The Control Freak and The CSA

When I was in junior high school a teacher told my class that when we grew up we would buy our groceries off of a computer.

No way, I thought. That is never going to happen.

I didn’t deny that it might one day be technologically possible, I just knew I would never be okay with grocery shopping online. I want to be able to choose my own head of lettuce, pick out my own tomatoes, test the peaches to see if they are ripe (not to mention smell them). Even in the sixth grade, I knew online grocery shopping was not for me.

The truth is that I am a wee bit of a control freak, and not just about which tomatoes I take home. I was the child who didn’t like other kids to play with my toys, they just messed them up. When throwing parties I most enjoyed that moment before the guests arrived, as soon as they got there they demolished my perfectly arranged platters (I've gotten over that, never you fear). One of the most distressing experiences of my life was a surprise party thrown for me (control freaks do not like surprise parties, it’s best not to torture us in this manner). While every year I learn better how to go with the flow, it is not my nature. My nature is to control my environment—or die trying.

This has kept me away from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs that have taken hold in recent years. I love the idea of CSA—buying into a share of farm produce, delivered to you weekly—I just always balked at the practice. I don’t want someone else selecting my tomatoes. I wouldn’t even be able to choose what vegetables I got each week—that would be dictated by the seasons and the products of the farm. I wasn’t sure I could go with the flow enough to deal with that. What if they sent me things I didn’t like? What if it were months of kale?

So while I was ideologically tempted by the CSA, I never took the plunge. Until last month and the Eat Local Challenge.

Because April was a busy month for me, I went into the Eat Local Challenge without the preparation I had wanted to do. While I now shop regularly at the farmers’ market, I’m not sure all the farmers I buy from are located within 100 miles of my house. The easiest thing to do was to join a CSA. Surely I could deal with a month of unplanned and uncontrolled produce—after all, it was for a good cause.

I looked at a few CSA programs (yes, on the computer). I considered Capay Farms, as I have been buying organic produce from them for years and they have a home delivery program. But in the end I chose Eatwell Farms, for their amazing tomatoes, the extra bonus of being able to order fresh pastured eggs from Three Wise Hens, and the fact that my friend Jen is an Eatwell memeber and I knew she had done a lot of research before making her decision. Eatwell does not have home delivery, but my pickup site is a mere four blocks from my house (and anything that gets this freelancer out of the house is a good thing).

I signed up for a four week trial of every other week delivery (yes, on the computer). I wasn’t sure I could make use of a full box each week, and I didn’t know if I would continue after my initial trial, but it was a good experiment. I even decided to challenge my inner control freak. Eatwell sends out a weekly email on Fridays with a list of what is going to be in the box, but I didn’t sign up in time to get that first week’s email. I knew I could go to the website or call the farm office and find out, but I decided not to. I would get my box on Wednesday and just be surprised by the contents. No plan, no organization, no control.

It was exciting, and a little scary.

That Wednesday I walked up the hill to the pickup site, used the code I had been given for the padlocked gate, and retrieved my CSA box (CSA members can volunteer to host pickup sites at their homes). I walked down the hill and opened my box to find a bounty of farm fresh produce.



There was chard, apples, strawberries, green garlic, fava beans, kale, lettuce, spinach, fresh eggs, and the sweetest peas I think I’ve ever tasted. And there was a newsletter from the farm, telling me about their latest projects and progress. How they’ve converted their tractors and delivery vehicles over to bio diesel fuel made from oil donated by a local tapas restaurant (next time I eat there I will feel no guilt at ordering tasty fried things—that oil goes to fuel my farm), a move that has reduced their use of fossil fuel by 95%.

I read about how they’ve installed boxes on the farm for owls and kestrel to nest in, these birds help with critter control. There was a report on Strawberry Days, an event the farm hosts where CSA members can visit the farm and pick fresh berries, and a standing invitation to all members who might want to visit the farm. “We definitely want you to get to know where your food is coming from!” the Eatwell folks wrote.

And that’s the thing that I didn’t anticipate about joining a CSA. The produce is amazingly fresh and utterly delicious, but I hadn’t realized how invested I would start to feel in “my” farm. Each time I get a box and read the newsletter I learn about battles with peach leaf curl, how the late rains this year have impacted our strawberries, the cost of a new bed shaper ($14,000), and how the farm is coping with the loss of their foreman who was recently deported after 13 years of service. It makes me feel more connected to where my food is coming from and to the people who make it possible. Though I have been shopping at farmers’ markets for years, I’ve never had this sort of bird’s eye view on the process of running a farm, the challenges and the pleasures.

