November 16, 2009

CSA Delivery: Can you say greens?

Why is a photo of produce so exciting? Is this pornography for middle-aged urban dwellers?

I am a huge fan of greens, so I'm very happy with this delivery. I had to take the photo indoors today to avoid the glare out on our porch. It's a gorgeous sunny day out, and that combined with the variety of produce grown locally, reminds me of how lucky we are to live in Southern California, despite some of the well-known drawbacks.

This week we got (roughly clockwise from the back): rainbow chard, beets, cauliflower, green oak lettuce, carrots, rapini, red potatoes, garlic, persimmons, pink grape tomatoes, grapes, kiwis, pumpkin chocolate chip cookie (gone within seconds!), fuji apples, yellow onion, yellow bell pepper, flagolet beans, and pomegranates.

Wow. We are certainly going to be eating from the rainbow this week. And we're so loaded with pomegranates lately, I think I'll make a gift of one to someone who could use a ton of antioxidants. Since we got cauliflower, I can't resist making one of my favorites tonight, vegetable curry. Click here for the recipe. And later this week I'll be making these awesome Guadalajaran swiss chard quesadillas, which sound exotic, but are super quick and easy.

If you're interested in joining a CSA, click here to find one near you. CSAs are a great way to eat fresh, local produce that's usually organic. It's good for the farmers, better for your health, and better for the environment because of all the resources that are saved by cutting out the shipping. I'm so happy about all of that, but the best thing of all is that this stuff really tastes great! Are you a member of a CSA? Let us know in a Comment. And if anybody has a recipe for rapini, I'd love to hear about it.

6 comments:

Carla said...

Looking at your picture I am just thinking the word "fresh". How pretty it all looks. Enjoy your delicious greens this week!

tammy brackett said...

MAN now my stomach is REALLY growling! LOVELY PICTURE ANGELA...happy eating!

Bean said...

"...to live in Southern California, despite some of the well-known drawbacks..."

I guess I must be Canadian or something but isn't California like, paradise or something? Sunshine, swimming pools, movie stars and just look at your fresh greens! Ha ha!
I like it here in B.C. and like you, I feel lucky, I really can't complain, fresh air, mountains and clean lakes. Nice produce, by the way, our growing season is not nearly so exuberant now, we had snow last week. Boo hoo! Sure glad I canned those peaches when I had the chance!

jil said...

OOHHH!! What an inviting picture!
May I pass on a trick taught to me years ago by the elderly Greek ladies at the veggie market??
If you peel pomegranates and put the seeds into jars in the fridge they last a long, long time. They would by sacks of them and finally , nosy me, just had to ask what they did with them all. I have done this every since.

Also.. when rapiniis in season I saute it quicky with olive oil and garlic...do not brown the garlic... is lovely over pasta.fresh or dried. Top with shavings of Asiago or Precorino Romano cheese. This is a favorite quickie meal for me.

Cate said...

Yum! I'm jealous of all those pomegranates. I'd never had one until a couple weeks ago and now I'm a true convert. I love how long the seeds last--we do what Jil suggested and just store the seeds in a closed container in the fridge. They last a long time, which is good since I feel like it takes us a whole week to eat a single pomegranate, anyway!

Angela said...

Thanks for your comments everyone!

hiptobeme- the fresh air and clean lakes is what we lack...

jil- Yes, I've recently learned to seed them in water and then we keep them in the refrigerator for using in salads, etc. Glad to know that's an old-world accepted method! And thanks for the rapini prep- we love pasta so that's what we'll do with it.