The First CSA Tuesday

Months and months ago, Sara and I signed up for a share in a local farm, otherwise known as a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. We signed up, wrote a check, and waited patiently for winter to end and the growing season in Virginia to begin bearing its fruits.

Finally, after many months of anticipation, we got our first bushel of produce from our CSA yesterday. After work, I rushed through the downpour and thunder to the corner of 16th and P to meet Sara. We told them our name, and they handed us a bag and told us to start grabbing what we wanted. We grabbed our half dozen eggs for the week as part of the egg share. I opened the carton, and inside were six beautiful, dirty, off-colored brown eggs from local free-range chickens. Each egg was slightly different in size, shape, color. And I bet each one will taste deliciously fresh. I was already excited.










Then -- the vegetables. We took a giant handful of mixed salad greens, various seedlings including Thai basil, marjoram, and regular basil, a giant head of pac choi, a second giant head of a different Chinese cabbage, a handful of garlic scapes, a potted herb of our choice (thyme), a bunch of fresh oregano, and a ton of chives. All the while, we were day-dreaming things we could concoct with these veggies--pac choi stir-fry with shrimp, chive biscuits, Chinese cabbage and tofu moo shu, and garlic scape.... ummm... what do you do with garlic scapes??

That's the fun of the CSA-- you never know what you are going to get, and you probably haven't heard of or cooked with some of the offerings. It's an adventure! An adventure Sara and I get to embark upon each and every Tuesday.

After collecting our bushel, Sara and I went over to the wine shop in the rain, then home to make something (not yet sure what) for dinner. We got back to the apartment, where Sara began dividing up the share, I began prepping salmon, and Reid started potting the herbs we brought home. And then the wine was opened and poured. We cleaned, cooked, basked in the glow of our new bounty. When dinner was served, a new tradition was announced--the CSA Tuesday. It involves local vegetables, lots of wine, and a Tuesday night--the perfect time to live in the moment with good friends, delicious food, and merry drink. So, now the cooking blog has been resurrected to follow our CSA Tuesday adventures. This Tuesday was sauteed salmon with pac choi stir-fried with garlic scapes and olive oil, served with a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and a Virginian Riesling. We have about 19 more CSA Tuesdays left in the season, so stay tuned!