What’s in My CSA Box? Week 1

Our spring CSA has finally started up!  That means winter is over (hopefully) here in Chicago.  We have such a long winter and I long for farm fresh foods.  I relish that once a week during the spring, summer and fall, I can drive 10 minutes from my house to pick up a CSA share.

This year is even more exciting for Sandhill Organics CSA members.  In addition to the fruit, vegetable and egg shares, they have added dairy (pasteurized), meat and trout.  I couldn't wait to pick up my farm fresh goodies!

What the heck is a CSA?  Great question!  It stands for ‘Community Sponsored Agriculture'.  Essentially, you buy a share of a farm and in return you get a box of produce each week.  Every CSA runs slightly differently, but that is the gist of it!  I wrote a whole post about the benefits of a CSA.  Check it out if you have more questions!

I am thinking I can try to share what is in my CSA box and tell you what I have made with the produce each week. Hopefully it can give you some ideas of how to use your farm fresh produce and encourage you to participate in a CSA, if you aren't already!   If each week is too much, I can scale it down…we shall see!

Anyhoo…when I went last week to pick up my goods, I meant to take a picture of the gorgeous spread.

Alas, it was raining.  I was in a hurry.  I forgot.  Next time!

I will say the early spring shares of vegetables can be a little skimpy only because our season is just getting started.  In a few weeks, I will be overloaded in veggies.  And in the summer when the fruit share starts up…watch out!

My haul included:

• radishes
• mixed lettuce
• mushrooms
• chives
• potatoes
• 2 quarts of tomato puree from last year's crop
• ground beef
• bacon
• whole chicken
• italian sausage links
• roast
• 2 different cheeses
• nonhomogenized yogurt (it is 1% fat though)
• cultured butter

What did I do with all of this goodness?  I didn't do much.  I was in the middle of a 2 week cleanse (a whole food cleanse…lots of veggies) but didn't feel like cooking like I usually do.  I used my vegetables in pretty simple ways but I will still share!

That is one good thing to remember, when you are part of a CSA and get tons of veggies, you don't have to make lots of complicated recipes.  Most veggies are delicious raw, in a salad, or lightly steamed or sauteed with a healthy fat and some sea salt.  We don't need to make things overly complicated!

1. Made salad with the lettuce and radishes
2. Sauteed mushrooms in butter as a side dish
3. Mixed chopped chives along with some green onions into my cultured sour cream to serve over…
4. boiled potatoes.  Deliciousness!
5. Tomato puree is in the pantry for another day.
6. Cultured butter went on everything!
7. Yogurt was enjoyed for breakfast and as a snack.
8. Cheeses were eaten as a snack but I still have more left for the upcoming week.
9. Meat was stored in the freezer for future meals.
10. Eggs were enjoyed in smoothies, scrambled and hardboiled.  No frittata this week but we usually have a frittata each week.

I can't wait for the next pick up!  I will say that I won't get all of this goodness each week.  The vegetables and fruit shares are every week.  The egg and dairy are every two weeks and the meat share is once a month.  I wish they had eggs more often but their egg shares are popular and sell out quick!

Stay tuned for next week when I share What's in my CSA!

Do you participate in a CSA?  What did you get in your box this week?