I feel like I have been waiting for our CSA share forever! This week the season officially began and as we walked the couple blocks to our pick up site I couldn’t wait to check out what was waiting for us.
A couple years ago we split a CSA box with my parents and did not have a good experience (this was not the same CSA we are using this year). Let’s just say that we were really tired of curly kale and zucchini by the end of the summer!
So, I really didn’t know what to expect this year, but was trying to keep an open mind as the season approached. My friend, Bethany, introduced us to Treasured Haven Farm and said that she felt they had wonderful variety, plus they offered separate fruit shares (all organic, but not all of the fruit is necessarily local) and there was a delivery site a couple blocks from our house. The price was right and we signed up this last spring.
After visiting the farm to pick up 1/3 of our chicken share over the weekend, I know that we made the right choice. The owners are friendly, knowledgeable and only sell their veggies via the CSA.
So, what did we receive in our box this week?
Please keep in mind that Treasure Haven Farm is located a little over an hour north of Minneapolis, so their veggies are maturing at a little slower pace than the Twin Cities. Also, Minnesota CSA’s tend to be very heavy on edible greens toward the beginning of the season and pick up as crops mature and ripen in July and August. We ordered a basic vegetable share that is delivered weekly.
Mixed baby greens and spinach. There was enough to more than fill up my existing 6 ounce plastic clamshells that I saved from store-bought lettuce and spinach. I fins that fragile greens keep better in the clamshells, so over the last month I washed and saved them for vegetable storage though out the summer.
Baby kale! Perfect for massaged kale salads.
Baby turnips and turnip greens. I am very excited for these! I read that turnip greens can be prepared like any other hearty green, but have never tried them. I used the turnips in last night’s dinner (roasted with yukon gold potatoes), so they are not pictured.
Baby spring onions. We received twice this many onions – I grilled half of them last night in coconut oil and they were amazing!
Radishes. I love radishes in fresh, spring salads. I cannot wait to bite into one of these!
Next week we will receive our regular box of vegetables in addition to our first fruit share box. The suspense is killing me!
Do you have any meal planning tips for CSA subscribers? I am on a mission to use up all of the unexpected contents of my veggie and fruit boxes to ensure that nothing goes to waste!
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