Here in SE Michigan, we’ve just begun the season for local produce. Think that’s late? Where I live, the frost free date is May 29 – so I count myself lucky to get local produce any time in May.
This year we’ve joined a CSA from Dancing Meadows Homestead in Cottrellville, MI. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture: think of it as a subscription to a farm. The crew at Dancing Meadows grow fantastic produce, and we’ll get a peck of it (that’s 8 quarts) every week. From now until mid-October, we’ll have a weekly supply of farm-fresh produce. We’re looking forward to some memorable eating.
CSA week 1 brings us:
- asparagus
- Swiss chard
- green onions
- spring mix of lettuces
- half-pint local honey
Clearly there will be some nifty salads in the coming week. The lettuce is so fresh and crisp it almost hurts to put it away in the refrigerator. The asparagus will be roasted right away, because there’s nothing better than impeccably fresh asparagus roasted with olive oil, garlic, and salt.
There’s a big bunch of Swiss chard, and I have ideas for what to do with it:
- sautéed with garlic and oil (possibly with sliced olives)
- chard with currants and pine nuts from the NY Times
- stuffed chard leaves with beef & pine nuts
- how about a chard frittata? Here’s one from Serious Eats
- maybe a quick Tuscan bean and chard soup, again from Serious Eats
Follow the season with me: I’ll show off my CSA box each week, and then spin ideas of how I might use all the good stuff. Feel free to chime in with comments or questions.