CSA Season Ends: Until Next Year Catalpa Ridge...

The only person rejoicing is my husband, who had little patience for stepping over the unpicked up shares in our vestibule or the stray vegetable leaves and parts scattered in our front yard. I think they add a certain "farmy" character to our house but that's me...

I mourn the end of friendly chatter during weekly pick-up and vegetable surprises (like the beautiful squash above and these yard-long green beans) which made my regular shopping trips easier. I will miss watching Izzy come home from school to inspect the weekly offerings and most of all I will miss the character that Farmer Rich's unusual harvests add to our dinner table.

Admittedly, some of the crops left me a bit puzzled. Take the vegetable above, on the right. I still don't know when and if I may actually use it, a gnarly horseradish grown awry. Not sure what went wrong but the idea of stuffing the tentacles into the food processor doesn't make sense to me since I think horseradish is better off grated finely, by hand.

Unusual crops aside, we were also the more than happy recipients of beautiful, more common produce. Butternut squash, heirloom tomatoes, garlic, red onions, Swiss chard, and zucchini were just a few of the vegetables to find a home in our weekly menus.

I am still left with a vegetable drawer full of turnips and squash I haven't gotten to using, some apples which I hope are still crisp, heads of garlic on the windowsill awaiting mincing and some green tomatoes from the last delivery.

Until next June, I will have to load up with extra produce on my weekly trip to Union Square, where I have been eyeing some Brussels sprouts and yellow beans. And maybe I will send Farmer Rich an idea or two for some strange crops of my own!