I have a confession to make. This is my eighth year as a CSA member (we’ll ignore the first failed attempt four years earlier) and only in the past couple of years have I felt like I figured out how to really make my weekly haul work for me.
The first five years I split my share with a friend. Neither of us fed our families fresh produce exclusively from our share as the yield was too small. And still, I found myself throwing things away. Huh?! We kept up our membership because we both liked the sense of belonging to a community, biweekly trips to the farm for our young children (the rope swing in the barn was a huge draw), and just feeling like we were doing the right thing. After all, we do live in Lancaster county!
By year six, my family had dramatically increased their fruit and vegetable consumption. I had set a personal goal of 10 servings of produce each day and while rarely reached, it gave me a mighty place for which to aim. Upgrading to a full share was a no brainer, right? And yet, what would even I do with all the big, beautiful, bountiful kale and chard?
Through the years, I’ve found a small handful of tips and techniques make all the difference between an empty fridge looking forward to being restocked with each week’s surprises and harboring a feeling of dread because you’re out of space and just can’t look at one more beet.
Tip One: Celebrate the homecoming. Carve 15 – 30 minutes into your schedule within 24 hours of your pick-up day to really check out the week’s bounty. Unfamiliar with an item or four? If your CSA has a newsletter, place it in the bathroom you use most often to ensure it gets read ASAP. Your farmers have probably given you information about these items as they want you to enjoy everything you bring home.
Tip Two: Do something with your stuff. Time is usually our biggest challenge to using all the items. For example, my husband and I love beets. To ensure they’re ready-to-eat when we are, I turn on the oven the minute I walk in the door with fresh beets. While the oven preheats, I unpack my food, cut the greens off the beets (more on them to follow), wrap each one on in reused aluminum foil, place them in a baking pan and pop the beets in the oven for about an hour. The beets cool in their packets, which are then placed in the fridge for when I need a couple. My farmer friend Amy washes and dries all her greens, then stores them in towel-lined plastic bags. Those that are usually cooked, like kale and chard, are stemmed and quick-cut into thick ribbons before hitting a baggie, stems in one bag, greens in another. She also dices any onions and stores them in a refrigerator container. WOW! We’ve been home 15 minutes and are practically ready for the week.
Tip Three: Try one new technique, item or recipe each week. Your weekly CSA newsletter will probably feature a recipe or two, most likely focused on those items that may not be as familiar. Consider investing one or two vegetable-focused cookbooks (Deborah Madison’s work for me) or utilize your favorite search engine – you’ll be amazed at how many easy, flavorful things you can do with the same old zucchini or potatoes.
Don’t underestimate the power of your knife. It’s amazing how different zucchini can taste if sliced really thick versus really thin. The former performs like a superstar on the grill, the latter transforms itself into silky sheets of “pasta” and requires zero cooking.
Tip Four: Don’t forget about your freezer. Planning for the off-season is a great habit to develop. Some weeks, I’ve had my fill of beet greens, yet can’t bear to toss them out. Tossing the bag of beet green ribbons in the freezer gives me hope of fresh greens smack in the middle of winter, when I will really be craving that dose of fresh. Keep in mind this treasure chest is also great for leftovers, too much soup, and so many odds and ends we often toss in the compost bin.
Tip Five: When in doubt, make soup. Whether faced with an overabundance of one item or too much of everything, there’s no such thing as too much soup (except for cream and/or potato-based soups, which don’t freeze well). Refer back to Tip Four when you’re unsure what do with extras.
Tip Six: Just say no. Some weeks, I take the beets without the greens as I know the farm or another shareholder will do something wonderful with them. If I’ve got a crazy week and just don’t want to deal, I simply don’t show up. I let the farmer/CSA manager know so others will benefit from my break. For my family, doing something for the greater good is one of the greatest benefits of membership. And we eat incredibly well to boot.
My family has come to look forward to the 20-odd weeks each year we pick up our weekly offering. Like market days, we’ve developed a rhythm to our week that is out-of-sync when affected by work, school and travel schedules. Enjoy the connections, let go of what you can’t get your hands around, and share the extras. You may find this becomes part of you, too.
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