CSA season has begun! We picked up our first box of fresh, local and organic produce earlier this week. I can’t express how incredibly lucky and privileged we are to have access to this great food. This is our second year having a CSA membership. We use Lancaster Farm Fresh, which I wrote about in my recent post about our food buying philosophy and money saving tips.
Not only do we get fresh, local and organic vegetables during our weekly pickup, but we get to walk to the host site which is just a few houses away and meet up with all our friends and neighbors who are also there to pick up their food. Monday CSA pickup is a ritual that my children have grown to love and look forward to each week. This experience is special on so many levels…the kids get to look through our box, help me decide what to trade (if anything), and spend some time playing outdoors with good friends.
Now, back to the actual food – and what was in our share! Since it’s so early in the growing season here in Pennsylvania, our box was a little light, but so much more is to come.
Our half share box contained:
- Bunch of pink radishes
- Bok choy (traded for spinach since we just got bok choy from our Panache box last week)
- Box of white button mushrooms
- Bunch of arugula
- Bunch of rhubarb
So far, we’ve eaten half of the pink radishes (when you can find this color in nature, why would anyone need to use artificial food coloring?) and half of the button mushrooms.
I wanted to take a moment to talk about the beautiful pink radishes (photo taken after fancy bright green top was removed).
You see, my two year old son was the one who ate half of the radishes. When we unpacked our bag, he immediately asked to have some…then asked for more and more and more! I had no idea he would like the radishes. I hadn’t tried any yet, so I didn’t know how sharp they were. Apparently, they were delicious to him! And, so the reason I bring this up is because I probably wouldn’t have thought whole radishes would be a favored snack for a two year old. What do I know?!
As I’ve been thinking about this experience with my little guy, I encourage you to let your children lead in the way of choosing food from time to time. As well-meaning parents, we try to filter the world for our kids (both to give them what we think they will enjoy and to avoid waste), but when it comes to fresh vegetables, they might surprise you!
On another note, stay tuned to this blog for lots of seasonal recipes. I’ll be cooking from my CSA share/Panache box/Farmers Market/Home Garden into the fall and plan to bring you recipe ideas for in-season vegetables and fruits.
Is there anything in particular you’d like to see me cook?