Community Supported Agriculture, Week 17

Once we are adults, there seem to be fewer and fewer things that wholly change the course of one's eating habits.  I have had some people tell me in the past that the issue of food politics, where our food comes from, and supporting small farms, is best taught to youngsters because adults are too "far gone" to really change on a fundamental level.  I am convinced that a huge exception to this rule is community supported agriculture (CSA) and what it can teach us.

In November, we joined a CSA for the first time.  After a lot of research, we decided to subscribe to Eatwell Farm's weekly box.  I have known Nigel Walker, the farmer, for a few years and knew that we would be in good hands with his CSA.  Eatwell Farm is a certified organic farm located 68 miles from San Francisco with a CSA program that is in it's 10th year.

This week, we received our 17th box.  I can say that without a doubt, subscribing to a CSA has completely changed the way we eat.  Our meals at home are now much more reactive than proactive, but in only the best sense of the term.  Instead of doing the work to decide what's at the peak of the season ("I know there are oranges at the market right now, but aren't they almost at the end of the season?  Are they still sweet?  Where are those tomatoes coming from?  How were they grown?"), and what is from our local foodshed, we pick up a box of fruits and vegetables that the farmer has decided he wants us to have because they represent the best that his farm has to offer that week.

One argument that I have heard against joining a CSA is that "I love shopping at farmers' markets each week."  I love shopping at the markets too, and still do.  CSA membership and market shopping go hand in hand, but instead of lugging all the essentials home I use the market to append to what I already have.  I find the market to be a much more pleasant experience when I know that I have the basics at home already. 

Each week in our box, we receive a newsletter from the farm that talks about the week and anything that is going on at the farm.  This type of communication puts me in touch with my food in a way that I have never been connected before.  At the very beginning of the year when we had terrible storms in the Bay Area, we received a newsletter talking about the damage done to the farm (power out, damage to the power source), and the reasons why Eatwell Farm fared so much better than some (the quality of the soil absorbed the rain correctly) -- all things that I may have been able to find out at the farmers' market if I asked the correct questions and if the farmer had time to talk with me.

I still have the note from that week on our refrigerator:

We do not have running water on the farm due to the weekend storms.  Your vegetables are unwashed today and quite muddy.  Instead of lettuce, you have organic walnuts from Dixon Ridge Farms.  You may have a butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes.  We were also not able to wash eggs.  You will receive double eggs with your next box.  Thanks for your understanding.

So much about this note makes me smile.  The fact that there are so many changes to the box, the fact that they substituted lettuce with walnuts (because they're so similar), and fact that the note reminds me of how muddy the food was that week.  I received one item in a plastic bag and I literally had no idea what it was until I washed and washed for about two minutes - to finally find a watermelon radish in a huge clump of mud.  Jason and I were fascinated because we had never seen mud with such a clay-like consistency.  We actually ended up calling Nigel on the way to Sacramento one day to see if we could go see the farm after the storm.  "It's not in very good shape," he replied, but I persisted that we wanted to see it during the winter, and he acquiesced.  The pictures that you see in this post were from that day, and as you can see the farm was gorgeous and in amazing shape. 

As we have turned into a CSA household, I find myself really embracing certain books and cooking methods more than ever:

* In most of his books, Mark Bittman recommends a method of cooking greens that involve heating a small amount of oil in a pan, sauteeing greens for 2 or three minutes over high heat, then adding spices and chicken stock (about a cup for a pound of veggies) and cooking a few more minutes (I usually cover, but it depends on the vegetable).  The beauty of this recipe is how many variations there are of it.  You can cook it with peanut oil, ginger, and a bit of soy sauce for an Asian influenced dish, or with olive oil and red peppers for a more Italian dish.  I have used this cooking method with broccoli, cabbage, spinach, tatsoi, chard, kale, and brussels sprouts. 

* To support our new CSA food routine, I stock large amounts of brown rice, beans, lentils and baked smoked tofu to give us proteins and help round out a meal featuring our CSA veggies.

* Any time you we have root vegetables that we are stumped by, we roast them.  You can try this with one or many types of root veggies combined together.  I dice them all into same-sized cubes, add a small amount of olive oil and salt, then roast them in the oven at 400 degrees.  The amount of time depends on the size of the dice, but it usually takes about 30 minutes.  I have tried this on different combinations of sweet potatoes, butternut squash, rutabagas, and turnips.  The roasting adds a dimension of flavor that is wonderful by itself or added to a dish such as soup, rice dishes, or pastas.

