farmshare

A recent story on National Pubic Radio (NPR) entitled Wal-Mart Helps Small Farms Supply Local Food got me thinking. On the surface, the idea of Wal-Mart -- or any retailer, big or small -- making a public commitment to sourcing better food strikes me as a positive thing. According to the article:

The company wants to revitalize small and midsize farms in the U.S. and has begun a program to increase the amount of local produce sold in Walmart stores. The program also benefits consumers, who have access to fresher food, as well as Wal-Mart itself.

That sounds pretty good, right? The article goes on to say that:

Daniel Klein is on a mission. His goal is to teach people about "socially responsible and adventurous eating" through The Perennial Plate, his weekly video series focused on how food is raised and prepared in Minnesota. Here's a three-minute clip from the most recent episode, featuring growers in Milan, MN (population 326):

I love vegetables. My family and friends make fun of me, but when I look at their kaleidoscope of colors and shapes, they delight my senses in ways I can’t explain. So imagine my joy when I opened my CSA box yesterday and pulled out this Romanesco cauliflower!

Now I’m a registered dietitian and have been touting the benefits of eating your veggies for years, but I had never seen anything like this fluorescent green head of swirling spirals. I actually squealed with surprise when I pulled it out of the box. My husband and daughter came running to see what all the excitement was about. They both burst out laughing when they saw the thrilled look on my face, although you’d think they would be used to my exclamations by now.

Now that our Harmony Valley farmshare deliveries have slowed to just once every 2 weeks, I get especially excited when they come. Any lover of tasty soup recipes will tell you that you can never have too many root vegetables, too much squash, or too much garlic. And this week being the start of Thanksgiving ... well, let's just say I'm grateful once again for fresh, locally grown sweet potatoes to put beneath mountains of marshmallows and brown sugar.

This is Harmony Valley's last weekly farmshare for 2009 - after this week, deliveries will come only every other week through the end of the year. I can't help but feel a little bit sad about it, although I know it'll give me a good opportunity to try new foods at my local co-op - and maybe even to get out to the St. Paul Farmers Market a few times in January.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to eat five huge leeks each week? Who do the people at Harmony Valley Farm think I am? How much soup can I possibly eat? Don't they want me to spend my time writing blog posts? For goodness sakes, people, I'm doing the best I can! We make a terrific leek feta salsa, and my wife grilled leeks just the other day, but sheesh!

Is it possible to miss a bag of mixed salad greens? We've been getting them from our Harmony Valley Farmshare like clockwork, but this week, we're bag-o-mixed-salad free (fortunately, we've still got a bag of spinach). I'm totally okay with that, mostly because I've been eating tomatoes like a crazy person, thickly layered on my hummus sandwich nearly every day for lunch. I've also taking to grilling just about everything that comes, including cauliflower, which is fantastic with olive oil, black pepper, and sea salt. I haven't tried my celeriac yet, but I'm hoping to this week, especially now that I know I can grate it and fry it up like a potato pancake.

The list of things in my life that happen according to schedule is a pretty short one. Haircuts? Maybe you get them every 6-8 weeks, but I haven't been to a barber - much less a hairdresser - in more than 10 years. I just shave my head when the spirit moves me (see my picture for evidence). Housework? I wish - in my house, we're more likely to clean like crazy people just before guests come over (or when there's something sticky on the floor) than we are to pick a weekly time.

My kitchen counter, covered with this week's farmshare bountyWhat am I going to do with all of this stuff? It's taking over my kitchen! My fridge is still nearly full from last week's Harmony Valley vegetables! My fruit share includes an entire bag full of apricots! I've been eating salad greens and sautee mix non-stop for weeks! I don't know if I can eat another basil vinaigrette. And now that there are tomatoes - blessed, delicious tomatoes - it occurs to me that nobody else in my family will touch them.

For the second straight week, I've gone right for the small yellow tomatoes. They're super sweet and super delicious, and my family won't go near them. How lucky can a fella be? Cucumbers are a big hit in my house all around, so we're glad to see those coming too. And we've got almost enough tomatoes (and peppers) for salsa, but not quite.

Here's what's in the Harmony Valley CSA box this week, with words and pictures directly from Harmony Valley's e-newsletter: