Here in SE Michigan, we’ve just begun the season for local produce. Think that’s late? Where I live, the frost free date is May 29 – so I count myself lucky to get a basket of produce in early June.
We participate in a CSA from Van Houtte Farms in Armada, Michigan. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture: think of it as a subscription farm. They grow fantastic produce, and we get a half-bushel box of it every week. The 20-week season began today.
You can see that our box holds a variety of lettuces, asparagus, glorious radishes, potatoes, and onions. We pick up our box at the local Farmers Market, a convenient 2 miles away.
Clearly there will be some nifty salads in the coming week. I may do a quick pickle of radishes and carrots, a traditional garnish for various Vietnamese dishes. The big flexible leaves of the butter lettuce cry out for Asian lettuce wraps, filled with ground chicken, or maybe for a Korean treatment with noodles and spicy ground beef.
Follow the season with me: I’ll show off my CSA box each week, and then muse how I might use the bounty. Feel free to chime in with comments or questions!