CSA

Who needs a car to shop in Westwood? Thanks to perfect weather and my wife taking our other two kids to a birthday party, I was able to try something I've thought about for awhile. I took my son to Powisset Farm, then Roche Bros., to pick up our weekly produce and do a little grocery shopping--on my bike.

I have a mountain bike with a bike seat and a Burley solo trailer. Normally, the trailer would be hauling our youngest child, but a trailer can also be used to haul groceries. Also, given the winding, blind-curve nature of the road to the farm, I felt a little more comfortable with only groceries in that trailer and my son right behind me on the bike.

This week yielded more volume of produce from Powisset Farm...2 whole pints of strawberries and peas from the pick your own area, 2 heads of lettuce, some squash, a bunch of carrots... Also, 3 bunches of herbs: cilantro, parsley, and dill. The smell of those herbs in the fields while I was picking them was great. We also have more kale and collard greens to experiment with and 2 lbs of broccoli. The little things that look like scallions are "garlic scapes."

The beets last week (and this) were an eye opener. We ended up just boiling them but they were great--almost a corn like flavor; sweet but still "rooty." I've never been a fan of beets before; these were so good, I even put a slice on a hamburger.

CSA Harvest #3 yielded beets, some chard, and more greens. We loaded up all the fresh produce for our drive down to Virginia tomorrow to visit my parents. This week also marked the first time the you-pick field was open.

Jason did his best to find some ripe strawberries (and take a bite out of each one, just about!) as we collected a pint of strawberries and a pint of sugar snap peas to add to the radishes, spinach, brocolli raab and a head of Napa cabbage.

This week's share from Powisset Farm CSA included these new items in addition to more lettuce, arrugula, radishes and turnips. I better give my mom a call and ask her what to do with the Kale and Collard Greens...

We picked up our first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) harvest today and now the challenge begins. The pickup included turnips, radishes, spinich, bok choi, arrugula, lettuce, a little brocolli, some dill, and white and red kohlrabi.

This batch was nowhere near as large as what we expect as the growing season gets underway--based on what we have heard from others who were in the program last year. The challenge is what to do with it all--how to prepare and eat this bounty of fresh local produce. The radishes and salad greens are easy. But what about these turnips?

I grew up in the South and I should know what to do with turnips, but I don't. I've heard they can be good roasted; I think that's our best plan. I ate one raw and it wasn't bad; like a semi-sweet radish. The greens, I recall, can be boiled for hours with fatback until the house reeks, then served with vinegar--Yuck! I think we will search for a better approach and see if we can combine the kohlrabi greens in something edible.

The bok choi--we put to good use immediately in a stir fry. As we experiment and learn, I'll post updates here and welcome any recipe suggestions!

I'm lucky to be one of 200 shareholders in Powisset Farm's Community Supported Agriculture program. Today, I attended the orientation session and got a quick tour of the farm along with many other people excited by the prospect of fresh, locally-grown produce all summer.

The way a CSA works is each "shareholder" purchases a share in what the farm produces. So, for about $600 you get to go to the farm weekly and pick up...whatever they have available. This adds an "adventure" element to the experience. Will it save money? I doubt it, but what we are really doing is signing up to get a steady stream of good, quality, local food during the growing season--and to support the model which encourages sustainable practices. I blogged about this in more detail several months ago on davewrites.

We are lucky to have this farm so nearby--just follow Dover Road up past Hale Reservation and High Rock, into Dover and past the Dover Transfer station. Many of the people I saw today are coming from Medfield, Holliston, etc., whereas for us, it is a 10 minute drive...or, if you're feeling really environmental, a bike+trailer ride. But I don't know where we'd put the three kids for that excursion.

The CSA program is full for this year, but the farm is open to visitors and I belive they will be selling and/or donating some surplus. The official opening day is Sunday, June 8 at 1pm where everyone is welcome to visit the farm.