For the last few summers, I've been considering joining a CSA, and this year I finally did it! Community supported agriculture is a way to obtain fresh, local produce in your area. While they all operate slightly differently, I joined one that members pay at the beginning of the season and go to one central location to pick up each week for 24 weeks. The share that you get each week varies depending on the current crops, so it's always a bit of a surprise. You also have the option to pay for the fruit share, or buy meat, dairy, and eggs. Because you become a partner in the farm, everyone is asked to take turns setting up and cleaning up the distribution site and you have the opportunity to visit the farm to get to the know area and your farmer.
When you buy vegetables in the supermarket, you certainly don't know where they came from or the name of the farmer. (Hi Farmer John!) Buying local vegetables means that your vegetables didn't have to be shipped long distances, thus protecting the environment and ensuring you get the freshest produce available.
The challenge to me each week is making sure I use everything up, since the shares are huge! I used a few of Martha's recipes as pictured below for a few things including radishes and salad dressing.
1 All kinds of leafy greens, including lettuce, spinach, arugula, and totsoi. Also radishes, peas and garlic scapes.
2 Glazed radishes
3 Mixed greens with home made vinaigrette
4 Sauteed spinach with lots of garlic
5 My first time working with garlic scapes - I chopped them up and made pesto!
6 My cooking partner-in-crime, Rachel, braised her radishes and garlic scapes with carrots
7 I love fresh peas right out of the pod
8 Almost 8 month old Simon is enjoying his steamed peas
From: More CSA Greens! - Martha Stewart Living Radio: The Radio Blog | 6/28/11 at 1:54 pm
[...] week 2 at my CSA (community supported agriculture)! Here in the North East we have all kinds of fresh greens and [...]
From: Week Three with My CSA Veggies - Martha Stewart Living Radio: The Radio Blog | 7/9/11 at 7:47 am
[...] week’s CSA vegetables brought me a few surprises. I picked up my vegetables, as I do weekly from a local [...]
From: Week Four of My CSA Delivers Cauliflower, Daikon, and Kale - Martha Stewart Living Radio: The Radio Blog | 7/13/11 at 1:59 pm
[...] month into this season's CSA, and things are starting to get interesting! I'm getting a little more creative as the seasonal [...]
From: More Farm Fresh Veggies from My CSA - Martha Stewart Living Radio: The Radio Blog | 8/2/11 at 3:18 pm
[...] weeks into the harvest season of my CSA, where I get my fresh vegetables weekly, and I'm overwhelmed by the variety! Now that it's [...]