CSA Pick Up Day!

Tuesday is our CSA pick up day, and it is like Christmas morning for me.  Each week, I get so excited to receive the email from our farm telling us all about the fresh veggies we will be getting for the week.  Unlike some other CSA's, which just give their members pre-made boxes of veggies, ours functions on a point system.  Each week, we have ten points to spend on various veggies (and sometimes fresh flowers).  When we arrive at the farm, all of the veggies are sorted into different boxes and a point value is assigned to each one.  We are able to walk around the tables and choose what we want to spend our points on.  I prefer this system, because it allows me to choose more of the veggies that we love without getting stuck with a lot of something that isn't our favorite for weeks on end. 

Last year, we went with a CSA that provided pre-sorted boxes each week.  After six weeks of swiss chard, I never wanted to see it again.  This year, I can choose when and how much of each vegetable I want.  I also like the point system because it allows me to walk around and choose vegetables and make meal plans in my head.  I'm able to choose vegetables that will work well in a dish together and I can pick specific herbs that I think will enhance the flavors of what I'm going to prepare.

Some days, I bring the kids with me, and other days I stop at the farm by myself on my way home from work.  I prefer to bring the kids because it makes them more connected to the food they eat.  Last week, Amelia had so much fun picking out veggies that she started eating them while she was still walking around the farm.  She loves seeing the people that own the farm each week and she is beginning to understand the importance of buying local and supporting small-scale agriculture. 

This week seemed to be a heavy "green" week.  We got tons of lettuce, kale, broccoli, kohlrabi, basil, cucumbers, zucchini and other herbs.  We (well, Amelia and Ben) also chose some beautiful sunflowers.

How can this picture not make you smile.  I love to see my veggies piled up on the table when we get back from the farm and take great pleasure in finding homes for all of them in the refrigerator.  It's my favorite part of the week.

So, now that I have all of these fresh veggies, I have to plan what I am going to make with them throughout the week.  The lettuce and cucumbers will be used in salads, which my husband, Paul, and I eat every day.  The broccoli will be eaten with hummus this Thursday while watching an evening family concert at our local Cultural Center .  The basil will become pesto.  The zucchini will be made into zucchini bread or muffins for quick breakfasts as we all head to camp, daycare, and work. 

The kohlrabi will be the experimental vegetable of the week.  I am determined to make something new with it and have been searching the internet for recipes.  I think I have finally narrowed it down to two possibilities:

Kohlrabi and Shredded Carrot Salad 

Kohlrabi and Cucumber Spring Rolls

So, that's the plan for this week.  I'm excited to see what veggies next week brings.