Food Group: CSA

Dear community of happy, lettuce-loving people,

We have been so happy with our work-share CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture)!

Yeah, we gots turnip greens down here.

We paid up-front for twenty weeks of produce - this allows us to share in the risks and benefits of farming, with the farmer.  He has cashflow to get through the year, and if a crop goes bad we all suffer together; if a crop flourishes, we all prosper together!

Sad Fridge

Happy Fridge!

What is a CSA, and how can I find one near me?
Why a CSA is not the same thing as a weekly veggie-subscription

We opted for a work-share so we received a bit of a discount in exchange for putting in some hours on the farm.  This is one of the best features of our CSA!  I was definitely hoping to find a CSA where we could participate in order to learn more about gardening and farming practices.  We get to know the farmer, his family, chat with them, email with them, and learn from them.

Once a week, we pick up our box of solid gold bouillon (a.k.a. fresh produce) at the farmer's market near our house, one of several designated "drop" sites for CSA members.

We also got to pick some strawberries in their field and paid by the pound, and they disappeared in rapid fashion as soon as we got them home...

Our CSA is not certified organic because they just purchased the land last year.  However, the farmer never uses any chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides) on his crops.

By only three weeks in we had received turnips, Swiss chard, kale, many different varieties of lettuce, arugula, mizuna, tatsoi, strawberries, bok choy, and more!

I thank God for this rich, rich blessing of produce and community!!

Mrs H
twitter.com/_mrs_h

A Real Strawberry Milkshake 
Good luck going back to fast-food shakes after this one ... they can't even begin to compare!  

Strawberries, fresh and/or frozen
Vanilla or french vanilla ice cream (homemade is best!)
Milk
Optional: Ice

Scoop vanilla ice cream into the bin of a blender or an immersion-blender cup.  Pile in strawberries - you can use just a few, or up to a half-and-half ratio.  Pour in enough milk to blend easily; while blending, if the shake is too thick to blend, add a little more milk.  If you want the shake a little less thick, continue adding milk.  Add malted milk powder if you want a malt!

To make your smoothie stretch a little farther without increasing the calories too heavily, add ice and additional milk and blend very, very thoroughly; it will not be as creamy, but it will still be incredible.