CSA: not for me

I just read back on my previous post about trying out the CSA and regret that I have to eat my words now.  1 1/2 months after trying it for the first time, it's lost it's charm on me.  It's still exciting to see what goodies are coming in my basket every week, however, it comes with a little dread that I'll get yet another bag of lettuce that won't get eaten.

I was game for trying the new vegetables, like kale and swiss chard, and was thrilled to find the staples in our diet, like squash, zucchini, and peaches.  But I had my fill of green onions, red lettuce, bib lettuce, and beets.  The beets have been sitting in my fridge for weeks now because I'm not quite sure how to cook them.  I don't even know if they're any good at this point.  And I LOVE beets, just never made them myself.

Washing all of this produce is another pain in the butt and finding little critters in your food wasn't my favorite either.  I was very excited when we started getting cherries in our deliveries until I opened one up and found a worm in it.  Not appetizing at all.  Makes me very leery to shuck corn or dig through the box of mystery vegetables.

On a more positive note, one of the advantages of being a member of a CSA is you get to go to the farm to pick your own fruits and veggies that don't normally come in your weekly box.  But I've been pretty pregnant since the farm opened to members, and have had absolutely no desire to bend down and pick anything off the ground, even if it IS edible.  So the moral of the story is:  I'm not getting my money's worth.  I'd rather go to the farmer's market and pick what I know I'll eat without wasting my money while still supporting my local farms.

There is a terrific movement in Northern Virginia this month that is promoting local farms and their wares at local restaurants.  It's called Farm to Fork and it features participating eateries that will be serving locally produced wine, beef, and produce from July 21-31.  I LOVE this idea and hope that more local restaurants will do this on a regular basis.

So whether it's from your local farm, local farmer's market, or your very own backyard garden, as long as it's local it's good for the earth.  You pick what's best for your lifestyle. I just thought I'd give my two cents with full disclosure.  I guess I should've tried it longer than a week before I started tooting their horn.  Lesson learned.