CSA - Week 1

This past Wednesday we got our very first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) bag. We're splitting a regular share with some friends, so really we're getting a "mini" share. This is probably all we can tolerate as we're not really veggie lovers. But, after reading Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - I realized that we really ought to be eating more plants. And I definitely buy into the whole "buy organic and buy small farms, as local as you can" movement. I'm reading Food Matters by Mark Bittman right now, and the statistics on big farming's effects on the environment are fascinating. So, for me, buying extraordinarily fresh, i.e. picked that morning, veggies from the farm 2 miles away is a very exciting idea.

But how will I survive in practice? Getting a bag of vegetables every week - stuff that is not broccoli, carrots, cauliflower or greenbeans (the extent of our vegetable repertoire)?? Well, luckily - or unluckily - for you, you get to watch and see.

This past week, we got: lettuce (score, something Doug will eat!), baby bok choi, escarole, swiss chard, garlic scapes, strawberries, some mustard greens, some other kind of leafy lettuce-ish green, basil and oregano. This one bag contained more leafy greens for one week than I buy in a year - and no, I'm not kidding. The first few weeks of a CSA are all leafy greens and I've never been a leafy green girl.

So what did I do with it? The baby bok choi went into a stir fry - chicken, loads of ginger, green beans and bok choi in a nice sauce. It was really good, definitely a keeper. The mustard greens went to Melissa in their entirety because no one here enjoys them. The escarole and swiss chard got steamed and then sauteed with chopped up garlic scapes, garlic, butter and salt. They cook down to a tiny amount and I'm in the process of suffering through eating them. It turns out I really do not like a big bowl of sopping wet, mushy greens. I'm putting them on Triscuits. The smug feeling of goodness that I'm getting from eating healthy for me and healthy for the environment food is pulling me through, although let's just say greens season needs to hurry itself along. I have big plans for this week's greens that don't involve mushiness.

The oregano went into the trash. I'm sad to admit it but I washed that stuff a lot, and it still had dirt and bugs on it. Plus, I am not really a huge fan of fresh oregano. I gave Melissa all of the basil, since I have not one, but two varieties of basil growing on my deck. I still have a couple of garlic scapes. I have no idea what I'll do with them. The strawberries are getting put into Doug's oatmeal in the morning. The non-"plain old lettuce" lettuce-looking thing went into salads for me for lunch.

So what is the score card? Well, I'm proud that I made it through the first bag with relative success. I'm still looking forward to getting another bag, which is critical since I have like 5 months of this in front of me! I give myself a B+. Lack of creativity precluded me from the A. Here's the individual breakdown:

Erica: ate more leafy greens than average. Feels sense of accomplishment for using almost everything in CSA bag. Feels like part of a community for joining CSA.

Doug: got strawberries in his oatmeal. Ate additional leafy greens in the form of lettuce on his sandwich (has to be a net positive, right?). Feels sense of relief that I didn't make him eat swiss chard.

Elisabeth and Charlotte: completely unaware that anything has changed. Had their bowl of frozen peas at dinner.

(did I mention that recently I told Elisabeth that I was going to grow broccoli in the garden and she said "mommy, broccoli comes from the freezer, not the garden..."?)