‘CSA Box #2’
courtesy of ‘erinmahollitz’
CSA season is here! Many of you are already getting your weekly boxes of fresh veg and other farm favorites from your Community Supported Agriculture farm. (Tom and I have to wait another couple of weeks before our CSA starts.)
The biggest question people have when they participate in a CSA for the first time is, “What do I do with ____?” For me, getting stuff I’ve never had before and don’t know how to cook is part of the fun, but for some people, it can be kind of off-putting. Never fear, We Love DC is here to help! What did you get in your CSA box that you don’t know what to do with? What was in your box that you couldn’t even identify?
Leave your questions in the comments (or email them to me at tiffany -at- we love dc dot com) and we’ll figure out how to get the maximum deliciousness out of your farm box.
(post updated with a link to the CSA finder)
Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.
Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.
From your posting I figure out what a CSA is, but I have no clue what it stands for or how to sign up for one. Clue me in.
Here’s a refresher: CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You pay before the season starts, and get weekly shares of the farm’s produce. I’ve updated the post with a link to a CSA finder, but around here in particular, CSA shares sell out early- like February- so you may be better off going with a farm that has just launched its CSA program.
I do not have a CSA box, but I am about to whip up some swiss chard next week from the farmer’s market and need some good recipes, wizard.
CSA stands for Community Sponsored Agriculture. Think Co-ops for Farms. The idea is, a bunch of people pony up money in January, and they get a share of whatever the farm is producing each week. There are a ton of awesome CSAs in the DC area, some of whom deliver produce each week, some of whom you go out to visit and pickup.
This is our second season as members of Great Country Farms in Bluemont, VA. We go out and pick up our box-o-produce each Sunday and collect our you-pick-it portion of the share, as well. You get varied amounts of whatever they’re harvesting each week for twenty weeks. Early weeks are lots of salad greens and spring onions, and strawberries, while late fall is pumpkins and squash and potatoes. It’s a great way to support local growers and eat fresh produce.
Many CSAs are already full for the season, but you can use the USDA CSA Finder to see if there are any still accepting memberships.
Katie – I am probably way too late, but Don and I made an awesome dish with our swiss chard last year. Here’s the recipe – http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Baked-Polenta-with-Swiss-Chard-and-Cheese-107270