Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

This spring, we joined a CSA called Turnip Rock so we could get local, fresh, in-season produce directly from a farm and support a local farmer. We do live really close to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market but the CSA is really easy and all we need to do is go pick up our fresh veggies every Thursday. We've loved it so far and we've been pretty good about not letting our veggies go to waste. For more information about Turnip Rock farm, check out their blog: http://turniprock.wordpress.com/

If you're not familiar with CSA's, here's a primer (taken from The Land Stewardship Project website):

At their most fundamental level, CSA farms provide a weekly delivery of sustainably grown produce to consumers during the growing season (approximately June to October). Those consumers, in turn, pay a subscription fee. But CSA consumers don't so much "buy" food from particular farms as become "members" of those farms. CSA operations provide more than just food; they offer ways for eaters to become involved in the ecological and human community that supports the farm.

...being involved with a CSA operation always means sharing the rewards as well as the risks of farming. The rewards include: enjoying the freshest produce available, often harvested the same day you receive it; knowing where, how and by whom your food is being produced; having a direct connection with the people who produce your food; and supporting the kind of stewardship that is good for the land as well as its people.

The risks include weather and pests. Though formidable for small, self-sustaining farmers, these risks are bearable when shared by a group of subscribers. By linking together through CSA operations, farmers and consumers alike can benefit from an agriculture that provides beautiful and bountiful food while preserving the ecological and social basis necessary for coming generations to be so blessed.

So basically, it's good for us, it's good for farmers, it's good for our local economy, it's good for the environment - I mean, could it really get any better?! In the past few weeks, our CSA share has had cucumbers, parsley, new potatoes, onion, green onion, beets, squash, romaine lettuce, carrots, sunflowers along with other veggies. Yum! Today, I wanted to use the parsley, cucumber, romaine lettuce, green onion and some mint that a friend gave me from her garden. So we made tabbouleh for supper and ate it along with some organic whole grain pita bread and tzatziki (mixed with chopped cucumber) from Holy Land grocery in Minneapolis. The only thing that was missing was falafel. (Oh, how I love falafel!!) Here's the recipe we used:

Tabbouleh
2 cups bulgur wheat (presoaked for 1 hour)
3 cups parsley, finely minced
1/4 cup mint, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded & diced
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, gently mix together the bulgur, parsley, mint, green onion, tomato, pepper, cumin & salt with a wooden spoon. Add the lemon juice and mix again. Chill the tabbouleh for one hour to let the flavors blend. Just before serving, add the olive oil and mix well. Serves 6.

It was very easy to make and tasted good, but I should have minced the parsley much finer. The pieces were a little too big and the flavor overwhelmed the flavors a little bit. So don't be lazy like me when you make this! Here's what it looked like:


We hope you had a great supper tonight, too. Tomorrow I have to make something with all the beets we have. Any ideas or recipes to share?