My love of fresh fruits and veggies combined with a desire to get healthier prompted my decision to participate in a CSA. CSA stands for “community supported agriculture” and it entails paying a sum of money to a local farm in exchange for weekly shipments of the farm’s bounty over a period of time.
For roughly the amount I would spent on grocery store produce each week, I am getting fresh, local produce AND supporting a small business at the same time. Win-win! Yesterday I picked up my first shipment and I seriously felt like a kid at Christmas.
One fun thing about doing a CSA is the element of surprise. Based on the harvest schedule, you have an idea of what might be in your box each week, but there’s probably going to be something you weren’t expecting too. I think this will be great for me because it not only challenges me to try new foods, but also provides a chance to experiment with recipes….one of my favorite things!
For the first time in my entire southern life, I cooked turnip greens that weren’t frozen or from a can. This might not seem like a very big deal, but when food is woven into our lives the way it is here in the south, cooking greens is something of an art form. I could feel all the great cooks in my family who have gone before me, cheering me on.
I was careful to save the liquid or “potlikker” and used it to start a pot of dried beans. Now I’m looking for yummy-sounding Bok Choy recipes, so if you have a favorite, please share!
{greens image used with permission via}
Also, this is a great article about potlikker & our southern food roots
