CSA – Hooray!
Teal Tigner, Clean Air-Cool Planet
By Teal Tigner
Corporate Program Consultant
Clean Air-Cool Planet
I have always loved vegetables. I’m probably the only 5 year old who asked for a dinner of steamed veggies … with a side of French fries, of course. I mean, I was still 5 even if I DID love vegetables. Fortunately, my love of veggies has continued into my twenties (so has my love of French fries, but that pesky metabolism thing mandates a reduction in their appearance). And, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more adventurous in my veggie choices. I’ve always loved okra, but moving to the East Coast 8 years ago gave me a whole new appreciation for squash varietals as well as rare, yet tasty, fiddleheads. But this winter and spring I found myself in a veggie rut. I was making the same spicy butternut squash boats and chicken parmesan stuffed acorn squash. I needed to branch out, but my local Stop & Shop wasn’t inspiring me. Enter my next door neighbors….
Last year, Kevin and Laura jumped on the chance to sow and reap the harvests of their own labors by signing up for a shared farm plot at Fodor’s Farm, right around the corner from us. Sadly, my fiancé and I recognized that we would not have the time to manage our own farm plot, so we set out in search of another solution. After talking to our neighbors, we heard about Stone Gardens’ Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program… and signed right up. Each week for 22 weeks, we get a ton of basic fresh vegetables including multiple types of lettuce, bok choy, swiss chard, salad fixings, and kale. In addition we get weekly “cool” vegetables, as I call them. These are the different, seemingly exotic veggies that you cannot find at most supermarkets. And, more often than not, you have to find a recipe in order to figure out what to do with them – although sautéing seems to be a safe bet for just about everything. So far, my favorite veggie has been Kohlrabi. Like the translation of its name implies, Kohlrabi is similar to a cabbage/turnip blend yet has the consistency of a potato (again with those French fries!). While Kohlrabi tops my list of “cool” vegetables, that list literally changes every week as we get new and exciting grab bags of fresh produce.
What’s even better is that cooking dinner has become fun againl For a while we were in a “couscous and salad” or “grilled chicken and salad” rut. The CSA share has put us back in touch with our cookbooks and spice rack…and has added a creative element back into cooking. In addition, we’re eating less because the produce is so flavorful. Lettuce, that green watery stuff that rarely has its own flavor sans salad dressing, has layers of flavor. Salad dressing is out the window. Now I can have a delicious bowl of mixed greens and taste pepper, lemon, and grassy goodness just by munching my way to the bottom of the bowl. And, because of the weekly herb plants we receive as part of our share, our backyard herb garden is exploding, making even my Sunday night Penne taste better. But most of all, it means something to me that I know where my food comes from and who is behind its lifecycle. I even e-mail with Monica, the lady who runs our CSA and is responsible for growing everything we’re eating. That’s much better than simply exchanging pleasantries with the Stop & Shop check out lady. Granted, our CSA goodies have dirt and the occasional garden slug on them. But that’s an easy tradeoff when I consider the benefits of eating local, supporting local businesses, and increasing my overall well being.
Tags: community shared agriculture, community supported agriculture, CSA, farming, food and climate, garden, neighborhood gardens, vegetable garden
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