CSA time again

It's April, and soon the CSA (community-supported agriculture) boxes will start to arrive. Click here to learn about our experience with Genesis Growers, the small Illinois farm that supplied us with excellent produce in 2007. Thanks to John and Wendy Wilson, who introduced us to Genesis Growers. And thanks to John for directing me to a funny and oh-so-true article in Slate magazine, Catherine Price's "The Locavore's Dilemma: what to do with the kale, turnips, and parley that overwhelm your CSA bin." Price writes:

...Each year, toward the end of winter, I run into the Turnip Problem.

Ordinarily, I would never eat turnips. I managed to go 30 years without buying one. But now every winter I'm faced with a two-month supply, not to mention the kale, collards, and flat-leaf Italian parsley that sit in my refrigerator, slowly wilting, filling me with guilt every time I reach past them for the milk. After three years of practice, I've figured out simple ways to deal with most of these problem vegetables: I braise the turnips in butter and white wine; I sauté the kale and collards with olive oil and sea salt; I wait until the parsley shrivels and then throw it out. The abundance of roughage is overwhelming.

Alas, Mr Neff and I were so overwhelmed by our CSA boxes (they were excellent, but how many vegetables can two people eat?) that we elected not to renew our subscription. Instead, last year we spent a lot more time and money at the farmers' market, trying to find locally grown produce that we knew we'd enjoy eating. This meant that we threw out less, but we also learned less. There's nothing like a giant daikon radish to challenge one's ingenuity. Even our little terrier was baffled.