Cooking with CSA

For those of you who don't know what CSA stands for, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It is a great way to eat healthy foods, at a good price, and also support your local farms. The way it works is that you purchase a share (or half share as I did) of produce for a season. You pay ahead of time, the farms can use your money to put in their seeds, do their work, etc and you get a share of the produce throughout the growing season. There are winter harvests, summer harvests, and some even have spring and fall ones. Every week from June through October I will be getting a box of fresh produce from several different local farms. (My CSA is part of a co-op). There is a risk involved....if the farm suffers from weather problems, etc, you may lose your part of that harvest too. However, by joining a co-op, my risk is spread among a number of farms. Some CSAs also have meat, egg, and dairy options as well.

The photo above is my first take of the summer. Pictured are radishes, turnips, rhubarb, mixed salad greens, green onions, strawberries, and spearmint. I was also given a small tomato plant. I haven't cooked with most of those things before, so this is a great learning experience for me as well.

On my menu tonight....
Grilled Salmon
Grilled Radishes
Mixed Green Salad
Cheesy Carrot and Turnips
Rhubarb Pie

I'll let you know how it turns out....and if it is good, I'll post a few recipes. I'll even let you know what my kids think of it. I'm sure that I will hear the following...."Gwoss Momma" and "I want chicken nuggets". :)

Go Ahead

For anyone who is dealing with a friend who has lost a baby, or a child, here is a poem I found....


Go ahead and mention my child,
The one that died, you know.
Don't worry about hurting me further.
The depth of my pain doesn't show.
Don't worry about making me cry.
I'm already crying inside.
Help me to heal by releasing
The tears that I try to hide.
I'm hurt when you just keep silent,
Pretending she didn't exist.
I'd rather you mention my child,
Knowing that she has been missed.
You asked me how I was doing.
I say "pretty good" or "fine".
But healing is something ongoing
I feel it will take a lifetime.
~ Elizabeth Dent ~

I have found through going through my own pain of losing a pregnacy....of losing a baby....that the most help that anyone can give me is to allow me to talk about the baby and the loss. I have a friend who is going through a very painful loss of a sibling this year, and she says the same thing.....talking helps the most. So many people don't know what to say, so they think the best thing to do is not bring up the topic at all. Or if I bring it up, they quickly change the subject. They don't want to hurt me by contributing to the conversation. So for all you out there....if your friend has suffered a miscarriage, if they are going through a divorce, if someone close to them has died, ask them about it. Talk through your uncomfortableness and their pain. It is the best thing you can do for them!