Wednesday, July 02, 2008

csa day

This is our 3rd summer getting a CSA (community supported agriculture). We LOVE living in a place where this is possible. The deal is, we pay the farmer up front at the beginning of the season, and get fresh - sometimes harvested that morning produce once a week. This year we switched farms because our old farm didn't have a drop in our new town. So our new farm is Denison and the CSA lasts half the year! We've had a really late start to the growing season this year with really strange weather, but we've been pleased with our produce so far. It's technically a bit of a gamble - we pay the money, but if there is crazy weather and there's no harvest, we're out the money. But its pretty low-risk.

Anyway, some of you ask what we get in our basket, so I've decided to post it here. If you don't care, sorry. And I swear (Floridians), I'm not trying to make you jealous, maybe just giving you a bit of encouragement to move closer to us - or at least somewhere with some food you can eat grown nearby!

Also, if you have any great ideas about how to enjoy the food we're getting, post them in the comments so we can all learn from it.



Here's this week's harvest:
a HUGE head of lettuce
spinach
cucumbers
grape tomatoes
spring tomato
raspberries
radishes
shelling peas
new potatoes

4 comments:

Nicole Comer said...

Hi Megan!

Eric and I have thought about doing the CSA thing locally. We were too late this year because things got crazy in April and May. We have made more of an effort to eat organically and live sparingly. I find that we are happier in general.

Anyway, we bought a "Food Saver" so that we are able to buy more fresh and then flash cook it (or freeze it in some cases) and then we have fresh fruits and veggies for months to come - even when they are out of season. It will be great for the babies once they start to eat table food - that baby food in jars is crap.

Janine said...

Ok - I am utterly JEALOUS! My friend in Canada has the same thing going in her town too. She even gets to check off a list of preferred fruits and veggies too once a month.

Adam's tomato plants have been flooding us recently...last night he sauteed a green pepper, mushrooms, chicken, garlic, white wine..tossed in the tomato's at the very end. Enough so they cooked and got hot, but not completely soggy. Then tossed everything in some angel hair. It was quick, easy, and delicious!

The tomatoes taste like candy, so he and Lexi just snack on them plain all day too...

Oh, and I LOVE peas in my salad!

Janine said...

Ok, you guys rock! I automatically assumed I wouldn't find anything like this in my area...so after reading your post I went looking and found out one of the farms that is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER from our house participates. How exciting! Maybe we can sign up next year - looks like their's a waiting list...

Megan said...

Nicole - I would imagine your lives are a little nuts right now, but you should totally do the CSA next year - it makes things so much easier when feeding Ruby. I don't have to worry about where the food is coming from or what is in it (or leaching in it). I bet the food saver is helpful with that too.

Janine - You're so funny. I'm glad you found a farm for next year. Do you have a market nearby? At least your garden is doing well!