Now that I've joined @flourgrrrl Heather Sennett's 'COOKING AWAY MY CSA' CHALLENGE along with over 30 other bloggers I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to revive this Blogger account.
I started out my CSA affiliation as one of the 15 founding members (many of the organizing meetings were held in my living room at the Ontario House...) of Iowa's first CSA - the Magic Beanstalk CSA in Ames, Iowa. At the time I was part of an "intentional community" (commune was not a PC term anymore) and we made the daily evening meal something that was not optional. It was a great way to build community, and we would often have as many as a dozen people "just show up" for the incredible food made fresh daily by one of us. Brian always made sure dessert was on the menu as well, and from time to time Larry Myer and others would stop by with their guitars, providing hours of entertainment and fellowship.
Today, and several CSA's later, my wife Diane and I are returning members of the Tipi CSA in Evansville, WI and this year we decided to "go it alone" committing to take on a share all by ourselves. We have (almost) always eaten well, but decided we really needed to get even more fresh veggies into our diet. So we purchased a really nice All-American Pressure Canner (made here in Wisconsin!) to go along with my old food dehydrator, and I am reviving some of the food preservation skills learned from my mom back in the day that have been dormant for nearly a decade.
Yesterday we received the third box of the season which was packed full of fresh CSA goodness. This week's box contained strawberries, purple asparagus, red leaf lettuce, spinach, cilantro, scallions, and escarole. Actually I should say "I" received, as Diane is on a mother daughter vacation and I am back home with several pounds of healthy greens. Will definitely be sharing some of the bounty with co-workers this coming week!
The photo above is the wonderful salad I am enjoying as I write. The chives and green garlic are left over from last weeks box, and I topped it all off with some Fair Trade Himalayan Sea Salt (HimalaSalt), cracked Mangalore Pepper Corns from Ruth Ann at the Spice House here in Wauwatosa, and finally some Fair Trade Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Nablus in the West Bank. The whole salad includes spinach, cilantro and scallions in addition to the chives and green garlic.
I hope you have enjoyed the post, looking forward to the coming season, and the "Cooking Away My CSA" Challenge! See you soon!
