Chickens

I just want to say that I am very glad there are farmers who grow and slaughter chickens so I can eat them. I greatly appreciate that they do the dirty work so I don’t have to.

Week 04: list but no newsletter

We didn’t get a newsletter e-mailed to us this week. I suspect the holiday might have thrown off some of the usual timing. But we did get a list telling us what should be coming in our box this week:

• Asparagus, 1 lb
• Broccoli, 1 Bunch
• Green cabbage, 1 Head
• Cucumber, 1
• Escarole, 1 head
• Yellow squash, 1.5 lbs
• Zucchini, 1.5 lbs
• Cherry tomato, 1 pint

Another e-mail told me that the zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, and escarole came from a partner farmer. We were reminded of the opportunity to purchase maple syrup, a frozen turkey, or vegetable soup (but I would have needed to add these to my order by Monday at noon). Without a newsletter, we didn’t get any recipe suggestions this week. I hope they have some good ideas for how to use zucchini and the like.

In addition to CSA shares like we get, the farm also gives people the opportunity to purchase boxes of produce on an à la carte basis. They offer several different size boxes, some of which contain only produce from the farm and others which source things from elsewhere. Had we ordered a Deluxe Box, we would have gotten, among other things, peaches, grapefruit, and pineapple. Our peach season isn’t quite underway, but I’m expecting them soon. I don’t think we ever have a grapefruit or pineapple season. Another variety of box is supposed to include lemon balm and sage. I hope we see some of these herbs in a box before the end of this year’s CSA.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to remember that despite the holiday this week and despite the hot, humid weather, there’s still lots of farmwork to be done. I’m a really lousy gardener: if it’s green, I can kill it. Mosquitoes love me, and I therefore try to minimize the time I spend outdoors in wet environments. Mowing the lawn is about the limit of my interest in yardwork, and when it’s hot like today, I put it off. Unlike me, farmers don’t have that luxury. If a crop is ready to be harvested, it must be harvested or it’ll rot (unless the local wildlife get to it first). I very much appreciate that there are people who can and do grow food. And I even more appreciate that they’re willing to do so and share it with other people like me. I’m grateful that I live in an area where a variety of different foods can be successfully grown; I couldn’t imagine being surrounded by fields where only soybeans, or corn, or wheat, or any one crop not usually eaten as-is by people, is grown to the exclusion of all others. For that matter, I couldn’t imagine even being surrounded by fields of any single crop even if it is tomatoes, or zucchini, or something that most cooks would be able to pick and turn into dinner. But the variety grown around here means there’s always something to do, and the garden doesn’t take holidays off. So, farmers, thank you for doing what you do. I like to eat, and I’m glad that you can provide me with good-quality produce.