Recipe: Garlic Sauteed Spinach

So, spinach reduces a lot. This was a huge bunch of fresh spinach and it became a single serving of cooked spinach. I thought this was a good recipe. I also know I like the lemon, garlic, and parmesan. All in all, something I would gladly make again.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/garlic-sauteed-spinach-recipe.html

Week 2: So Pretty

This is a great week. I'm including a photo of the full share before my co-worker and I divvy up. Here is this weeks haul.

Celery

Carrots

Green Beans

Green Onions

Turnips

Kale

Salad Mix

Spinach

Funny story: I didn't get a picture but at this week's pickup, my dark gray Prius was parked next to two other dark gray Prius's. I guess the car I got for it's awesome gas mileage is popular among the CSA type. :)

Recipe: Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese

Ok, I tried. This one tasted great but it wasn't very pretty to look at.

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/148889/sauteed-swiss-chard-with-parmesan-cheese

Week 1: Winning Recipe (Warm Beet and Goat Cheese Salad)

Yep, I know. Warm beets? That sounds awful! I thought so too but I also had no other ideas on how to use the beets I got. I decided that if it was terrible, I would throw it out (which is what I was tempted to do anyway with the beets so I would only be out a little time and energy if it failed). This was the best choice I made all week. 

Things to note about the below recipe:

• beets are actually red all on their own. I thought the red was from the liquid they were stored in during the pickling process but I was wrong. You WILL get red hands when you peel and slice! 
  
• You can peel a beet just like you peel a potato. There may be an easier way but I had no clue and tried my potato peeler. It worked.
• I had no idea how to roast sliced beets. I just put them on a baking dish with tin foil and baked at 400 degree F for 30 min. While they shriveled at the edges a bit, they tasted just fine. 
• I dislike balsamic vinegar but wanted to try the recipe as written. It was a great choice. The combo of balsamic vinegar and goat cheese warmed by the warm beets is absolutely amazing!

Warm Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

1 bunch beets (washed, peeled, sliced)
4 oz Spinach (roughly chopped)
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
2 oz goat cheese

1. Roast beets in oven in a baking dish for 30 minutes or until soft but still firm
2. Toss beets and spinach together in a salad bowl
3. Drizzle with olive and vinegar
4. Add salt and pepper to taste
5. Crumble goat cheese on top and toss one more time to mix ingredients and allow for greens to wilt a bit.
6. Enjoy!

The first day

I am so glad our CSA sends out a newsletter. 2 months before our first pick up, a newsletter went out explaining how it worked. 

Pickup- Mondays between 4:30-6:30pm (if you can't pick it up, someone can pick it up on your behalf or they can put it in a cooler for you to get the next day)

Boxes- there is 1 box per share. you can take the box each week but you have to remember to bring it back because it is the only one you get.

Location- on campus near the wine and beer growing centers. really hard to find- they gave a hand drawn map to confuse you even more (if I didn't drive past this on my commute each day, it would have been very hard to find)

Items- the students pre-pack the veggies in your share into the box. if there is a surplus of an item, you can grab more of it when you pick up your items

U-pick- there is a u-pick garden where you can pick herbs and fruits as they come in season

As the first pick up approached, they sent out another newsletter letting you know that the beginning of the season has less than the end so don't be disappointed in the first week if the box isn't overflowing. The newsletter also asked everyone to attend an orientation during the first pickup. Finally, the newsletter listed the vegetables that would be available that week and some recipes to help you use them. 

At the first pick-up, my coworker, her husband, and I all went to the orientation. We came straight from work to make the 5:30pm orientation and were still in our work clothes. About half of the other people were too so we didn't feel too out of place. However, we all opted out of the walking tour of the actual garden as it was a mile or so down a long dusty road. We said we'd do that another time. 

There is a main table where you pick up your share and they cross your name off the list. My co-worker and I both have our name down on the share so either can pick it up (which is super helpful as there will be weeks where one of us is not able to get there).

There is a side table where you can split your share. It even has a cutting board and knife, extra bags, etc. This was very helpful. We ended up cutting a head of lettuce in half and it meant that we both got a little of everything the first week. Here is what we got:

Salad Mix

Head of lettuce

Joi Choy

Green Onions

Spinach

Radishes

Chard

Rosemary

Beets

Lessons learned:

-During a week where there isn't much, splitting everything half way means neither of you have enough to do a full recipe. I strongly recommend alternating who gets what unless you really want to try it all. We'll see if that is still true as the produce becomes more abundant. 

