Meatless Monday Inspiration: Are You Part of a CSA? (And 5 Ideas for Your Seasonal Goods)
What’s a CSA, you may be wondering? Well it stands for “community-supported agriculture” and it’s when a bunch of folks get together to support a local farm by subscribing to a service whereby they receive regular fruit and/or veggie boxes of whatever may be in season. It’s a pretty awesome alternative food system—one we’re both satisfied participants of—especially if you’ve ever stood at the Whole Foods cash cursing the cost of your organic veggies. (For the record I still do, but not as often.)
In short, CSAs are the shizzle. A truly great idea for anyone trying to eat healthy on a budget, and support their local community.
My veggie box, which costs a reasonable $25, is delivered to me every other Friday, making it ridiculously convenenient. While sometimes it’s more veggies than I can handle, which then makes me feel awful about the fact that I don’t compost yet, it usually forces me to come up with new ways to trick my husband into eating vegetables and has been the catalyst behind many an unexpected culinary creation.
Many of you are surely already CSA subscribers and we’d love to hear about your experiences: Do you find it hard to eat your veggies? Has it forced to you get creative in the kitchen? Below are some of my best hits for veggies that could currently be in your box.
- Avocados: You can’t ever go wrong with an avocado, but if you’re looking to cut back on butter or mayo, this fruit-cum-veggie makes for an excellent vegan fat substitute. Try it blended into salad dressing like this one instead of mayo, or spread it on toast instead of butter. So. Good. (Especially with salt, pepper, and some sliced tomato.)
- Beets: Even LA is feeling wintery right now, so while I’m still wild about this skin-loving raw beet soup recipe, I’m craving something warm. Ever had a traditional borscht? Delicious. Here’s a basic vegetarian recipe that is close to what I do, though I recommend vinegar instead of lemon as the acid.
- Brussel Sprouts: To me there is one way to do brussels best, and it’s this way.
- Carrots and Baby Potatoes: This idea came to me last week. I was craving something kind of Greek, so I roasted rough-cut potatoes and carrots in olive oil (same way as the brussels), and when they got good and brown I took them out of the oven and tossed them in lemon juice, salt, pepper, adding chopped green onions and dill. I served them with a garlicky Greek yogurt dip too. Nom nom nom.
- Cabbage: I love cabbage and lately I’ve been treating it as the ultimate wrap vehicle. Trying to avoid gluten or corn? Concerned about spiking your blood sugar? There’s not much you can’t wrap up in cabbage, whether it’s a stir fry, some egg salad, tofu, fish, avocado, taco filling, whatever. Softer stuff pairs especially well with the awesome crunch of the cabbage.
Happy cooking, chickens.
P.S. It’s Siobhan’s birthday today!!!!! Three cheers for Siobhan who is so special and awesome. I know I’m not alone when I say I’m happy this girl was born. :)
I have been receiving a CSA veggie box for two years now. And I just love it. Fresh veggies taste so much better and it forced me to be creative in the kitchen when I receive stuff I would not normally buy. It’s the next best thing to actually having a garden.
Happy Birthday Siobhan! I just wish I could get near you for a real hug:) Really, I wish you a day as special as you are!
On the topic of CSA’s…no , I do not participate in one . But will be looking/reading coments to see if something comes up around my corner:)
We do have a local CSA, but I am not a member. I’m a rather picky eater and I don’t want to waste anything in a CSA box. I do shop with the same CSA farmer at the farmers’ market though, among others. One thing about CSA’s is that some farmers’ markets are frowning upon them, especially if the pick-up is at the farmers’ market. The farmers’ market does not receive their fees for CSA pick-ups, so be aware of that. I think the important thing is to shop local and for me fresh ingredients are very important, as I am an avid and fanatical cook.
That said, my son, who is a chef, has been a CSA customer for many years for himself as well as for his restaurant. He loves the service and is inspired to create new dishes with each basket.
Happy Birthday Siobhan!
I do not have a CSA membership because my parents have a farm with a sizeable vegetable garden 1.5 hours from the city. I have looked into Irv and Shelly’s (for any Chicago ladies!), and find it really cool that there are so many options. You can go with a regular vegetable or fruit box, in which they choose for you. Or, you can pick and choose your veggies and quantity of those veggies each week–and still have them delivered to your door. I don’t think I’d be very good with a random box of veggies, and I’d hate to spend $ and end up throwing things away.
