As summer progresses D and I are receiving a more varied selection of goodies from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group. When I tell people about CSAs they are often horrified– you don’t know what you’re getting each week? You cook every night? Don’t you throw a lot away? (Admittedly, some ask how they too can join.)
On all accounts, no.
CSAs help a person think seasonally. While it has become second nature for most to eat tomatoes all year round, I will actually know when they are in season in my region when I see them in the share I receive. This also means that when I finally get my tomatoes they will taste worlds better than those gassed-to-look-ripe at the grocery.
I also know I can check my farmer’s newsletters from years past to get an idea of what might be coming each week (or at least each month). I can also check the predicted weekly share that gets posted by Tuesday (we receive veggies two days later, freshly picked the day before). Usually though, it is more fun to just show up, be surprised, and Iron Chef style, make meals for the week. D even noted this morning how the unpredictability is really changing up our diets.
I like it because instead of D being annoyed at me for bringing home something we normally would not have purchased: “What?! Kale?! What are we supposed to do with that?!” I can just say our farmers grew it, we paid for it back in March, and now you’re going to eat it [insert sinister laugh here].
Further, it has opened up a whole new library of local vegetables for us and forces us to try new preparations so as not to tire of a single vegetable while the season lasts. We have found that while pretty much all hearty greens are good with bacon (above) we have found that Swiss chard does not take readily to being creamed (a la spinach), sauteed kale is delicious in eggs and fennel makes a fabulous cold soup, to name a few.
And no, we do not cook every night. With one small air conditioner (in the living room) that only gets turned on when temperatures reach over 95 degrees, a kitchen gets way too hot to be cooking throughout the summer. Sure, we take to the grill a little more often, sure we eat a lot of salads. More often than not, we set up a kitchen sauna about twice a week and prepare food for the week ahead. Our veggies go great in salads, but D has proclaimed a “one salad a day” policy which leaves us to be more creative with our veggies– zucchini bread anyone?
Do we throw a lot out? Although our farmers suggested one share can feed 3-4 non-vegetarian adults, D and I have found we easily finish our weekly allotment each week. It helps that we rarely go out for dinner and we bring lunch to work everyday.
Plus. with large preparations, especially in soups, much can be frozen for later in the year. I have contemplated purchasing a separate freezer, just for soups, but unfortunately, we lack the space. This week, I am most excited that we received a bounty of cucumbers– it’s canning time!
With all our trials and errors in the kitchen this summer, I still think bacon with hearty greens to be the best. It’s simple and delicious and takes little prep time. A perfect side from breakfast to dinner: great with eggs or cornmeal crusted fish (as shown here).
Collards (or other hearty greens) with Bacon
Serves 2. Prep time= 5 minutes. Cook time= 10 minutes.
While collards are usually cooked to an extreme doneness, leaving them limp and soggy, this preparation holds some of their structure, leaving them crisp.2 cups loosely packed chopped collards, leaves only
2 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces1) Cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces. In a hot pan set over medium-high heat, cook bacon until crisp (or desired doneness reached).
2) As bacon is cooking, prepare collards: Wash collards and pull off leaves, discarding stems. Chop into strips, about 1 inch thick.
3) Push the bacon to the side of the pan and using a papertowel, soak up some of the bacon’s fat, leaving a thin surface on the pan. Add collards, stir to incorporate ingredients and coat with bacon fat, and cover.
4) Let cook about 3 minutes, uncover, stir and cover again, about 2 minutes more. Serve warm.