Our first CSA pickup of this season!

So last year, through a series of fortunate events, Molly and I were introduced to the Community Supported Agriculture idea. I know, we were probably totally behind the learning curve on this lesson, but it has been a valuable lesson. We bit the bullet and found a CSA to join: Facing West Farms. I would say that last year's experience was an interesting one. There were weeks when we had no idea what we were getting from these people. We went through more Beets and Radishes last year than most people see in a lifetime. Molly scrounged for recipes for beets and we turned them into everything from jam to science fair projects. Exposure to new vegetables was also a valuable lesson. Things that I had only heard of on cooking shows or had seen in cooking magazines.

Going into this year, we were hesitant to buy back into the CSA because we felt like we wasted so much last year, but went ahead with it, with the knowledge and dedication to see it through. Today was our first pick up and it was another interesting one!

Now, thats a lot of green!! We had cilantro, collard greens, Swiss chard, green onions, spring mix, 2 types of lettuce that I am unsure of the name and these weird garlic things.

I can't quite remember the name of them, but I am going to have to figure that one out. The guy who owns the farm said that they flavor food much like garlic, but just look different. The cilantro went to our next door neighbors since we have a cilantro plant in the backyard that is one of the few things to which the rabbit that plagues our backyard apparently has an aversion.

Tonight I decided to cook up the Swiss Chard to go along with some White Chili Molly had in the crockpot. Now, I have cooked greens in the past, but for some reason I just couldn't get it right. To be honest, there was a time where the things I cooked probably could have been used in the embalming process. Molly and I laughed it off and I just kind of added it to the list of things I wanted to master at some point. Well this appears to me my time to conquer since the materials were all present. I started with some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), and wilted the greens after stemming them. That was a process all by itself as I had never done that in the past. Needless to say, the internet is a delightful thing! Just google search How to stem Chard and a bunch of items just show up. Voila! After wilting, I threw in some nutmeg, worchestshire sauce, salt (just a little though), cumin and chicken broth...A couple minutes later...YUM!

Admittedly, greens aren't for everyone. Ainsley merely tolerated them, especially since we promised her a pickle if she ate some. But I can geniunely say that I enjoyed them. The earthiness of the green combined with the worchestshire sauce was a good combo. Now I will just have to play with some different spices next time, and might use some hot sauce as opposed to worchestshire. Who knows?

This year we also added the Farm Fresh Egg Share to our CSA. So every week we will be getting a dozen eggs! This should be an interesting experience as I am only used to having white eggs in the house! I know, I live a sheltered life. Well not that only having white eggs signifies a completely sheltered life, but you know what I'm saying. Omelettes this weekend, anyone?

Next it is onto Collard Greens. Just have to get some Ham Hock and I can go from there.

Happy Eating Everyone!