This is one of those weeks where I am really glad (again) that we chose the bi-weekly option. Wow, look at all of that! (And by the way, I never did post the photo of our 7th share — we were busy getting our stuff together for NC. It was similar to the 6th.)
Anyway, I was very excited about all of it: two heads of lettuce (I was bad and picked the two biggest ones I could find because we’ve been eating lots of salads); three leeks; red potatoes (I picked the smallest ones for salads); gorgeous tomatoes; green beans; four cucumbers; an eggplant (roasted and ready to be made into bharta for part of tomorrow’s dinner); one summer squash, one zucchini; two peppers; onions; scallions; basil, cilantro, and parsley; a watermelon; one head of garlic; and PYO flowers. Delicious. We all know that veggies are nature’s best fat burners.
This share is bittersweet. I love it because it’s just so full, but at the same time that means that everything is being harvested and summer’s ending. In this week’s newsletter they wrote about planting fall crops (same as the spring) and things coming full circle. Another season ends and one begins.
Lately we’ve been rethinking our participation in the CSA. We love it, we really do. But it’s an expense that we are considering cutting. When I think of the tat soi, bok choi, and other vegetables that (try as we may) we just don’t like, well… It seems like a waste just to feed the compost and our woodland friends. We’re thinking of taking a year off and I’ll keep track of how much I spend on produce to see if it’s worth it. This year I didn’t have the time to enjoy the challenge of trying many new recipes and some weeks were frustrating. I also felt incredibly bound by what we have. For example, even if we really wanted spinach salad we didn’t have it if there was no spinach in the farm share. So we’ll see. I’m going to try to purchase from local farmer’s markets in order to get the same high-quality of produce. The one in Rhinebeck is pretty spendy, but I’ve heard positive things about the one in Hyde Park. I’ll check that out soon.
At any rate, yeah. September. Just… wow.
It’s always interesting reading about your CSA because in Nevada we don’t get fresh produce, ever, unless people drive over the hill just to sell it here. By that time, the price is a premium. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in a place where things grow. 🙂