Farmshare Love

Now that I have a proper home and kitchen, I've signed up for a small farmshare box from Enterprise Farm. Last Wednesday I picked up my first box from a local bakery, and while I suppose I'm generally jazzed about vegetables, this time I was extra-SPECIALLY excited.  This summer I'm going to post photos of my CSA boxes along with pictures of what I made with the produce. A CSA box can feel like a big commitment—this small share costs $400 for a 35-week growing season (though I got a coupon because my roommate has signed up in past years). If you break that down by week, however, it turns out I'm spending only $17 for vegetables. Sure, I'll buy a few more things from the grocery store, but $17 for the bulk of my weekly produce feels like a good deal. Best of all, when you sign up for a farmshare you're supporting local business and sustainable agriculture!  I also like that Enterprise Farm sends you an email the day before with a list of what's in the box so you can start the meal planning. Given the radishes, field greens, tomatoes, and red leaf lettuce in the first box (not to mention that I hadn't had a proper big salad since the dining hall at Squam), keeping it simple with those items seemed like a no brainer. Elizabeth clued me in that radishes are also great to dip in hummus—she washes and cuts them and keeps them bobbing in a bowl of water in the fridge to keep them fresh. Not that they last long!I'd intended to be really diligent about documenting my meals this week (ha), but I only managed to take two pictures: When I'm hungry (and lazy), I whip up a lettuce and tomato sandwich with vegan mayo. A simple stirfry using both heads of bok choy, tomato, and TVP (textured vegetable protein). I also made a really yummy kale, tomato and mushroom dish with yellow split peas, and juiced most of the other green stuff (including the radish greens). I do still have some cilantro and red leaf lettuce left over, and it's week #2 pick-up today already. If I hadn't gone away this weekend, it would have been the perfect amount of produce. I'm particularly excited for the garlic scapes, beets, and rainbow chard in this week's box—YAY!