Anyone else participating in a farm CSA this summer? I was thinking of starting a thread where we can post what we make from our CSA boxes (which are usually chock full of P1-approved veggies). I know last year I got to try things like Anise and fennel, which are not things I'd normally buy.

I am! It's our first year, and I'm so excited about it. I figured it would be a good way to venture out of my usual patterns. Great idea for a thread.

We are considering it. We haven't for the last few seasons b/c we go on vacation the entire month of July but we found a farmer/chef who is willing to work with us.

My only hesitation is that he includes some pre- prepared items I won't want (ie whole wheat pizza dough). I need to call him.

We do a year round CSA and love it. I ended up with my kale tabbouleh and my fennel soup recipes as a result of the box! I also like that because my produce bill is isolated to this vs lumped in with other groceries, I am careful not to let anything go to waste.

Hubby and I have talked about it, but every year we decide against it, because we can't give up our farmers market habit. It's diet, exercise, leisure, and social activities all rolled into one (with a little bit holistic and alternative medicine thrown in, because our favorite vendor is a well-regarded healer/herbalist. She's always giving us vegetables and herbs with medicinal uses. She told my husband he was diabetic (he is) and that I might be (at the time I was diagnosed prediabetic). She gave us bitter melon, and told us it would bring down our blood sugars. I thought it was just folklore, but I found that research seems to support her recommendations (too bad it isn't very tasty if you don't like harshly bitter foods.

We've heard there is a winter-only CSA, so we're looking into that (but there are also a few year-round farmers markets becoming popular as well).

Amazing that you posted this today. I live in Northwest Washington State for the past 4 years and finally this week decided to join a CSA. It took a while but I found one that gives you a "catalog" every Friday and allows you to pick 6 items for your box. No lovely bundles of carrots to lead me astray. I also get a dozen same-day-laid eggs which I can pick up once a week at the farm at my convenience. If you have never had a just-layed egg, well I just can't explain it. And the option to arrange to pick out and pick up a chicken that will likely have been "free-ranging" until my car drives into the lot. Sorry if that upsets anyone, but its a sad reality that that "organic free range" chicken breast you threw on the grill for dinner was once a happily feathered chicken - just probably not this afternoon and you never got to see him with his feathers on LOL!!!

SeattleNP I know what you mean!! The CSA we bought into includes farm fresh eggs or fresh bread each week, and we added on a meat CSA share which includes 2 whole chickens, grass fed beef, our Thanksgiving turkey and our Christmas tree! You can bet that I will be visiting the turkeys right up until November, knowing one will end up dressed in spices and gravy instead of feathers once it gets to my house