Week #1 – May 2 [Berry]

What a perfect day to kick off our 3rd year and the first distribution of the 2011 harvest season! Week 1 of our 28 week harvest season was nothing less than fabulous.  It was great to see so many familiar faces, especially our “regular” bartender Sally, the guys from the Woods, and Alejandro from the Taco Stand.

Southside CSA is back at the Woods, super-stoked about the covered courtyard that will protect our backyard distributions from the rain. More than ever, we are so thankful for the support the Woods gives our CSA and the local food movement, sharing their amazing space with us and our farmers.

This week’s Berry share was 4 lbs of Asparagus. This asparagus is absolutely divine, totally sweet and tasty enough for a lot of members to just start chomping away on the raw stalks. Let me tell you, not much can beat a Woods burrito paired with a raw asparagus “salad”. Yummers!

If you want to get your hands on some of this outrageous local food asap, don’t despair because you can still sign up for the Berry Share!

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Big thanks to Rich & Eugene who just jumped right in and volunteered. Super big help, especially considering that this distribution was a week earlier than planned and therefore had no volunteers scheduled.

It was really cool to grab a drink and have a chat with Norman, the farmer at Greig Farm. He says things at the farm are going beautiful, the strawberries look great, and things seem primed for a great harvest. We are hoping to put together a farm trip for early June; Time for some strawberry picking! In case you didn’t see the note in your bucket, Norman wrote this message to share members:

Welcome 2011 fresh fruit members!

We start the season with a vegetable of course. Asparagus is a fern, and what we eat is the new shoot pushed from the root in the early spring. If sunlight is kept from the shoot, it grows white; as it is primarily served in Europe. Here it is grown open to the sunshine and is green as grass. Freshly harvestesd, it is tender and sweet and is tasty raw. This crop at the Greig Farm is grown without pesticides of any kind and only needs to be washed to remove any remaining soil from the bottom of the stalk. The fern is cut like a flower; it will stay fresh and grow for many days if kept in water, and refigerated.

I farm in a way that eating it raw in the field is possible; however my friend Mele recommends roasting asparagus with sheep milk feta or goat cheese, serving with truffle oil, providing a delicious and texture filled party for your taste buds.

We are anticipating a good harvest and a great year. Thank you again for your interest and support of local agriculture!

Eat well, be happy!

norman greig

Needless to say, my share family is looking forward to all the fabulous new meals we are  going to make with asparagus; week 1 of the CSA season and my house is already eating better with a hearty supply of food fit for a king — super-fresh, super local, and so wonderfully cared for by exceptional farmers