Fun fact: On Wednesdays I help Vegetable Husband, a local CSA, by sharing the week’s harvest on their blog along with some recipes to help folks cook what’s in their baskets. It’s a fun, delicious way to stay in tune with what’s local and seasonal, and these transitional times of year are my favorite.
Right now, at least here in north Georgia, we’re in the thick of my favorite time of year for local veggies. Summer is winding down, but we’re not quite getting fall weather yet. It means our farmers are still harvesting some tomatoes and okra, but we’re also seeing the first of the leafy greens. We have kale, okra, tomatoes, and bok choy all in the same basket!
When I was writing the article this week for Vegetable Husband it got me thinking a lot about how out of tune we can be with our food supply, thanks to our industrial food system. Year round bananas! Tomatoes in the dead of winter! Kale in the middle of summer! I think that disconnect makes our food seem less special.
Of course, if I ate all local food there would never be a banana in my kitchen at all, but I think basing your diet around what’s local and seasonal is an easy way to stay in touch with nature and with the seasons. You start to get a feel for the ebb and flow of different kinds of crops, you know what I mean? From there, sure, add those bananas and splurge on that totally-out-of-season red peppers to round out a dish, but I think starting with what you can get locally is such a rewarding way to plan your meals.
Do you guys belong to a CSA? What’s in your baskets in the late summer/early fall? I feel like these transitional times are when we see the most variety, and I’d love to hear what you’re cooking with your CSA veggies!
photo by Becky Striepe
My blog is exactly about this! Using seasonal, local produce in everyday cooking. I have found so much joy basing my diet around the seasons. The majority of my meals only get cooked certain times of the year (when the main ingredients are in season), so we look forward to them and get excited about the change in seasons. It is still too hot here for many leafy greens (there are some small kale and chard), so I am just pounding down tomatoes, green beans, carrots, and the last of the summer melons.
Yes! Totally. I think that anticipation is such a big part of what makes seasonal eating delicious and fun!
You guys have BOK CHOY in your CSA? *envy* We are currently with Riverview Farms meat & produce CSA, and the…ah…variety has been somewhat lacking.
You’re in Atlanta, yes? Tell me more about this Vegetable Husband (and other CSAs that might be more bountiful?)
We do! VegHub definitely has its repeats – we get eggplant and tomatoes all summer long, for example – but the winter greens are stellar. It’s $35/week, and she delivers the veggies to your door. Instead of working with one farm, Margie works with a few local farms to get us our veggies each week. We get veggies allllmost year-round. There are usually a couple of weeks in the winter where no one is able to harvest anything because of ice/snow/etc. You should check it out! Vegetablehusband.com.