Hi, Internet world.
Katie here. As the weather in Boston gets warmer, it can only mean one thing. I’m not talking about more frequent trips to the local ice cream joint, although I did wait in line for half an hour the other night for a chocolate ice cream soda with oreo cookie ice cream. (It was totally worth it.) Warm weather means the start of harvest season at our CSA, which stands for community supported agriculture.
Here’s the concept: during winter, you pay a lump sum of money for all the vegetables you’ll receive in the upcoming growing season. This gives farmers the upfront money they need to buy seeds and start planting. We belong to Moose Hill’s organic CSA, where we pick up produce and fresh eggs once a week. Our first veggies of the season came about a month ago, and we’ll probably continue the pick-ups into September.
In addition to monetary payment to your CSA, some require you to contribute hours harvesting, weeding or helping to distribute produce. For our CSA, you have to work eight hours over the growing season. The other week, my mom and I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to help harvest red oak leaf lettuce, some kind of tasty green lettuce and beautiful red and white radishes.
To showcase our deliciously spicy radishes, I made a traditional appetizer inspired by the Barefoot Contessa, some lady on the food network. Slice up a crunchy baguette, spread on some homemade herb butter, and top with sliced radishes. Here’s my adapted version of Alice Waters’ recipe for herb butter:
In a small bowl, mix together:
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup chopped herbs (parsley, basil, oregano, mint, whatever you like or have on hand)
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped and smashed
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
- Small pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Taste. Adjust for lemon, salt and pepper.
Why do we take part in community supported agriculture? Because it makes me warm and fuzzy inside. Also, because it feels good to get your hands dirty and to see where your food actually comes from. That’s a pretty powerful concept, considering there is a watermelon in my fridge; and I have zero idea where it was grown, who grew it or just exactly how it got to the supermarket in my town.
Besides knowing where these vegetables come from, I have to tell you that they are considerably more delicious than their conventionally grown supermarket counterparts. Don’t believe me? Do a blind taste test and let me know how it goes.
If you don’t have a CSA in your area, chances are there are farmer’s markets in your area that sell yummy, locally grown and often organic produce. Hey, reader, do you buy food at a farmers’ market or belong to a CSA? Have you ever grown your own food? Do you think local, organic food is better or is it overpriced and just not worth the effort? Let us know what you think, in the form of a comment or a photo of you enjoying some kind of produce from your fridge.
life, liberty and apple pie 
Do knock-off Dominican Oreos count as local produce if I bought them from a Haitian streetvendor? If not, I think my fridge is about tapped.
It looks and sounds delicious. Thanks for the insight into other paths and ways of life, Katie.
Buying eats from a streetvendor definitely boosts the local economy, so your purchase falls into the “sort-of local, but synthetic” category.
This is the CSA in Irvine! http://www.tanakafarms.com/ I am going to convince my family to do this, as I already know how much my family enjoys working outside in our own flower garden. It was so easy to find as well. I just typed in CSA and Irvine. However, outside of the up front lump sum one pays, is there a membership fee of some kind?
Every CSA is different. My CSA is a pretty small operation, so they need the upfront money. I checked out this one in Irvine, and it looks pretty established. It seems like you can just sign up whenever and pay weekly, which makes sense because you can probably grow delicious things year round in California. If you join, let me know what you think!
Does buying vegetables imported from the DR from our local ti machann (small women merchants) who crowd our street Delmas 65 count? How about the ginger growing in a powdered milk tin on our barred window sill? No, aqui.
How do you grow ginger? That’s neat.