, but everything was really good.

Sorry again for posting everything late.  In addition to the vacation, I was remodeling the bathroom.  I'll post links to that later.  I'll try to get Week 13 out on Wednesday.

Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA: Week 10 Pennington Premium Boxed Share

This week's box had:

Garlic, Onions, Potatoes, Parsley, Chard, Heirloom Tomatoes, Scallions, Shallots, Slicing Tomatoes, Summer Squash, Peppers, and a large Watermelon.

If I ignore the newly acknowledged bee keeper, the mismanagement of the Pick Your Own program and the inequality of the produce being given to on-farm pickup and boxed share people, then I will say I am really starting to feel like this CSA was a good idea.

In the beginning, all the greens were overwhelming.  But I understood, what's in season is in season.  We got through those greens, between salads and smoothies, and stir-fries.  It's just been extra nice to start getting the "good" stuff, the tomatoes, melons and squash.  I've even loved the onions, shallots, garlic and potatoes.  While inexpensive to buy, usually what you find in the store is old produce.  The fresh stuff is a whole different world.

That watermelon was so sweet. You know how to pick a good melon?  There should be a yellow patch on the bottom from where it naturally ripened in the sun, and it should feel heavy for its size.

I realized this box along with my large assortment of overgrown cucumbers, I have the makings for gazpacho!  I had it last night after the gym and today for dinner.  Mmm gazpacho...

Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA: Week 9 Pennington Premium Boxed Share

This week's box had:

kale, chard, parsley, garlic, tomatoes, onions, shallots, summer squash, jalapenos, bell peppers, scallions and potatoes.

I have so much kale growing in my yard, I don't really need extra kale!  But this kale is great for chips, my kale is better for salads, smoothies and juices.  I tried pickling scallions, but that didn't go well.  The color bleached to a pale gross color from the vinegar.  I'll keep trying, there has to be a way.  I will pickle the shallots, I have a recipe I've been meaning to try.

I used to grow potatoes but I stopped because it was such a hassle for something I can buy very inexpensively at the store.  Nonetheless I was excited for these potatoes.  There is nothing better than a fresh potato.  My husband used to wash them off when I'd harvest them and eat them raw.  The onions and potatoes you get from the grocery store were probably sitting in storage for months.

I still haven't bothered with the PYO as it's all been pint or half pints.  Not really worth it.  I wish someone else was documenting a CSA around here so I could see how this compares.  Heck, I wish the people in this CSA would comment on my posts so I'd know if us boxed share people really are getting the short end of the stick.  Oh well.  I like the produce we've been getting.  I don't like having to get to the pick up spot early to ensure no one's rifled through my box.  Like I said before, if they continue with this bee guy I'll have to find a new place.  I don't care what anyone says about this is how we've always done it.  That's bs.  We can all survive on fast food, but it's unhealthy and bad for us.  If you're replacing the bees healthy food with fast food, i.e. sugar water, how can you not expect it to have a negative effect on them.  This isn't rocket science, just common sense.  Just saying.

Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA: Week 8 Pennington Premium Boxed Share

Parsley, Cilantro, Sweet Corn, Cherry/Grape and Regular Tomatoes, Salad Onions, Beets, Salad Mix, Summer Squash, Sweet Peppers, and Kale.

I got there early this week so I didn't have any issues with people with sticky fingers.  

The corn at Honey Brook is amazing.  Seriously.  The best corn I've ever had.  They literally cost 10 times what the corn at the grocery store is going for, but I want to say it's worth it because it's really that much better.  Super crisp and so sweet.  I cook them for 1 minute on high pressure in my Fagor Lux Electric Pressure Cooker with 3/4 of water.  When it's done, do a quick release of the pressure and voila!  So much easier and faster than boiling a big pot of water.

I don't know what's going on with the PYO.  I haven't really looked into it.  I'm rather disillusioned with that whole process.  I was so excited to be part of a CSA and while I think the value is there, and I whole heartedly believe in CSAs and I think everyone should join one, this might have just been the wrong one for us.  But it's hard to find organic farms near us.  There are also no good farmer's markets...except for one at Rutgers that is only open during the day on Friday (wtf is up with that?  So regular working folk can't have access to the produce?).  There are also very few farms that don't support animal agriculture.  There is one that's run by vegans but it's way up North.  

When it gets to be time to join a CSA, I'll make up a chart and share it on here, listing who's doing it and whether they're vegan-friendly, organic, etc.  Until then, hope you're all enjoying your summer.

Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA: Week 7 Pennington Premium Boxed Share

Yup.  That's it.  Kale, cabbage, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, basil, two peppers and a tiny melon.  My onions are missing.  It kinda looked like someone was in my box.  Maybe they swapped out their smaller things for my bigger stuff?  Maybe they stole my onions?

I'll have to get there earlier.  I feel like the other boxes are worth what I was paying.  

This box....not so much.  This box looks more like a personal share than a premium share.  Other CSA's post pics of what they're putting out that week.  I wish they did that here.  I'll try to get there earlier next week.  Hopefully, my box won't be so lame.

Also, this might be my last getting a CSA box from Honey Brook anyway.  One of the primary reasons I chose this farm was because they didn't support any animal agriculture.  They now apparently have a beekeeper who's selling honey and beeswax.  Seriously?  Bleh.

What's my issue with honey?  Way back when, honey did have a lot of amazing properties.  It was also a seasonal item sold in limited quantities.  Now it's being mass produced year round, with bees being fed a constant fast food diet of sugar water (not good for you, not good for them) and constantly terrorized with billowing smoke.  Now, if someone consistently made you think your house was on fire, so they could steal all your stuff, would you be happy and calm or living in a constant state of fear?  I don't believe the honey being produced today in the current "traditional" method is producing anything that resembles the honey that used to be good for you.  I want no part of that crap, so I'm going to start looking into different CSA's for next year.  I'll keep you posted.