My CSA Challenge – 2013 Edition

For those of my readers that have been with me since last fall, you’ll recall that I I jumped into the world of Community Shared Agriculture (see my CSA Confession to learn more about CSA’s in general) and then embarked on a self-proclaimed “CSA Challenge” when I decided to blog about what I was doing with the bounty I received every two weeks.

So successful was it that Anne and I decided that we wanted to commit to a full-summer CSA this year. I procrastinated longer than I should have to rejoin the one I used last year, but sometimes things work out in spite of our worst efforts and I found an organic CSA on this side of the Ontario border this summer and I’m looking forward to where it takes me.

My provider this summer, and for the next 16 weeks, will be Waratah Downs Organic Farms which is located in Iroquois, Ontario, about an hour south and east of Ottawa along the St Lawrence river.

Each Thursday after work, I will be picking up 38L bin of fresh, local, organic produce picked the day before — this means that come Friday, my challenge will be to develop a menu that incorporates these ingredients into our meals for the coming week. For two busy people, this will prove to be both a lot of a food and good challenge. I remember well what it was like to do a “Month of Ben” in April so I’m going to try and find a bit better life balance with my blog and cooking … and everything else I love and do.

Having said that, my goal for the next 16 weeks: document the weekly prize and produce recipes that utilize what I get … and share these with my readers. I suspect not everything will work out equally, but let’s see how it goes. I promise to be honest in my summary of how the recipes emerge and taste.

I hope you enjoy the fruit (the recipes) of my challenge as much as I enjoy the food itself. Have a great summer in your own kitchens.

Week #1: