CSA

A few years ago we started with a CSA. Basically a CSA is a farm or group of farms that sell shares in the beginning of the season and you pick up produce weekly. We bought a small share from a local CSA, Terrys Berries. Cost varies between farms. Ours averages out to about $19/week. 

I have tried several CSAs in the area and I have come back to this one. I like that they are strictly organic and they grow almost everything on site.

The first year I had a lot of waste. I had no idea what some of the veggies were nor did I have any clue how to use them. They sat in the refrigerator and slowly went bad before I could figure out what to do with them. Now, I am learning, slowly. There is a lot of experimenting around here during CSA season! My goal is to use everything. And, so far we are doing pretty good.

I had wanted to start blogging when we started the Summer season. We are already a few weeks into the it, so I'm a bit behind, but here is this weeks CSA small share:

Starting at the top left: chard (will be used in my juicer), chives, bok choy (will be in stir fry tonight), kohlrabi (purple ball - great peeled and sliced and dipped in ranch), garlic sprouts (you can barely see them they are between the kohlrabi and the lettuce - I will use them like garlic, the greens are usable too), lettuce

In the mesh bags (I finally got my own reusable bags and I really like them): Rainier cherries (best cherries ever - my kids will eat the entire 1/2 pound that we got before the sun sets today. If I'm lucky I will get a few too) and snap peas.

Finally, a monster amount of spinach. That will go into everything from juice and smoothies to salads.

The early part of the share is heavy on the greens. And, since it is just starting to warm up here in the Pacific NW, we are still in the "greens season".  In the last several weeks we have had asparagus, some apples, strawberries, plus lots of greens.

I've learned that if I put in some time to wash and prep everything then we have a greater chance of using it before it spoils. I have a tub that I put water with a little vinegar in. Everything gets dipped in the vinegar bath, rinsed, and then into containers (gladware/tupperware type) in the fridge. It's easy to pull out and use for snacks and meals. Since I'm not naturally organized this has been a challenge. I'm learning that too.

Also on the farm, MILK!!

We are finally able to milk Bella and keep it to use. We are not getting much each day, about 1-2 Cups. But, that's pretty good since we have not started to wean Finley yet and so we are just getting what is left over after she eats.

We have found that the taste is excellent. Lighter and sweeter than the raw cow milk that we are currently drinking. Also, the color is whiter due to the way the cream reflects the light. The kids even prefer the goat milk over the cow milk.

Here is our 10 oz. that we got last night.