* Elizabeth Schneider's book Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini: The Essential Reference has proven to be a very valuable resource when I get something in the box that I haven't used much before.  While I have bought turnips for specific recipes, I have never had turnips in the fridge and wondered what to do with them.  Same goes for rutabagas.  This book helped me with both veggies, and gives me new ideas for familiar vegetables as well.

We recently resubscribed for another 13 weeks, and I have some goals for this next term of the CSA:

* I plan on using the CSA box when entertaining as well as in every day cooking.  At the moment, I am still depending on recipes and menus when friends come for dinner, instead of letting the box dictate what we'll have. 

* I plan on starting to put vegetables "up" for the May Eat Local Challenge, and for out of season use.  We often think of that in the summer, but I wouldn't mind saving some of my spring and winter vegetables as well.

* I need to revamp our kitchen area in order to give myself a good cool, dark place to store our root vegetables and other long-term storage items.  Right now, most items go into the fridge or are put on a table, neither of which is an ideal solution.

While I think that Eatwell Farm is an exceptional CSA to belong to and a great fit for us, I would encourage you to look into joining any CSA near you.  It's an amazing way to get local food easily, feel more connected to your food than ever before, and to support small local farmers who work so hard at providing food for the community.

***

 

If you live in the Bay Area, this post I wrote for Bay Area Bites gives a good overview of local CSA's.

Photo credit: Flourphoto

Comments

[rache]

great post! and your ears must have been burning; i was just wondering how this was going! i'm going to look into a csa in the la area all because of you. you're such a wonderful inspiration.

[rache]

ps can you post some good links to find a local csa if you have any? i'm having trouble! thanks.

[jen maiser]

Rache - I was going to ask you to do the same! I have had trouble in the past finding any CSA's in the LA area. I'm sure there's got to be some. Let's work on this together.

[naomi]

I have a similar default root veggie dish, but I add pepper, garlic, onion, basil, and parsley to the olive oil and salt.

You mentioned a May Eat Local Challenge--is there still going to be one in August?

[Steve]

Great stuff, again. Please post when/if you've got info on any CSA's that may be down here in the LA neck o' the woods. And just forget "saving vegetables" and this whole "where do I store my vegetables" dilema. Here's the ideal solution: Don't store 'em -- eat 'em! There's plenty more where they came from.

[Tea]

What a great post, Jen! I've been scared off from CSA boxes because, living alone, I was worried about not being able to use everything before it went bad (and, let's face it, I am a bit of a control freak and like to choose my produce). I've heard that there is much more flexibility these days than when they started up. This might just be the push I've needed. Thanks!

[Jen]

I've been lurking on your blog for a while and this inspired me to quote because I know exactly what you mean! We just joined a CSA this past year and I've found it changes how I eat too, definitely for the better. During farm season every meal is veggie-centric because there are always loads of veggies in the kitchen. Unfortunately, though, here in Massachusetts there isn't always "plenty more where they came from" - we only have a 5 month harvest season. This summer I'm definitely going to freeze more veggies for use over the winter.

[Melissa]

This is a great post. CSAs are going to change the way we eat and behave in the food system. It is the future! It is a food revolution. Being a farmer, I LOVED putting together the boxes last year. And then giving them out is so rewarding. All the hard work in the field for people who love to eat! And eat well.

[patrick]

hey jen-- great post. I like Jack Bishop's "Vegetables Every Day," and Deb Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," too. One habit I have gotten into is, every saturday after our co-op shift I take home whatever celery trimmings and broken carrots I can rescue, and come home and make veg stock. It goes in the freezer and is ready for whatever melange of vegetables we may have. Soup!

we still haven't gotten a CSA. There are many here in Portland, one actually within the city limits. We do most of our shopping when we're working at the co-op, and from April to December there are farmers markets....I think we might get a CSA sometime, but right now we are enjoying the travels and experiences associated with our urban foraging.

[cookiecrumb]

OK, it's just you and Jason, right? No hidden chilluns you hadn't told me about. And you're still managing to use your weekly box.
Wow. I'm impressed.
Lately Cranky has become such a vegetarian (not by philosophy but more by taste). We might even be able to consider this. I want to, very much, but I just worry so much about waste.
I do like your thoughts on putting food by for later in the year. Whoa. Weren't we supposed to put up summer food for winter? And here you are storing winter food for spring. Sweet.

