Eat your greens and your rutabagas too

Back in the fall, Maggie announced that she had signed up for a winter CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share from Pavel, a growing partner at Fox Hollow Farm. What this meant for me was that every Friday for the past four months, Maggie has shown up at home with a box full of beautiful produce -- including some items that I had never before cooked.

Just part of one week's CSA haul.

The timing was perfect. By October, my summer/fall garden was about spent. I was still harvesting a few handfuls of sorrel, some spinach and chard, but I had definately gotten used to having an abundance of fresh, local produce. With the CSA, our refrigerator and kitchen counters have overflowed with greens, radishes, potatos, squash, cabbage, turnips, beets, lettuces, carrots and rutabagas. The quality is amazing and the selections constantly challenge me to look for new ways to prepare these beautiful vegetable.

Just last night I realized that in three days' time I would get a fresh load so I'd better come up with a way to use what I already had. Ed has become a pretty good sport about the occasional meatless dinner. So out came all the vegetables, a baking sheet, a bit of olive oil, my sharpest knife, some Jane's Krazy Mixed-up Salt and a couple of herbs. I set the oven for 450 degrees, cut up the vegetables, and slid the baking sheet full of vegetables into the oven for roasting.

Thirty minutes later, dinner was on the table. And leftovers will go atop a salad for lunch today.

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If you haven't participated in a CSA before, I encourage you to do so. Here's generally how it works:
A farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Interested consumers purchase a share, and in  return, receive a box of seasonal produce each week throughout the designated farming season. (Some CSA include eggs and meat.) It's great for the farmer as it allows him to market his product early in the year, before his 16-hour days in the field begin. In most cases, it allows the farmer to receive payment early in the season, which helps with cash flow, and it allows him to get to know the people who eat the food they grow.

Shareholders get to eat ultra-fresh food, get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking, and develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food. It's a great way to get kids (or grownups!)  to try new vegetables.

My winter CSA is coming to an end with this week's delivery. I'll miss it. If you live near Louisville/Prospect/LaGrange and want to give a CSA a try, I highly recommend Pavel's. You will need to make a trip out to Fox Hollow Farm to pick it up -- but that's a fun field trip anyway. His shares sell out quickly, but if you are interested in the Spring/Summer one, you can check it out here.

May you fall in love with rutabagas...