Out of the Box

My planned post for today was a farmers’ market trip report (notice I said planned…). For me, one of the joys of the Bay Area is easy access to local farmers’ markets. From May through October, you can hit a market for fresh-picked produce just about any day of the week. My plan (there’s that word again) for today was to find a nearby market and just pop by to see what’s available. Alas, no. A quick check of the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association site let me know that now we’re firmly into Fall, many of the weekday farmer’s markets have closed for the season. Ergh, what’s a girl to do?

Fortunately, inspiration arrived this sunny morning on my front porch: my first CSA box (aka, farmers’ market box)! And when I say “first,” I mean “first evah.” I know, I know. For someone who has been in the food industry for a decade and in the Bay Area for even longer, you’d think I would have been all over having fresh produce delivered to my doorstep every week. While signing up for a box of farm-fresh produce has been  on my “getaroundtoit” list for years, somehow it’s just never happened. (Best of intentions, and all that.)

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I decided to finally take the plunge. Picked my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, signed up on their website, picked my first delivery date… et voila! Fresh-picked produce has turned up on my doorstep like an early Christmas present.

So, are you wondering what was in the box? Five pounds of kale? Fennel and pomegranates? I was excited and a bit apprehensive. Here’s what I saw when I opened the box:

All kinds of leafy-green wonders — wheeee! I haven’t really jumped on the kale bandwagon, so my first thought was “it looks good, but what the @#&$ am I going to do with it?” But that’s part of the fun — figuring out what do with with everything.  Actually following through and cooking/eating everything in this box before the next box arrives is a separate project, of course! Hmmm, wondering if I was in over my head already, but giddy with the excitement at what might be underneath the kale.

Rather than give you the strip-tease version, I’ll skip right to the food porn. Yeah, the full monty! Feast your eyes…

(1) bunch of kale
(1) head of red romaine lettuce
(1) King Richard leek
(1) bunch of radishes
(3) pears
(4) apples
(4) red-skin potatoes (in the plastic bag)
(7) Fuyu persimmons

The radishes might be a challenge, but I’ve already got ideas for everything else. Updates in the next post! In the meantime, if you want to know more about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) or find a farm so you can get your own delivery, check out Local Harvest. Even if you don’t live in The 650, you can search for farms in your area simply by entering your zip code.