It's been ten months now since YearlyKos '07 inspired me to find and join a local CSA. I'm fortunate that living in Southern California allows me to receive fresh produce year-round, but at this time of year most every CSA in the northern hemisphere is in full swing.
The experience has changed the way I eat. I no longer keep meat in the house and usually pass it up when dining out. There is no taste that compares to that of a fresh berry just plucked from the vine that morning, or of fresh-picked salad greens with mustard-herb dressing. With the spotlight on crude oil, both for its soaring price and its CO2 by-products, I feel good that I’m doing a little something to reduce its use. My produce travels under 80 miles from farm to my fork, rather than the 200 miles from the Central Valley or the 1500 mile average our other food travels to reach us. When produce is recalled, I don't worry because I know where mine comes from and how it was grown. Eating lower on the food chain allows the vegetables to be used for my direct benefit, rather than serve as feed for animal meat, saving both farm land and the animals. And because the produce is organic, it hasn’t seen any oil-based fertilizers.
But as summer arrives with its sunshine and bright promise of picnics and vacations, you CSA veterans are also aware of the darkness lurking around the corner. It starts innocently enough. You are delighted to get that first fresh zucchini or sprig of basil. But a week or two later the earth is churning out squash after squash and the basil is growing like weeds. I’m barely able to finish off last week’s avocados before the next bunch roll around. And suddenly, "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" doesn’t seem like fiction anymore.
When you get your fruits and vegetables at the peak of freshness, rather than the early-picked produce that ripened on the boat from Chile, the race against time begins the moment its harvested. As I can’t bear to throw any bad stuff out, I’ve had to learn of some tips and tricks to survive the massive onslaught of the harvest. It was a rough road at first, but I’ve gotten pretty good with a few key strategies and gadgets. So with the hopes of sparing those of you just starting out on this great journey (and by all means, check it out for yourself), here are a few things I’ve learned.
Seasonal Cookbooks and Recipes. It’s amazing how many modern recipes rely on things that aren’t in season. When you can go to the neighborhood Safeway, it’s no problem. But when you’re trying to eat all the things that are coming from the earth at the moment, it’s a little trickier. Fortunately, books like Simply In Season, the Farmer John Cookbook and sympathetic articles in publications like Vegetarian Times are there to help. Even Gourmet/epicurious are getting in on the act. Zucchini isn’t so overwhelming when you find it can be made into ratatouille, pancakes, bread, even chocolate cookies. You open up some pretty interesting culinary doors when you're forced to use up fennel and carrots at the same time. And you’re getting all the benefit of their phytonutrients.
The Cuisinart is Your Best Friend. One of the things I have the least time for is food prep. If I can just turn it into something yummy fast, I’m fine. In rides the Cuisinart on the white stallion. Throw in blackberries and strawberries and chop for a minute and I’ve got an awesome topping for my granola. Take all that basil with a few walnuts and some olive oil and I’ve got amazing pesto. Or instead add some fresh green onion, dill, mustard and vinegar for fresh salad dressing that’s every bit as great as the leaves it covers.
Juice It Up. A few minutes each weekend with the citrus reamer or the Jack LaLanne juicer and I can store up juice to last the week. Oranges, grapefruit, carrots and pears juice wonderfully. My CSA farmer happens to specialize in avocados and limes. Which sounds wonderful until you try to figure out what to do with a dozen limes a week. I can juice my limes and the juice freezes nicely. Do it with some mint (also from my CSA) and I’m halfway to a mojito!
The "Last Resort". Is it really so bad to bite right into a fresh-picked strawberry or tomato? ;-)
What about you? I'm awaiting your horror stories and survival tactics.