Counting Down!

I'm so excited I could pee my pants...well not really...but I am very excited because yesterday I received an e-mail from Denison Farm that said our first CSA pickup would be this Wednesday! Yaya!  Having signed up and paid for the CSA in February, this kind of feels like Christmas!

So here's how things work with Denison Farm:  We have chosen to purchase a full veggie share (enough to feed a family of 4, supposedly), which runs for 22 weeks.  That will take us through mid-October, give or take.  Some farms will let you do a half share, or quarter share, but after doing the math, Casey and I just chose to split a full share in an attempt to avoid the supermarket altogether;-).  We also opted in for the 15 week fruit share which starts towards the end of the month and will include everything from cherries, to peaches, to apples.  Denison also grows some strawberries and melons, and last year we got some of these lovelies as part of our regular veg share.  Denison offers a variety of payment methods to try to ensure that shares are available to everyone no matter their income level.  They offer low-income shares, payment in three installations, or you can even work on the farm a couple of days over the summer to get a reduced price on your CSA.  I have thought about working on the farm as a way to really get to know where my food comes from, but I'll be honest, I lack a green thumb.  I have killed two jade plants in the last year, which my mother informs me is VERY hard to do.  So, I'll leave the farming to the professionals.

Last night, Casey and I were discussing how to split the share because, yes, there are some items we can easily split, like tomatoes, cukes, bags of spinach etc, but often there may be just ONE of something...say a large head of napa cabbage.  With items like that, we discussed alternating the weeks that one of us gets a particular veg, and then Casey realistically pointed out that we will likely just be making big meals together a couple of times a week. 

With just a few days until veggies start arriving, we've been doing some research and finding recipes that we just must try, and I've been recollecting some of my favorites from last summer that I cannot wait to make again.  This is the list we've begun to put together:

-  Garlic Scape Pesto from the Denison Farm recipe list.  Garlic scapes were in the first share last year and I had absolutely no idea what to do with them.  If you love garlic, this is a great recipe.

A garlic scape, if you've never seen one.  Image from
http://www.goinglocal-info.com/my_weblog/2008/06/garlic-scapes.html

- Zucchini and Ricotta Galette from SmittenKitchen.com. Made this last year and I could eat it every day!

Image from http://www.smittenkitchen.com/

- Teriyaki Noodles with Edamame and Asparagus from Mark Bitman (yes, we even get edamame!).

- Spicy No Mayo Coleslaw, again from Mark Bitman.  Last year, we got a ton of cabbage and I just can't stomach week after week of traditional mayonnaise covered slaw.

-  Fairy Tale Eggplant, Green Beans and Red Curry Tofu from Denison Farm.  There was one week last summer when a bag of about 40 beautiful, fairy tale eggplants arrived and this was a good way to use up a bunch of them up.

- Lemon Orzo Primavera from Denison Farm.  I would likely serve this cold, as I am a HUGE fan of cold summer salads and often wind up making them a couple of times a week using different veggie and pasta combos.

-  Roasted Beet Salad from Denison Farm.  I am a lover of any recipe that includes roasted beets...however I did attempt to make a roasted beet risotto last July on a day that was about 90 degrees and 100% humidity...not the best idea I've ever had.

Of course, I'll be sharing all our CSA cooking adventures right here, so stay tuned!

Do you have any favorite recipes we should try?  Also, any suggestions on prepping and storing veggies for the "long haul" would be welcome.  Towards the end of last summer I found myself drowning in tomatoes, cukes, zucchini and eggplant..and even gasp...let some of it go to waste...something I would like to avoid this year.

Maggie is ready for summer and the CSA!