I miss my summer Thursdays

Thursdays in the summer are like Christmas morning. That's the day our box from our CSA is delivered. CSA stands for Community Support Agriculture which really means we get a box of local, fresh, organic veggies each week. It makes me feel good that we are supporting local farmers (ok, so they are really a couple hours away, but at least they aren't from another country where the vegetables are packed up, put on a plane, end up in a warehouse, and then trucked off to the grocery store.)

Last summer was the first time we joined and I do have to say it was overwhelming at times. We got vegetables that I've never made before- like kale, collard greens, beets (wasn't a fan previously), and sometime we got so much of something, we just couldn't use it up especially when TheYoungest was born. My mom got the rewards from that week.

But it was SO MUCH FUN. You never really knew what you were going to get since they didn't know exactly what would be ripe the following week. They did give you an idea of what would be in your box but nothing was guaranteed due to Mother Nature. I made recipes I would have never made before and we ate a lot more veggies than ever before.

I miss it.

It was so cool to get garlic with a big stalk shooting out of it, or brussels sprouts still attached to their stalk knowing they were probably picked just days before. And tons and tons of peppers- that is LushMan's favorite as well as bags of potatoes still with dirt on them. And popcorn still on the stalk with the husk on. Too neat. This summer, I'll share them all with you.

Angelic Organics, the CSA, gave a cookbook last year to all members. It zeros in on the food they grow. It showed how to store veggies the proper way (who knew you just didn't throw them all the crisper?!), some recipes and plenty of interesting stories and quotes.

I received an email from them today with very exciting news. Their DVD, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, is now available on DVD.

"The Real Dirt on Farmer John will turn every idea you ever had about what it means to be an American farmer, or an American dreamer, on its head. Meet Farmer John, the incredible human being whose inspirational story of revolutionizing his family farm and redeeming his own life has won accolades and awards at film festivals around the world."

I can't wait to watch it! And if you're interested, you can buy the DVD and the cookbook on their website.