Farm Share, Week 2

In our second week of membership in a local farm, the selection increased a bit. This week we took home spinach, tatsoi, arugula and collards (as before) plus radishes, peas and salad mix, all organic.

Since River and I left this morning for Costa Rica and Mark isn’t much of a vegetable eater, we gave our babysitter what she wanted, then gave away the rest on freecycle.

I couldn’t believe the response. At least 10-15 people responded to my free offer within the first hour. The demand for fresh, quality vegetables seems to be there, if only the price could be affordable. Of course, there is something special about knowing that your food was in the ground nearby just hours or days before eating it. I sampled the salad mix and thought it had a sweet, full taste, better than what I usually buy.

I took the peas with me to the airport and enjoyed them in the terminal while waiting for our flight. I bit into the sweet pods, taking in the smooth, young peas together with their crunchy exterior, Looking around at the bowls of processed cereal for sale for $5 and a variety of other processed, expensive, low-quality foods, I felt I was the luckiest person in the airport.

Community Supported Agriculture

This is my first year joining a Community Supported Agriculture program, or CSA. I’m a member of the Cherry Grove Organic Farm. I paid $330 for a half share (supposed to be appropriate for a family of two that regularly incorporates fruit or vegetables into their diets). That entitles me to a selection of fresh produce through this growing season. Today was the first pickup date.

I looked forward to it with anticipation and thumbed through my recipe books to find items that might use what I’d pick up this week. I knew there would probably be kale, so I marked a recipe for a cauliflower-kale bake.

I drove to the farm early this evening. It is located close to a residential neighborhood, in an area where I’d imagine land prices are quite high. I turned onto the gravel driveway. As the car rumbled up toward the farmhouse I felt like I really was entering an agricultural area – kind of hard to believe since it was so close to home.

The produce was in a barn, together with a bunch of equipment. There was a big bucket of arugula next to a scale, as well as spinach and tatsoi, a green I’ve never heard of. I was also able to grab a bunch of kale.

From there, I went to the supermarket to grab the rest of ingredients I’d need. The cauliflower-kale bake is on the menu, as is an Italian penne with spicy Italian sausage and spinach. I headed home with a bunch of vitamin-packed greens to experiment with this week. Somehow, it’s much more exciting knowing that they were just recently in the dirt nearby home.