This was the last of this year’s CSA deliveries. I carried the box to my car thinking back over the last 20 weeks and the variety of produce we’ve eaten and also the new foods we’ve tried.
The final delivery included sweet dumpling and delicata winter squash, bunched carrots, green cabbage, yellow onions, loose salad spinach, parsnips, tatsoi, argula, cilantro and broccoli.
Winter squash-I’m hanging onto these for as long as I can. I think I’ll either oven roast them or make soup.
Carrots-I’m sad about the CSA season coming to an end but the carrots will be one of the things I miss the most. Sweet, delicious, and I only wish I could grow my own but I’ve never had success with carrots.
Onions-a pantry staple.
Spinach-I’m thinking about making a feta cheese and spinach tart with this.
Parsnips-one of my favorite all time veggies. I never make Christmas dinner without roasted parsnips. I only wish I could hang on to these until then. Peel them, cut them into slices, par boil them for about five minutes and while they’re cooking, heat some oil in a roasting pan in a 375 degree oven. Then drain the parsnips and add them to the hot oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper and roast for about 15-20 minutes. Simple food yet packed with flavor.
Tatsoi-this was a new to me item that is an Asian mustard green. I plan to use it in a stir fry.
Arugula-once again more pesto for winter eating.
Cilantro-this was used in a couple of dishes throughout the week.
Broccoli-once again the perfect side dish. Steamed, and then add a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
What The CSA Program Has Taught Me
From a budget smart girl’s prospective there’s a lot you can learn from taking part in the CSA program-
It’s a good way to save money on organic produce. I compared costs before we signed up and I figured that if I bought the same organic foods at the store, the cost would be a lot more.
It’s a great way to sample new to you items and one way to check them out without spending lots of money, discovering you hate it and hence wasting your money.
Eating with the seasons really does save you money and it’s a way to get the most flavor for your buck. Even the same item can taste different at different times of the year, like the kholrabi, and also every day foods like the broccoli and carrots, so shop accordingly.
A meal centered around high quality veggies is just as good, if not better than one featuring meat. I made lots of stir frys with the produce and didn’t add anything else, just some brown rice and soy sauce and it was perfect.
Eating more produce when it’s cheaper can save you money.
You get inspired to grow your own vegetables when next season rolls around.
You not only get meals for the week but food you can dry or freeze to enjoy throughout the winter…peppers and herbs are waiting.
It’s seven months until the first of next year’s CSA delivery but I’m already looking foward to it.
