On the Farm

This year, our family joined a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. Every Thursday, I drive to the farm to pick up a box of produce which represents our share of the CSA’s bounty. We joined for several reasons:

+ To enjoy fresh, organic, locally-grown vegetables and fruit.
+ To support farmers in our area. Back in the late winter when we bought into the CSA, we invested in the farm. As with any investment, we share in the risk (the possibility of a poor harvest due to rain, drought, pests, etc.) and in the reward (delicious produce). By paying up front for our share, we help the farm be more stable financially.
+ To break out of our vegetable rut.

I’ll be honest, there have been times in the last few years that I’ve grown tired of our local supermarket’s produce aisle. Some of the offerings look great – broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, etc. Other, less popular vegetables don’t look so good – perhaps because these other vegetables aren’t big sellers, they hang around the produce aisle and their quality drops. As I stick to what I know and what looks good, it seems like I cook these same vegetables over and over and over again.

Joining a CSA has helped us break out of the rut. In the spring, we enjoyed a variety of greens – some I was familiar with (spinach, different lettuces), and some I didn’t know what to do with (beet greens? What do you do with beet greens? Turns out, they’re delicious!) As the season progressed, we had purple beans (now I know that purple beans turn green when you cook them and then not only taste like green beans, but look like them too), edamame (while they taste good, we have yet to discover a good and quick way to shell them), and kohlrabi (we have yet to discover a good way to prepare it so it actually tastes good), etc. And of course, we had the familiar – peas, sugar snap peas, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, onions, garlic, potatoes, summer squash, zucchini, and more!

If you want to check out a CSA near you for next year, visit www.localharvest.org; the website will help you find the CSA farms closest to you.