It's CSA time

My husband and I belong to a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The idea behind a CSA is that you buy a "share" in a farm and you receive fresh, organic, seasonal produce that was picked fresh that day. Some CSAs operate year round, but ours is seasonal operating from mid-May through mid-November.

We belong to a CSA in Sebastopol called Singing Frogs Farm. Our farmers are Paul and Elizabeth Kaiser, a lovely young couple with 2 adorable children. Each week we receive a box of produce from the farm, along with farm fresh eggs. The box of produce costs $21.25 and the eggs are $3/half dozen. Each box comes with a newsletter packed with information about goings on around the farm, some history and background on the more unusual veggies and recipes and serving ideas.

Now that we are getting fresh produce from the farm and some from our own garden, it will be more difficult for me to come up with the cost of each dish. I will make my best guess about what you can expect to pay at the grocery store, but keep in mind that prices change really quickly depending on what's in season.

I'll also share some ideas and experiments from my own kitchen as I attempt to use the produce we receive in our box. For example, last week we got fava beans from the farm and we did some experimenting to figure out what we like. Please comment and share your ideas as well.