Eat your veggies

I have to admit, I am kind of obsessed with the CSA I am participating in this year. CSA stands for community supported agriculture, and typically the deal is that you pay some amount of money up front and then you pick up a "share" of the harvest every week. Every CSA is a little different. Mine is through Central Roots, which is in Cleveland. That's right, Cleveland proper, at the Ohio City Farm. 

There are a few different ways that a CSA can be set up. Ours is one fee, one share, every week for 27 weeks. We get an email each week with information about our share, like what will be included that week, recipes, and storage tips. This means I can plan for a trip to the grocery store right before or after we pick up our share to grab anything I might want to go with the veggies from the share. Our farm is almost all veggies, but they do have a second location that is all fruit trees and bushes. We also typically get one herb each week as well. 

Did I mention that we get fresh produce for 27 weeks in a row? And that it is organic and all from this farm?

The other local option for a CSA here that I have found is much different. You pay a price for your share, as well as a membership fee. You then go online and pick what you want in your share each week, based on how much you paid for your share. While this seems like a cool option, I would bet that there are people who pick the same things every single week. I think that part of the fun of a CSA is figuring out what in the world you are going to do with 2 dozen beets! This option was also shorter and more expensive than Central Roots. 

Speaking of beets, I had never ever eaten a beet before this summer. And I probably wouldn't have tried them if I didn't keep getting them in my share (you can only give away so many beets). Turns out, they are pretty ok. The same with kohlrabi, wheatgrass, swiss chard, and purple beans. 

This week, we are getting salad mix, eggplant, jalapeños, golden beets, Genovese basil, rainbow Swiss chard, heirloom tomatoes, and Easter Egg radishes. I can't wait!

Quiet

It's been quite a while since I have posted on here. I know. 

I have let the stress of my job get the better of me and I am not proud of that. It feels like I am always planning, always rushing, always thinking, moving quickly from one task to the next. There is never enough time, more work and things to do piling up around me. Check-lists and calendars have become overwhelming instead of comforting. 

But last weekend I had my first moment of real peace in months. Sitting on the beach, I let it go. 

Of course, it was gone as soon as the work week began, but it was wonderful while it lasted.