Revisiting the CSA/Summer Eating

A couple of months ago, I wrote about our experience so far with belonging to a community supported agriculture (CSA). Basil and I were a little iffy on the amount of produce we were getting for the cost, though everything was tasty.

Well, the tide has turned. It is summer bounty time for farmers everywhere, and we patient CSA members are reaping the rewards of some hard-working folks on the Northern Neck.

For the past few weeks, we've gotten berries, zucchini and yellow squash. In early summer, we got cucumbers and whole heads of bok choy, as well as swiss chard, peas and garlic scapes. For two weeks straight, we got whole heads of cabbage. Lately, we've been getting generous amounts of corn, tomatoes and garlic, as well as a whole watermelon for each of the past two weeks. This week, we got green peppers and eggplant for the first time.

And I'm not talking one of each item. We've gotten either four or six ears of corn and two big beefsteak tomatoes each week, plus little bags of the sweetest cherry tomatoes I've ever eaten. Zucchini and squash always come in pairs, like little vegetables boarding Noah's Ark in a Saxton Freymann/Joost Elffers book, as did the cucumbers when they were in season. Petunia and I have been filling our arms each week, struggling under the weight of a small watermelon, a bag of heavy vegetables and a pint of berries.

It's amazing. I marvel that we're getting this food for about $35 a week - a bargain, given that it's all local and fresh and most of it's organic. Our misgivings about the CSA have been wiped away, and we've signed up for a fall share, salivating at the thought of apples, pears, squash, potatoes, pumpkins and arugula.

I have a feeling that we'll stick with this even through the winter and for the long haul, knowing the bounty that can come.

And speaking of bounty, it's everywhere right now. We haven't had to supplement our CSA much, but it's hard to pass up things like fresh cherries. I've been baking with cherries lately, and I owe a debt to the OXO cherry pitter, which makes unbelievably quick, neat work of pitting cherries.

A couple of weekends ago, I tried my hand at Bon Appetit's Lattice-Topped Triple-Cherry Pie, and ooooohhhmygod was it good. It's true that you can only get the preserved Morello cherries at Trader Joe's (Whole Foods didn't even have them), but they were worth the special trip. I always use the basic pie crust recipe from the Joy of Cooking, using half butter and half shortening, and that works great.

Last night, in anticipation of some friends coming for dinner tonight, I took advantage of the bag of cherries sitting in the fridge and made a Fresh Cherry Tart from Everyday Food, my absolute favorite, never-fail cooking magazine. We haven't eaten that yet, but my mother-in-law (who is staying with us for the week) and I tried the leftovers on the spoon and in the bowl and both agreed that um, YEAH, that'll do.

I also made Chocolate-Mint Puddings from Cooking Light, because hey, if one dessert is good, then two is great, right? The mint was from the grocery store, but we have gotten plenty from the CSA this year, so I know it's in season. Again, my MIL and I only licked leftovers, but WOW. Highly recommend that one. I poured the pudding into individual ramekin dishes because I thought it would be prettier than scooping it out of a big bowl. It's got just a hint of mint without being overpowering. Even Basil liked what he tasted, and he doesn't often go for chocolate-mint, even when I make these awesome cookies at Christmas time.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is...Get thee to a farmers market or a grocery store with a good produce section. This is the time of year to buy the good stuff!

I leave you with an Epicurious recipe for Bok Choy Gratin that has become a favorite in our household and will be on my buffet at Thanksgiving this year. If you've got anything good and seasonal for summer, please hit me back with some recipe love.