CSA Chef Training! Carrie (in the magenta shirt) laughing/crying over onions
One lucky member from each CSA was invited to participate in a Just Food workshop. Below is our member’s write-up of the training:
Deviating from my regular Saturday schedule of sleeping in and making pie in my pjs, this past weekend I was awake and aboard a rarity, an empty L at 8 AM. I was excitedly on my way to the Just Food CSA Chef Training, which brought together 30 food-loving CSA members to learn how to do cooking demos specifically for CSA.
The 8 hour day was packed with skill- and knowledge-building activities like knife skills, food safety, caring for your share (apparently green bags are the bee’s knees), food preservation, and how to talk about healthy food. Most of the sessions were hands-on, giving everyone a chance to practice and collaborate. In knife skills, we spent about an hour carving up onions, carrots, cabbage, garlic, radishes & ginger into matchsticks, ‘confetti’, moons, chiffanaude, and all sorts of other fancy shapes. Then our facilitators stir-fried it all up, added a splash of tamari and a spoonful of honey, and served us a delicious lunch. The day was also about conversation and collaboration among CSAs. We chatted about our farmers, pick-up sites, and demo plans. It was really sweet to hear different people talk about their group’s farm and how each person regarded their farmer as the best. (But we know who’s really the best. *wink nod nudge*)
The goal of the CSA chef training was to develop chefs who “inspire and empower their fellow members to create delicious and healthy meals for themselves and their families.” I hope to use the training to get to know some of you and also to do some general CSA outreach in Williamsburg and Bushwick at community events. I have a feeling a good deal of you are pretty well versed in a variety of vegetable based creations, so hopefully together we can brainstorm demo topics of interest. For starters, leave a comment here with a vegetable you’d like to see featured in a demo!
You’ll be seeing me around pick-up. I’ll be the one with a knife (and a Just Food apron). In the meantime, hope you’re enjoying those scapes!
Peace,
carrie b
We look forward to Carrie’s demos. Let us know if you have any cooking questions or ideas for demonstrations…
Filed under: Community Events, Distribution/Pick-up | Tagged: workshops |
Southside CSA 
Awesome - i’d love some tips on what to do with all the herbs we get.
I stuff them in salads, puree them into pesto, add them to soups etc. But we get so much and i hate when they sulk away in the corner until Saturday when i realize I’ve not used them and they’ve gotten so pissed off that they’ve given up the ghost.
Any alternative ideas?