So, you’ve joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) and have gotten your first box of vegetables. Now what? This series will attempt to answer just that by illustrating what I have done with my CSA shares. There’s good news: I first joined a CSA over a year ago, and have found uses for approximately 90% of all the fruits and vegetables I received. I get a half share every other week, which feeds two people 4 to 5 dinners a week plus fruit snacks perfectly.

Here is what was in my first box of the new year:

2011 Box 1

• 1 Local FL Grapefruit
• 5 Satsuma Mandarins
• 5 Bananas (this item was not originally supposed to be in a half share, but I usually swap the romaine out for bananas)
• 6 oz. Fair Trade Blueberries or Strawberries or both
 (we got blueberries)
• 7 Granny Smith Apples
• 7 Carrots
• 2 5-inch pieces Daikon Radish
• 1 bunch Curly Kale
• 1 bunch Rainbow Chard
• 2 heads Broccoli
• Romaine*
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
• Ginger# (this item was given to full share recipients only)
• 1 head Celery
• Beets# (this item was given to full share recipients only)

*Note: I almost always swap out lettuces in my CSA shares, usually for bananas or something with more nutritional value. I eat leftovers for lunch most days and have found that lettuce just goes to waste too easy.

How I Used My Share

I used the mandarins, blueberries, apples and bananas in a fruit salad for my nightly snack.

Ginger-poached tortellini with rainbow chard

Grated daikon and carrot salad with coconut curry rice and coconut poached red snapper

Soba noodles with kale and radish

Pork tenderloin with cucumber-mango salsa

Broccoli, carrot and celery stir-fry

I also made a batch of black-eyed peas with collard greens and onions… the collards were left over from my last CSA box of 2010, as was the mango from the pork dish.

At the end of the two weeks, I have the grapefruit left over and fell down on the job with the tomatoes. I totally forgot about them, and they went bad.

1 Year Ago

• 1/2 pint local FL strawberries
• 3 local FL pink grapefruit
• 8 Pink Lady apples
• 1 big and 4 small sunchokes
• 1 pint sweet mini peppers
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• 1 pint local FL grape tomatoes
• 1 local FL cucumber
• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 big bok choy
• 5 in. finger ginger

Made: Cherry tomato cous cous, port meatball banh mi, daikon with tahini, sesame bok choy and carrot stir fry, linguine with sunchokes and spinach, and chili