Farm Fresh Update

I've been gushing on and off about our Community Supported Agriculture farm share. I think it's time to gush a little more.

On Friday, I picked up our 4th 1/2 bushel of farm-fresh vegetables! I'm loving the CSA program we signed up for. I've been hesitant to name the farm, in case it goes south, but I think we are now at a point where I can endorse them. The farm is Rock Spring Farm, in Spring Grove, MN. They have been wonderful. Their newsletter tells us a little bit about how they operate their farm. They also explain a bit about the food we are getting and give us recipes on what to do with them.

We have spent a lot of time realizing how much flavor cucumbers and broccoli have when you don't get them from a supermarket. I recommend a CSA to anyone who likes good. Often, I've been chopping up a vegetable that we know quite commonly. We start picking at it to taste it, and then decide that we need samples for everyone in the house. Fresh organic food tastes differently. It's not bland at all.

We also get some stuff that we can't identify. The newsletter helps us out by giving us a little background on what the food is and what to do with it. Most often, we tend to make a salad with the items that we don't quite know what to do with. Our salads have had a very interesting flavor, because we are putting in a lot of herbs.

The main difficulty has been the herbs. We are not at all used to cooking with fresh herbs, so we are often at a loss of what to do with them. For example, we have a bunch of fresh mint. Now, I love mint, but I don't know what to do, besides making mint juleps. So the mint has sat, underused. Otherwise, it is thrown into the salad a mixed with everything else.

My new trick with the herbs is to marinate a few chicken breasts in whatever herbs we have. I try to do this on Sunday evening. That way, it will be ready to cook by Monday or Tuesday (our chicken breasts are all frozen, so they need some time to thaw in the herbs). We have grilled and broiled our chicken, but my Other Half thinks that a stir-fry would be a better option. That way, it allows us to keep the herbs for a second usage.

I've also been mixing in some herbs with my morning egg. Yes, I still have an egg and toast with our wonderful egg/toast machine. I've been putting thyme, parsley, or oregano in the one egg before I poach it. Not bad.

These are all good attempts, but I feel like I could be more creative. If you have any suggestions, I'll accept them. However, I highly suggest a CSA, either Rock Spring Farm, or one in your area. They are wonderful additions to your diet!