Sep 10 2008
In Support of Our Local CSA
About 5 months ago, I made the best decision that I have all year, and I invested in a share at one of our local CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). Having never been a part of one, I had no idea what to expect, but at this stage of the game, I have nothing but positive things to say!
Nothing gives me more pleasure than knowing I am cooking with quality ingredients, and the CSA has given me that and more. Every Wednesday I am lucky enough to receive juicy vine ripened tomatoes, stunning purple pole beans, crisp lettuce, ruby beets, and much much more. The best part is, all the produce we’ve gotten is completely organic, and every single week, I get to speak with the hard working farmer family who grows my food. It’s extremely cool, and makes me less inclined to waste the food that I am given. And the taste far surpasses the mealy tomatoes and limp lettuce we would pick up in a typical grocery store.
Besides having quality food, it makes me feel good that I am supporting a local farm family instead of a mega corporation. My food is grown literally like 8 miles from my house, and you know, there is something to be said for that.
Tonight I got one of my favorite things in our shipment, rainbow chard, which I put to use in a lovely black eyed pea soup.
I took about 4 cups of black eyed peas (soaked overnight), a ham shank, enough water to cover the peas and cooked them in the crockpot all day long over low heat. Once we got home, I chopped up the chard (picked just this morning!) and threw it into the soup right before I served it. By the time I dished it out, the chard had wilted, but still had plenty of bright flavor and it added a dash of lovely emerald color to the dish. Voila! Easiest dinner ever.
If you are interested in participating in your local CSA, this is a great site to check out:
http://www.localharvest.org/
Not only will this direct you to the CSA nearest you, you can also find local farmers markets and u-pick farms. Happy food hunting!
