« Fat Fashion Thursday - The Shower | Main | Congratulations, Jimmy! »
16 May, 2008CSA Week One!
Yesterday began my CSA share with Mattawoman Creek Farms for this growing season! A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a program in which consumers support a local farm by subscribing and paying a seasonal fee in exchange for receiving fresh local produce each week. CSAs are awesome and here are a few reasons why:
- You get local produce on a weekly basis.
- It’s certified organic, no fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides on your food!
- You know exactly where your food is coming from and you are supporting a local farm.
- You’re keeping food dollars in your own community.
- You’re ensuring the farmers get the fairest price for their products, and with a “guaranteed market” for their produce, the farmers can invest their time in actually farming rather than looking for buyers.
- You will truly be eating seasonally, which has the least impact on the environment (no blueberries shipped from Latin America in February) and ensures the most flavor and the freshest food.
The food is grown right here on Virginia’s eastern shore, and is delivered once a week to a local organic market in Norfolk, where subscribers pick it up. Mary is a member this year too so we’re taking turns picking up each week. My mom also subscribed (Virginia Beach members have a different pickup location). Here’s what we got this week! Lotsa leaves!
Bok Choi. A type of Chinese cabbage. Awesome in stir fries or just sauteed by itself with a little sesame oil, soy sauce and seasoned rice vinegar, then throw some toasted sesame seeds on top. You can eat the leaves and stems.
Tatsoi. Another Chinese cabbage. I sauteed about half the head this morning in a little olive oil and sprinkled with some turmeric and garam masala for a little green at breakfast. You can also eat the leaves raw in a salad or throw them in a soup when it’s nearly done heating up.
Red Oakleaf Lettuce. Made a big salad with this and some of the other lettuce along with some artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers for lunch.
Waldmann’s Green Leaf Lettuce. So curly and crisp looking!
Mizuna. A type of mustard green that can be used in most recipes calling for
cooking greens. It’s good in fried rice or thrown into a soup. Also not bad in a green salad!
Purple Osaka Mustard Greens. These leaves are kinda thick and have a great color. They also have a bit of a spicy kick. Leaves and stems are good for stir fries or steamed.
Greek Oregano. Smells SO awesome when you pinch a bit between your fingers. You can chop this up and add to everything from tomato sauce for pasta to salad dressing to egg or tofu dishes (think omelets). You could throw it in a marinade for veggies or throw some on top of potatoes just before they’re done roasting. Mary said she’s using them in the Fat Free Vegan’s Mini Crustless Tofu Quiche which sounds heavenly. Today is overcast and rainy so I think it’s just the occasion to use some of mine in Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Seasonal Herbs with some of the rosemary from my own garden. Lovely!
Anyone else participating in a CSA this year? For more information or to find a farm in your area that offers subscriptions, check out LocalHarvest.
Comments
i just joined the CSA here in phoenixville! we're really lucky here, we have three CSAs and all of them are full! we also have a farm market here and there's a farm that sells meat-stuffs too. my overall goal is to try and eat all local food. the CSA i belong to is cool, they also have a dairy, so i can get yogurts, milk and cheeses when i go get my share for the week. :)
We considered a CSA, but we have so much fun going to the weekly farmer's market that we decided against it this year. Also, the closest one requires a 45 minute drive to pick-up..and that seems to really negate the "local" aspect, when the farmer's market is within walking distance (and the farmers that vend there are all within a 20 mile radius!)
We both work at the farmers' market in NoVA, so we have no need for a CSA. We were able to get almost all of our produce from the market through the winter this past year, which was amazing. We have to challenge ourselves to buy something each week that's outside of our comfort zone so we're trying new things like we would with a CSA.
We also did a bunch of canning and freezing, so we never had to buy jalepenos, tomato sauce, pickles, beans.... The taste difference is amazing. I don't know that I can ever go back to traditional grocery store shopping.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Ours starts Tuesday! WOOT!
http://www.47thavefarm.com/
My dad (who lives in Va Beach) received a CSA share from Mattawoman Creek Farms as a gift for Christmas, and like you, picked up his first produce yesterday. They have sold out of shares for this season, although they do have a wait list and bring any extra along to sell when the shares are distributed. I am definitely considering it for myself for next year. I also think it makes a great gift!
Hi there!
I'm just as excited as you are about our CSA. I'm from Maryland and we joined Sandy Spring CSA this year which uses Calvert Farm. I just picked up my first box on Monday and have been cooking and baking up a storm. I'm blogging about it for the next 20 weeks at Test Drive Kitchen (www.testdrivekitchen.blogspot.com)
Best,
Karen
Thanks for posting the Local Harvest link! I did this through my company when I worked in DC a few years ago, but I forgot all about it.
Ooh, very leafy / greeny!
Wow that looks great, I love the leafy stuff! It makes my mouth water, I hope you will share pictures of the finished meals :)
Awesome! I'm glad you took a picture of this - it will be fun to look back on everything over the season.
I've been gone all weekend thinking about how I'm going to use the greens, haha.
I haven't seen any moths in my bag!
Hey Amber, I just wanted to say that I recently found your blog, and you rock! I'm just about to close on my first house, and your decorating posts have given me some awesome ideas! I'm going to have an office/knitting room, so I'm super excited to give it my own style. I also think it's neat that you're doing a CSA. I just found out about one in my area, and am planning to sign up as soon as I get all moved. So thanks for the inspiration :)
Your CSA is awesome. Our CSA has a lot of meat with it, so instead I frequent our farmer's market.
