Cut Out the Middle Man: Fresh Fruit from the Farm...

Jo-Elle and I recently signed on to a community supported agriculture program (CSA).

Not familiar? Its a "farm share," where you buy a subscription for produce deliveries from a regional farmer every week. So, we have started getting organic fruits and veggies from Videnovich Farms in Bridger, MI.

I know, I know...

...but before you think I've gone hippy on you, hear me out. I think its a good deal. We signed on for a 20-week subscription for $300. That's $15/week for fresh produce. Not bad.

And as a cook, I am kinda geeked about it.

Let's be honest...we all kinda have a grocery store routine. Out of habit, I'll bet that there can't be more than a dozen or so kinds of vegetables that I buy throughout the year. I don't experiment with a bunch of different kinds of lettuce or root vegetables. And I think that is probably pretty common.

But this forces us to try out whatever is fresh. They literally pluck our delivery from the ground right before driving it to Chicago, so the offerings will change from week to week.

And even the familiar stuff, like tomatoes, will not be what we expect (they've planted 23 different varieties of toms, with an array of colors and flavors). Sure, I buy okra when I make jambalaya every January...but that's about it... So I am pretty excited to be forced to experiment a bit more with the stubby, sticky green pods when they are fresh.

But it has started a tad slow.

Apparently, there has been a lot of rain in Michigan this spring. And that has slowed growth to the point that in this, the second week of our CSA experiment, the delivery is canceled (which is disappointing, but dandy---we are extended by a week and the late summer/fall stuff is way better). The first week was novel, but the farmers admitted a bit skimpy. It included:

• asparagus purchased from the neighbor's farm (tasty!)
  
• green garlic, which was a revelation and incredibly tasty with salmon, chicken, and in rice
  
• lemon balm...which was novel, but I did not feel like making into tea---but was tasty mulled with sugar in a glass of iced bourbon
  
• stinging nettles...pictured above with the protective gloves that came along to ensure "safe" handling of the green leaves...ummm, we have not eaten those yet as I am a bit put off by plants with neurotoxins...

While we appreciate the interesting stuff, I am hoping for fewer poison plants and more tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and the like in the coming weeks. Pretty fun stuff though!