And what about the produce that shows up, without my choice or control? Would you believe that I love it—it feels like a present that arrives each week.

In fact, though I originally signed up for every other week delivery I soon switched to weekly. I found that I can use up a full box of vegetables each week (I’m only cooking for one, but I work at home so I make my own lunch as well). I was sad when I got the email listing the products for the week I wouldn’t get my box. I’m even sad when I have plans to be out of town and get the newsletter listing the great things I am going to miss (box delivery can be put on hold for vacation or travel). And while I do like to choose my own tomatoes, to make sure they are nice ones, the quality of produce I get from my CSA is so fresh and good, there’s little chance of getting something I wouldn’t have picked out myself.



And my fears of getting weeks of vegetables I never would have selected for myself haven’t materialized. Each pickup site has a trade in box when you can swap items that you really don’t want. I’ve used this option only once in two months (a bunch of kale that I exchanged for extra chard). Yes, there have been items that I wouldn’t have thought to buy, but this has introduced me to vegetables and dishes I never would have found on my own, many of which have become new favorites (I am now addicted to roasted sweet potatoes something fierce). It feels fun and a little bit adventurous. I may be a control freak, but I like a good challenge as well.



There are those who recommend buying a comprehensive vegetable cookbook to go along with any CSA subscription (Chez Panisse Vegetables and Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini are good options) but I haven’t found this necessary. While I occasionally get items I don’t know what to do with, between the internet and the recipes that are listed in the weekly Eatwell newsletter I’ve never been at a loss for dishes to prepare.



And an added bonus: my CSA makes sure I eat a good amount of vegetables. Though I’ve always been pretty good about eating my veggies, this is a built in assurance of vegetable consumption each week. And they are the most delicious, freshest, mouthwatering vegetables I’ve had since childhood, when we had large backyard garden. I still shop at the farmers’ market, for extra vegetables or items I don’t get in my box, but my CSA has become an important part of my weekly routine. This control freak is hooked, I’ve just renewed my subscription and fully expect to be a member for life. I love the idea that trees recently planted on the farm will be providing me with fruit for years to come; if I have children they will grow up on this wonderful produce as well.

So perhaps my junior high school teacher was right. I now order my groceries by the box over the internet (though the technologically challenged can order over the phone). Instead of dooming me to tomatoes I never would have picked, this process has resulted in better quality produce than could be found in a store.

And if I ever want to let my inner control freak out to play, I have a standing invitation to the farm where I could even supervise how my tomatoes are being grown (I'm not that bad, really). This summer Eatwell is hosting a farm visit with an overnight camping option for all CSA members (see how fun a CSA is—you get field trips). I’ve decided that with all those lovely long, straight rows of plants, spaced at regular intervals and carefully organized, a farm is the perfect place for a control freak; I’m glad I’ve found mine.



Farm photos used courtesy of Flourphoto.

MORE INFO ON CSA:
Learn more about Eatwell's CSA
Read a great article about CSAs, including a list of various Bay Area CSAs
Find a CSA in your area

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES
Adapted from the Eatwell Farm CSA newsletter

A few weeks ago I got six sweet potatoes in my CSA box. As I don’t often cook sweet potatoes and didn’t think I would use all six of them, I told my mother I would bring some to her next time I visited. But then I tried a recipe from the Eatwell CSA newsletter. The potatoes were peeled and diced, tossed in olive oil and roasted. I couldn’t believe how good they were. My mother never got her sweet potatoes, in fact I was soon running out to my corner store for more sweet potatoes (which were not as tasty as those from Eatwell, but they were neither local nor organic). This is a deceptively simple thing, but with the sweetness of the potato and a sprinkle of salt it has the same addictive quality as potato chips, but much healthier.

Sweet potatoes
Olive oil
Salt

Peel potatoes and cut into medium dice. Drizzle with olive oil and mix to coat. Roast in oven at 400° for 20-25 minutes (I do this in a toaster oven even). Toss with salt (I like Maldon) and munch.



PS: I am not the only food blogger getting excited by a CSA farm box this spring. Check out Tschoerda in Austria.