Six Weeks of Community Supported Agriculture

Our farm share is a labor of love. 

It's a labor to pick up the food, store the food, prepare the food, eat the food. Sometimes I will talk with my clients about farm shares, and I will actually try to scare them off a bit. "It's a lot of work," I say, "There is no need to work this hard to eat healthy food."

When we started with this farm share, I felt a lot of pressure as the dietitian in the house to use everything and come up with ideas all the time. I pickled cucumbers, carrots, jalapenos and radishes. I blanched and froze broccoli, and bagged up spinach and chard to store in the freezer. It stressed me out every summer.

Each year, I do less and less and find a better balance. There are 3 key things that have decreased the stress around this farm share and allowed me to enjoy it more:

- We have always shared the farm share with my in laws, but now we also share the veggies with a co-worker. One farm share now feeds 6-7 people.

- I used to be afraid to buy additional vegetables when we already had so much, but now I recognize that each season is so short - if I need carrots right now, I will buy them. 

- I used to try to use every part of every vegetable and work to reduce waste. Now I recognize that carrot greens don't even taste good and are distracting me from the things I truly enjoy. I don't need to eat every piece of broccoli stem or use the tough spines of the swiss chard. However, this season we do have a new compost bin, so I've been trying to use that more!

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6
	Bok choi Chard Collards Fennel Garlic scapes Head lettuce Kale, tuscano Kohl rabi Salad mix Scallions Spinach Turnips PYO Strawberries	Beets Bok choi Chard Collards Fennel Garlic scapes Head lettuce Kale Kohl rabi Napa cabbage Radishes Salad mix Scallions Spinach PYO herbs PYO strawberries	Beets, gold Bok choi Broccoli Cabbage Chard Collards Fennel Head lettuce Kale Kohl rabi Scallions Spinach Summer squash Turnips PYO flowers PYO herbs	Arugula Beets Bok choi Broccoli Cabbage Chard Collards Cucumbers Fennel Head lettuce Kale Napa cabbage Radish Salad mix Scallions Summer squash PYO flowers PYO herbs PYO peas	Arugula Beets Bok choi Broccoli Carrots Chard Collards Cucumbers Fennel Head lettuce Kale Napa cabbage Radicchio Salad mix Scallions Yellow squash Zucchini PYO flowers PYO herbs
	Main recipe: Chicken cesar salad with farm lettuce & turnips Chop: Scallions, Strawberries Freeze: Spinach, Chard	Main recipe: Lasagna with beet greens and swiss chard Chop: radishes, strawberries	Main recipe:  Eat to feed carrot beet pasta sauce with whole peeled tomatoes	Main recipe: Falafel sandwich with lettuce, arugula, cucumber, tomato, & tahini Freeze: Dinosaur kale, cabbage

Early summer meal ideas:

- Dumpling soup with baby bok choy OR cabbage OR swiss chard OR spinach
- Omelet with spinach OR greens and cheese
- Cesar salad with added radish OR turnip OR shredded carrot
- Fried rice with scallions and broccoli
- Martha Stewart's swiss chard lasagna