Our Last Week Of Farm Deliveries - Was It Worth It?

Today was our last week of receiving produce from our CSA.  On the left, you can see what was in our bag - a big, beautiful spaghetti squash, beets, apples (which have been delicious!), green leaf lettuce, green beans, and mesclun greens.  I don't have a clue what to do with mesclun greens, but I will learn this week by checking my favorite recipe web sites.  Our season began the first week of June and ran for 20 weeks.  It's funny because we started and ended with greens - something I had not expected.  But don't get me wrong.  I am not complaining.  I have learned to love greens which, until this past season, were nowhere on my radar screen.  The first couple of weeks, we received primarily greens, with the addition of fresh garlic (the best I have ever had), spring onions, asparagus and lettuce.  As you can see from the photo, we now receive a bounty of yummy fruits and vegetables with our "fall" greens. 

Throughout the season, there have been ups and downs with the produce we have gotten.  The cherries and strawberries were small and bitter.  The Asian pears tasted more like potatoes than fruit (although they yielded a delicious pear cake).  And speaking of potatoes, due to the heavy rains, we only got them once and, although they were very tasty, there weren't many of them.  But, when you join a farm, you are part owner, so to speak, and if there is a rough season for some of the produce, you share in whatever the output may be.  It's what I expected. 

In spite of the few disappointments mentioned above, however, overall I was very pleased with what we received.  As I said before, all the greens were incredible.  I have occasionally purchased greens from the market and, for lack of a better word, they always had a "smell" to them.  Plus, they always made me sick - stomach upset, pain - symptoms that had once led me to believe I was possibly allergic to raw spinach, Kale, and lettuce.  With the greens we got from the farm, I never once got sick.  I felt perfectly fine, in fact, with all the food I ate, whether it was peaches, apples, beets, eggplant, squash, or greens.  Which leads me to believe that I am "bothered" by whatever they spray on fruit and vegetables to either get them to market or to keep them looking good enough to sell at a market.  Not necessarily the pesticides they may use, but preservatives, anti-fungals, and other things that were not used on the produce we got from our farm.  Sadly, even some "organic" produce from a conventional market bothers me.  Maybe it's what they wash it with to make it presentable.  I mean, the stuff from our farm was often covered in dirt - nice pure earth that I enjoyed washing off to get to the treasure that lay beneath.  It was like I had grown it and picked it myself!

Will I join the CSA next year?  I would really like to.  My husband thinks that at $500, it was expensive.  But over 20 weeks, that comes out to just $25 a week.  I could easily spend more than that on produce at the grocery store.  Yes, I had to still buy carrots, onions, peppers, and potatoes from the store since they did not grow them on our farm (normally they do grow lots of potatoes, but the crops were largely ruined this year).  But, as a rule, I planned my meals around what I knew was coming from our CSA.  On Monday, we received an e-mail telling us what we would be getting each Thursday.   And during peach and apple season which covered more than half of the time we received the produce, I ate at least a fruit a day - sometimes 2 or 3.  They were so good!

Many of you have asked me about our CSA and if I would recommend joining one.  The answer is definitely yes. 

It's been a while since I have written in here.  Lots going on with my boys!  I hope you are enjoying this fall season.   Until next time, happy and healthy eating!