The Bounteous Box

I know I have been a little rough on my CSA box for giving me so much eggplant. I still have unused eggplant with no particular destination in mind… But there is far more in the CSA box than eggplant!

My family’s journey to joining a CSA started with our chiropractor. My husband and I started seeing her for back pain and at that time, I thought that was all chiropractic helped with, back pain. I was quite under informed on that front. I learned a great deal about how regular chiropractic care helps your entire body function better and I also learned a ton about in nutrition the process.

Now, I’m not an expert and I do not only eat foods for their nutritional value. I still have a thing for butter. And bacon. And chocolate. And… well, you get the idea. However, I try to take nutrition into consideration ultimately because I want to teach my children to do the same. To be healthy is such an amazing gift and it is one I want to teach my children to take care of.

Joining a CSA was the next step in eating a little bit better. Not to mention, the adventures it was going to inspire in the kitchen! We are 4 weeks into the CSA (we joined half way through the season due to us relocating this summer) and it has been fabulous! The tomatoes alone have been something to write home about (or blog about…)

There have been pickled green beans, braised collard greens, roasted beets and eggplant dishes galore coming out of my kitchen. The best part is, there are still 6 weeks to go! My whole family has been trying dishes we have never had before and I have done more online research on preparing and storing fresh vegetables that ever before. I love it!

If you’re not familiar with the CSA process, each week I pick up a box of freshly picked produce right at the farm. The box is filled with whatever is ready now so contents vary week to week. Here’s the list for this week; an overflowing pint of cherry tomatoes, 8 tomatoes of various types, 1 large zucchini, 4 Thai eggplants, 1 Japanese eggplant, 1 bunch broccoli, roughly ½ pound green beans, 5 golden beets, 1 bunch collard greens, 2 heads garlic and roughly 3 pounds of red potatoes. All organically grown as well.

Remember how I said I still have a thing for bacon? This list is begging me to go buy pound! Blanched green beans thrown into a pan of hot bacon grease and fresh minced garlic, topped with crispy bacon bits! Braised collards with smoky bacon, not traditional southern style as I understand it but still delicious! Broccoli salad with cauliflower, red onion, cheddar cheese and bacon bits, covered in creamy, sweet-tangy dressing! Oooooo, I bet those red potatoes would play nice with bacon too!!! A box of bacon friends, this one is.

Despite my grumbling about the eggplant surplus, the possibilities that come from the CSA each week are endless. Who knows, the next thing I try might make me beg for more eggplant! And those golden beets; I’ve never had golden beets. I am about to learn and taste something new!