I’m not a very good cook & my kids are not very excited about veggies, so I feel that it would go to waste if we participated in a CSA program. I think it is a wonderful idea, though!
Happy bday to Siobhan!!
Thanks christina, comagirl and nancy!
I totally have a CSA and picked up my last share for the season on Saturday. Ive saved so much money and gotten really creative in the kitchen — SUCH a fan.
Anyone who wants one should go to CSAfinder and punch in their zipcode. There are more than 3,000 nationwide, so there’s hopefully one near you!
I have friends who share a box and this works exceptionally well for them. Just in case anyone out there thinks it is just too much food.
I would love to do a CSA but there isn’t one near me, however, my hubs found a great farmer’s market we try to get to every weekend (or at least every 2 weeks) and we can get so many fruits and veggies there for just a little $$ :). I definitely work my menu for the week/2 weeks around the veggies and fruits that the farmer’s market has – and I know we are eating tons more fruit and veggies than we used to, so it’s good for us all around.
Happy birthday, Siobhan! My bday was Saturday – November birthdays are the best!
Alexandra- I am new to the LA area, and was actually looking for a CSA to join, but was overwhelmed by the options. Your’s sounds great! Any chance you would share the name/contact info? Thanks so much!!
And, Happy Birthday to Siobhan!
Sure. The one I use is http://www.farmfreshtoyou.com/index.php
I like them but I honestly didn’t do much research because a friend was working for them at the time and she signed me up. Also, it looks like the price on my veggie box went up by about 5 bucks! The mixed box is $25 though. :)
I did the CSA thing for a while, but it didn’t work out. My husband and son are just NOT going to get into anything experimental as they are both picky eaters, and for just me alone it didn’t seem sensible. I go to the farmer’s market every week, I’m lucky to live near a few great markets. I can get awesome locally produced fruits and veggies as well as my favorite raw juices and raw almonds for almond milk. I have toyed with the idea of getting back to a CSA, but probably won’t do it.
happiest of b-days, Siobhan!!
Happy Birthday Siobhan! Congratulations on successfully breathing in and out for another year! Hope your day was as awesome as you are and that you have many many more. May you live as long as you like, and love as long as you live.
I don’t use a veggie box service – my mum lives nearby and has an allotment (am I right in thinking this is a mostly British/European thing?) so I get most of my veggies from her and top them up from the farmers market. The only thing I struggle with living in the North of England is fruit – we have such a short season for soft fruits and I haven’t really gotten into the swing of picking and freezing it for the winter. I also love citrus and exotic fruits and I struggle so much to find low-carbon ways of getting them.
As far as recipes go, I have converted so many non-cabbage eaters with this recipe: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/other-recipes/must-try-red-cabbage-braised-with-apple even if you’re not veggie, ignore the bacon in it, it gets completely overpowered by the cabbage anyway. yum!
We have been CSA members for two years. We also help out on our CSA farm once or twice a year. This has been a great way to introduce our children to the people who grow their food. Although we have a few picky eaters, they will give anything a try if it comes from their farmer!
It has really enhanced my creativity in the kitchen. We share recipes among our CSA members too, which is a big help.
Lola, I’m definitely going to try your cabbage recipe. I have a lower calorie caesar salad recipe by Jamie Oliver that I just love, so I am game to try another of his recipes. Thanks for sharing this.
I love CSA! Been participating in my city since last February. Super convenient and make’s ya feel good!
Ottawa girls check out Good Food Box –> ottawagoodfoodbox.ca
@Genna, love you for giving a link for Ottawa girls!!!! I am going to check it out :)
Lola – I’m in the UK and I get a veg and fruit box from Riverford, which I love. (I grow some veg in my garden but I’m a beginner so it’s a small amount!). The great thing about it – and you can get a fruit only one – is you get seasonal fruit from the UK, and any other fruit like bananas etc is never air-freighted so it’s all very green.
Another awesome way to cook red cabbage (they’re sending a lot right now!) is to combine it with raisins, clove and orange zest. It sounds weird but it SO nice and kinda Christmassy :)
For beetroot – I recently saw a recipe for savory tarte tatin using beetroot instead of apple, and it looked delish. Also going to try making Borscht soon, thanks for the link on that.
This is such a great idea. I am all for supporting local businesses. I am going to have to look into finding something like this local to where we live. My wife loves fresh veggies. Would save us the hassle of growing them in the garden as well. Thanks for the heads up.