First Share!

Today was the big day, our first farm share delivery! I went through the day with an extra spring in my step, knowing that I was set to pick up 10 lbs. of delicious organic produce at the end of the day.  Call me lame, but I was downright giddy.  I picked up the produce after work and brought it home on the bus.  Inside the share I found:

• A head of garlic from Eastern Carolina Organics, NC
• A bunch of green kale  from Lady Moon, FL
• A head of green leaf lettuce, also from Lady Moon, FL
• An ample avocado from Homestead, FL

• A box of organic grape tomatoes from Florida
• A bag of wheat berries from Four Star Farm in Northfield, MA
• Two enormous carrots from Enterprise Farm in Whately, MA
• Five Yukon potatoes from Full Bloom Farm in Whately, MA
• Four parsnips from Deep Root, VT (where we used to get a lot of produce at the Middlebury Co-op!)
• One delicata squash from Czajkowski in Hadley, MA
• Two low spray/IPM apples from Bashista Fruit Farm in Southampton, MA

I was psyched that the majority of the items I received were actually local and that there was produce from five Massachusetts producers.  I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed at how $30 of organic produce didn't take us very far in terms of volume.  $30 of produce at Bazaar or Super 88 would be a crazy large amount in comparison.  I reminded myself that this farm share was something we are committed to and that winter CSA shares tend to be more expensive than summer CSA shares (for good reason!).  And, now that I have an actual income, I don't have to take such a miserly approach to my expenses.

The newsletter that came with our share included recipes for Asian Avocado Salsa, Delicata Squash with Rosemary, Sage, and Cider Glaze, and Brown Butter Creamed Winter Greens that looked delicious and used some of our farm share but also called for far too many other [expensive] ingredients that we didn't have.  I think I'll make an effort to post simpler, equally delicious recipes that can be made mostly from farm share ingredients. We ended up making a delicious carrot puree soup using a recipe from Nava Atlas's 5-Ingredient Vegetarian Gourmet that utilized our carrots and some of our potatoes, not to mention gave us the opportunity to bring out our dusty Cuisinart food processor.  The recipe turned out well, though next time I think I'll add in some garlic or curry to give it an extra kick.  Basically all that was in it were carrots, potatoes, and a large white onion, with salt and pepper to taste. We complemented the soup with brazed cabbage, left over from Bazaar.  I also made a salad with some of the lettuce and used up the last of our red bell pepper and broccoli floret from Bazaar and served it with Annie's Goddess Dressing and my roommate's salad seasoning.  A delicious start, I thought.

Enterprise Farm Winter Farmshare

Some people eat to live, while others live to eat. I fall into the latter camp. Food is a passion and consuming locally is my goal. At Middlebury College, fresh, local food was plentiful and was readily available at dining halls, included as part of my meal plan. My boyfriend, who worked at the local co-op grocery store, would often bring back produce that was cosmetically imperfect but incredibly delicious. When I volunteered at the college's organic garden, I was able to bring home some of the bounty. It was easy to be a sustainable consumer when it required no effort and little cost.

Consuming local food proved to be more difficult when I moved back to Boston after graduating. I had no extra money to spare on things such as organic arugula or heirloom tomatoes. As summer rolled around, I started an internship and many of my colleagues signed up for a CSA share that was delivered to our office. As I drooled over the fresh, local produce that flooded in every Wednesday, I regretted not being able to eat like I used to at college. When my supervisor went on vacation for three weeks and graciously let the interns divide her share, I was in heaven. My roommates and I expanded our palates as we figured out how to incorporate rutabagas and radishes into our diets, since up until then we had mainly consumed pasta, rice, and beans. I was determined to sign up for a farm share as soon as I could afford to.

In August, my full time job started and for the first time ever I had a steady stream of income. And, as it turned out, a lot of spare time to catch up on my local food reading. As I pored over The Food Project's blog and the Boston Localvores blog the idea of a Winter CSA piqued my interest. I discovered that most of the farm share sign-ups were in September and October and since it was late November, I was glad to be able to put my name on a couple waiting lists.

When I got the email from Enterprise Farm letting me know that I could sign up late and they would pro-rate our share, I was thrilled. Up until now, my boyfriend and I have spent about $150 dollars a month on groceries. Signing up for a farm share was an expensive commitment, about $30 a week for 10 lbs. of organic produce. We were also uneasy about the fact that not all that was included in the share would be exactly local. The share would also include items from our "regional foodshed" (i.e. Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas). Rationalizing that this option would still be better than buying food from who-knows-where at Bazaar or Super 88, we decided it would be worth a shot, and, at the very least, good karma to practice what we preach in terms of eating sustainably and locally.

I have wanted to write about food for a while; chronicling my first foray into eating locally in Boston with my farm share seemed like a great opportunity to start.