CSAness

Despite my gardening ambitions, this is the first year I joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The idea is that you buy a share in a farm early in the season, then you get produce weekly. The risk is that with floods or draught you may not get much of a return on your investment.

It's amazing how many CSA farms there are in Utah. In my area alone there were 10-12 farms to choose from. I chose Zoe's Garden for several reasons: they are natural/organic, they include fruit (many just have vegetables), and the shares are larger with more variety.

One month into the season, I've been thrilled with the whole thing. each Tuesday I go and pick up my box. I sort through it and make a weekly menu based on what needs to be used first and what will keep until the end of the week. Then, I go the the grocery story to buy grains and meats to go with the meals.

I love using vegetables that I have never cooked with before (Chinese snow broccoli, mustard greens, amaranth, and scrapes). The only downside - so far - has been the fact that you get what is in season...and sometimes a lot of it. After never eating sunchokes before I received a huge bag of them for three consecutive weeks. I've eaten sunchokes sauteed, mashed, roasted, shaved, and just about every other way you can eat them. It was a bit of an overload.