[Barbara]

About waste: preserve some of the food you cannot use fresh. Make chutney, ratatouille, jam, salsa, applesauce, marinara, vegetable soup, pesto--whatever, and then either can or freeze it, and then eat it later!

It is a great system and it can help you eat local later in the year, when the local farms aren't producing as much.

I plan on doing more of that preservation thing this summer and can jams, jellies, pickles, salsas and the like. I want to get into it on a small scale to learn it, so that once we terrace our backyard and start growing vegetables, we can preserve large chunks of the harvest.

Jen--that was a great post. As for claylike mud--I grew up with that! Deep red clay that stains what it touches. I think it is probably still ground into the soles of my feet from running up and down muddy garden rows picking beans barefoot as a kid.

[Gab]

More about (avoiding) waste: I belong to a CSA in the NYC area. If I had more produce than I could eat before it started to go bad, and it wasn't an item that would preserve well, I did one of two things, either made something for all of my colleagues to enjoy at lunchtime or gave some away to my friends. Some of those friends will join the program this year. Sharing is great advertising for CSA's!

[jen]

Naomi - I emailed you separately to tell you that the Locavores are doing their challenge in May, not August this year. I will be talking about this more in coming weeks.

Steve - One CSA that services LA is Tierra Miguel. I don't see a drop-off in Santa Monica, but they have added a lot in the past year. I am still confounded that this seems to be the only option in LA -- I am looking for more alternatives.

Tea - I hear you about the control freak thing ... that was one thing I forgot to mention. It took me a LONG time to get over the control freak thing and realize that the farmers are just as interested in getting us impeccable produce as we are about buying it.

Jen from MA - welcome! If you haven't checked out Jennifer's blog in Syracuse, it's worth reading as an inspiration for eating local in the Northeast. I always hesitate to even talk about eating local because I know that we Californians have a much different produce climate than much of the country. Jennifers of the world unite!

Melissa - Thanks for your positive comments!

Patrick - I definitely don't blame you for not getting a CSA. I think that farmers' markets are a great way to get to know an area, and it's probably going to take you a full year before you even get a handle on what the seasons have to offer in Portland!

Cookiecrumb - Just me and the boy, we do just fine with the size of our veggie box!

Barbara - really great points. I have also started to throw my veggies that are a little tired into a Japanese pickle pot. I plan on talking about that a bit more once I get a good handle on it.

Gab - great point about giving things away. I have done that some, but need to get better at it!

[Jennifer]

Jen-great post, and thanks for the shout out! I LOVE the idea of putting things up in the winter. Just this morning I was looking at the two Butternut squash from my garden that I have yet to eat. Perhaps freezing them for May (when they'll be hard to find along with some other veggies in these parts) is the way to go. Thanks for the continued inspiration.

[Jamie]

Great post. I agree with you completely--when I joined Red Cardinal Farm in Minnesota (not sure if they're still CSAing, but I hope so) for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, it *fundamentally* changed the way I regarded food. Everything I have done since then, food-wise, I can trace back to them.

[Jenny]

thanks for the post, I love our csa, Bewise Ranch, in san diego, although I think they may have to make way for more houses :(. I find myself making a lot of soup if I'm not sure what to do with some of my veggies, but I use a small box between the two of us every couple of weeks.

[Suzanne]

Jen, great post about Eatwell. I especially love the photographs you took.

One reason I like Eatwell is that the CSA gatherings -- Strawberry days, Labor Day dinners -- are lots of fun. Nigel is a hoot.

[Sarah (Mrs. Irani)]

Great Post! We joined a CSA this year for the first time. Since we live in Maryland, the season doesn't start until May. I am so tired of potatoes and venison and cannot wait for all the fresh greens to come in!

We chose Summer Creek Farm and they offer picnics and festivals on the farm as well!

Aparently, we have some green houses around here that provide greens and other goodies in the winter time. I have to track them down!

What alternatives do we have for grains that are produced locally? My mom lives near a spelt farm in Michigan and we get spelt from them. But I LOVE rice. How can I go without that? Are their any rice farms in the east?

[Farm Groupie]

Jen,

It's such a challenge to preserve your harvest. I am really working on doing a better job of it. We recently devoured the last of our summer strawberries from last year. Freezing is my only preservation technique right now, but I would love to really learn how to can vegetables to save them.

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison is my favorite vegetable cookbook. I use it all the time for new ideas and I relly like to just read it from time to time. Beautiful illustrations and pictures and the middle section is divided by vegetable for when you bring home an unfamiliar bit of produce.

Your picture of arugula makes my mouth water.