My winter CSA, weeks 1 and 2

What I’ve gotten so far

Week One --Nov 4-10

Onions, garlic, red cabbage, parsnips, pea vines (with November flowers!), rainbow chard, baby beets with greens, purple potatoes, pickled garlic scapes.

Week Two  -- Nov. 11-17

Shallots, garlic, fennel, fingerling potatoes, romanesco, kale, canned heritage tomatoes, specialty carrots—Purple Haze and a pale, pale yellow variety, rosemary

What I’ve made so far

Mashed potatoes and parsnips with chopped garlic scapes and a splash of Worcestershire

Beet greens and chard braised with garlic, garlic scapes, and kalamata olives

Stir-fried pea vines: Ehhh. This is the first time I've cooked pea vines and I was underwhelmed. I'll try a different approach before I give up on them.

Lentils with garlic, roasted sweet potato and roasted purple potato; this was good, and was further improved by the addition of caramelized onions.

Risotto with pureed fennel and romanesco. Nice, but the kind of risotto that is clearly meant to accompany a meat course. I like my risotto as the main event.

Kale and carrots braised with shallots, a few olives, and a smidgeon of bacon. I added a few tiny boiled potatoes in there too. 

I think the next project is going to be a Day-glo Colcannon, with purple potatoes and red cabbage. 

I also need to do something with the beets and remaining parsnips, pronto. I'll feel lousy if I let this beautiful produce go to waste.

Once again--What Makes a Good CSA?

I posted my question about what makes a good CSA on the Local Harvest forum--http://www.localharvest.org/forum--and got a thoughtful reply from Walter Haugen of F.A. Farm near Ferndale. He gave me permission to repost it here:

Since I have a CSA share program and am just up the road from you, outside Ferndale, my views are obviously biased. However, here goes. Even though I use organic practices, I don't market as organic because I think certification is bosh. As Eliot Coleman says, "Your best guarantee of safe food is to know the first name of the farmer who grew it." I also think it is important to do as much by hand and I don't even own a tractor - I have a BCS tiller and two smaller units - lower carbon and calorie footprints.

I give vacation extensions so people don't lose their weekly box when they go on vacation. I don't mind selling vegetables right up to Thanksgiving as I did last year. I only have on-farm pickup at the moment, but if I sell enough Bellingham shares I will do a single dropoff one day a week. The Local Farm Exchange (LFE) stand down on Railroad Ave. is a good dropoff point, but there is a little bit of confusion now as to how it will be run. Hopefully it will be sorted out by June.

I encourage farm drop-in visits, as I am always looking for an excuse to get off my hands and knees in the dirt. Another good idea is to use Farm Bucks - this idea was pioneered around here by Mike from K&M, so I want to give credit to him. Farm Bucks are a good way to involve people who have cashflow problems and only want the equivalent of a half-share. I find that half-shares take more energy than full shares because they break your rhythm on box-filling day. Full shares plus Farm Bucks seems a good compromise to me. I am also defining my niche more narrowly and have more of a political component in my flyer and FAQ's. Those are all things I think are important and I could go ad nauseum, but I won't.

Haugen is also an initiator of the Ferndale Farmers Market, set to open in May. To read a profile of him and his farm, and the long process of getting the farmers market going, check out the Ferndale Record Journal--http://www.ferndalerecordjournal.com/index.php?goto=2008-03-05%2006:22:48&section=news

Community Supported Agriculture -- What Makes a Good CSA?

Are you buying a CSA share this year? Have you tried more than one in the past? Sign-up time is coming up for the 2008 season, and some farms offer discounts to customers who commit and pay early.

Many growers are using the internet to fine-tune their offerings, allowing customers to choose from among an online selection for their weekly boxes. Some feature aerial farm photos, so you can see if those chickens really are ranging free.

I'm wondering what are your criteria for a good CSA and whether you have a local favorite. (Some readers are reporting problems with this blog's comment section. I hope I've got it fixed but would appreciate feedback. You could also try the tag board at right.)

thanks!
Lanester