Welcome to CSA!

So I joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). For those who are not familiar, it's like buying stocks... you purchase a "share" of a farm (or group of farms like mine) and you get a box of the crops every week (or two if you go with a smaller share) - if the farm(s) do well for the season, you get lots of yummy fruits and veggies all season. If they have a bad year, the box will seem a bit less plentiful. I happened to choose Hood River Organic for my first season.
First of all, I love the town of Hood River, Oregon. It's so cute, and I love that in a way I'm giving back to that quaint town and their farmers. So I bought a half share, so I pick up a box of goodies every other week. I bought the Omnivore package, so I get fresh fruits and veggies, a fresh loaf of bread from an artisan bread-maker, 1/2 dozen farm-fresh eggs, and a dairy product from a local cheese-maker.
Friday, April 24th was my first pickup (at a cool little co-op market near Multnomah Village), and I forgot to update you all on what was in the box... (Yes, Megan E., I got your text and I forgot to text you back about it)...
We received: 1/2 dozen eggs (5 brown, 1 white - this is not a segregated farm obviously!), a large baguette bread (this was very dense and yummy!), some organic mozzarella cheese, 4 fuji apples, a paper lunchbag full of red potatoes, a lunchbag full of mushrooms (with 2 portobella too!), a gallon sized baggie of spinach, gallon sized baggie of another lettuce green, a package of mixed greens (sprouts and such), a bunch of radish, a bunch of white turnips, and a bunch of bok choy.
It was all so fresh and yummy. Growing up on grocery store produce shipped in from Mexico, you never would have known these things could be so flavorful. Since they are farm-fresh and not processed with pesticides and preservatives, you do need to eat them more quickly than your grocery store produce, as we found out with the mushrooms.
The one I signed up for sent me a list of what I'd be getting in my box early the day of pickup. What I would suggest is at that moment, do a meal plan. Figure out all the recipes you need to use up all of the goodies, making sure to use up the things that will go bad quickly as swiftly as possible.

Don't think you can use up that much stuff in 2 weeks? I like to add chopped fresh spinach to my brown rice after it's cooked. It's an easy and flavorful way to eat more veggies. Don't let that replace your side of veggies though! Just make it an addition. It also makes the rice look prettier and more interesting!
Our next box will arrive this Friday for pickup... I'm so excited to unlock the surprises inside!
To find a CSA in your area, go to http://www.localharvest.org/. Shake the hand that feeds you.