-Try the recipes they provide. Some were out of this world (I'll share my favorites in a bit). 

-Goat cheese works with everything!

Choosing the right CSA

I googled CSAs in my town. Yep, that's how I found this one. I started by looking at the website of my kooky granola-crunching grocery store and they didn't have any info on CSAs. So I turned to by BFF Google. Turns out there were a few in town. However, most didn't allow you to split a share and I wasn't ready for a full share (for you noobs like me- a full share can feed a family of 4). Others were full year CSAs and required full payment up front (over $1000). Having just moved and spent money on getting a good apartment, I wasn't ready to ante-up that much. 

Then I found that my university (where I work) had a student run organic farm. Here's what I liked about them:

-student run (I'm an educator so that's a big plus)

-can split a share

-multiple types of CSAs (full year, summer, etc)

-optional add ons but not required (milk, eggs, cut flowers, etc)

I contacted them and asked to become a member. Do you know what they told me?

THERE IS A WAITING LIST OF UP TO A YEAR!

Well, that worked for me. I was able to sign up without feeling like I was really committing. I could withdraw my application later if I really didn't want to do it. 

It really did take a year. I applied in April 2013 and in February 2014 I was informed I was on the list for the summer 2014 CSA. I decided that a summer commitment was better than a full year commitment and I was excited that I could share with someone. I found a co-worker willing to split the share and I sent in the money ($750 for a 20 week CSA share- June thru Oct).

I'm not waking up on Saturday to go to a farmer's market!

That's right, you heard me. A huge reason for me getting a CSA is because I don't have to wake up on a Saturday morning to go to a farmer's market. My mom loves them and for years tried to get me to love them too. I don't hate them, I just love sleep more. 

I resisted farmer's markets my whole life. Whenever people ask me to go to one, I politely decline. They never leave it at that- they always want to know why I don't want to go. As if the norm is wanting to go and they cannot fathom why I would not be psyched about getting up early on a Saturday morning to get the best produce. "Sorry, it's just not my thing" is never enough. As the conversation develops, they inevitably want to solve the dilemma of my being undersupplied of locally grown produce and recommend I get a farm share (or a CSA as they are also called). 

I have lived around the US and heard about CSAs/farm shares everywhere I went. I am a very saavy grocery shopper and also someone who doesn't know how to cook. Those two together mean would mean lots of spoiled overpriced produce if I got a CSA. At least, that is what I told myself. More about cost later. 

When I first heard about CSAs, I was working on a college campus in Colorado and had a meal plan. I had so much produce available to me for such a reasonable price, I couldn't justify spending a dime on additional produce. When my mom got one (in Iowa City, IA), I was a little jealous but still couldn't justify the expense (when she went in on a cow-share, I was very entertained). Then I moved to Georgia, where peaches were abundant but CSAs we not available in my town. As always, I was left with the farmer's market option.

3 reasons for getting a CSA

1. I moved to Michigan. I guess I should say I moved back to Michigan. I had done my graduate work at Michigan State University and was thrilled when the perfect position opened up at my alma mater. Coming back as a grown up (graduate school delays adulthood so I would not consider myself an adult even though I was in my early 20s when I was here), I essentially discovered the city for the first time. It is beautiful! MSU (aka "moo-u") also has a strong agricultural program so they have a student run organic farm. As an educator, supporting a student run endeavor was a huge selling point for me (and influenced me more than supporting my random local farmer). 

2. I am learning to cook. After years of living on campus with a meal plan, I moved off campus and realized I had no real cooking skills. So, I started to intentionally challenge myself to learn new cooking techniques for the last 7 years. I tend to go through phases. I mastered ramen in college and pasta in grad school. Since then, I've worked on baking, dried beans, soups, roasts, slow cookers, and mexican food. Turns out, vegetables are part of almost all styles of cooking. I knew I needed to dive in and a CSA would force me out of my broccoli, corn, and kale comfort zone.

3. I want to be healthy. I know, I know- most people say they want to lose weight. I want to do that too but, more importantly, I want to feel good. I find that every time I sign up for weight watchers or get a new wellness app on my smart phone, the first thing I realize is I don't get enough exercise or vegetables. I'm working on fixing both of those things. Getting a CSA is a committment to myself that I will eat my fruits and veggies like a good girl. 

So, when I found that my university had a student run organic farm CSA, I decided to take the plunge.