The importance of eating seasonally.

When my fiance comes home with zucchini in December, a tiff always ensues. "That's a summer squash!", I scoff. "But it'll go great in the stir fry," he retorts.

Granted... but.

There's really something to be said for eating produce that is grown not only within a hundred or so miles from your house, but also when it's supposed to be grown. Tomatoes? Well, sorry, but you're just not supposed to be eating fresh tomatoes in January, not if you live anywhere in the northern hemisphere (and based on landmass vs. water distribution on the planet earth, you probably do). Do you really want a vegetable that was grown hydroponically, picked when bright green, shipped a few thousand miles, and then ripened with ethylene gas? Because if you're eating a January tomato, that's what you're getting.

The bottom line? Local, seasonal, and preferably organic produce will taste best and be the best for you. And it's often the best value as well - it costs money to make plants do what they don't want to, and that cost shows up in the consumer's pricetag.

So, why not go for the butternut squash instead? The cabbage, turnips, and potatoes? And if you want a little tomato-ey kick during those long winter months, you can get really industrious - take those ripe summer tomatoes and can them (this can also mean jarring) and then you'll have them in winter as well. After all, there's nothing wrong with frozen and canned vegetables! Just so long as you're eating plenty of fresh ones as well, of course.

Great! But... what is in season when? I've known that it's best to eat seasonally for, oh, just ages now. Trouble is, though, that I rarely have the time or energy to get down to the utter and complete madhouse that is the Union Square farmer's market. And as odd as it sounds, CSAs in my area are actually rather competitive and hard to get into. So how do I know what, in fact, is in season?

Luckily, we've got the internet! And there are fine people who have compiled this information for us. There are charts for fruits and vegetables available from the BBC that are a great jumping-off place. And don't be a wimp like me - if your town has a farmer's market, get down there and support it! CSAs are also of course a great way both to support local farmers and ensure that you're eating nothing but fresh, seasonal produce. This post on The Sustainable Scoop goes into more detail on the whole eating locally gig, if you're looking for a bit more inspiration.

So there you have it darlings. Make 2010 the year you start eating seasonally!

hearts,
melissa bastian.

we took a trip to the farmers market

yummmm...Of course since today is Thursday, also know as Farmers Market Day, it rained and poured all morning. Atleast this week it let up enough that we could go to the market and there were still people braving the weather to sell their wares! I even took the time to walk around and check out all of the handmade items this week, which I never usually remember to do. I get so excited about all my new yummy organic veggies, that I totally forget about the lonely crafters on the other side of the big open park! The 2 organic stands are next to each other, and I usually buy from both! One of them is where I get my csa, and I pop in there to get more of certain things and veggies that didnt come in my box this week....So, what exactly did I get this week? ALL ORGANIC ALL DELICIOUS!!!

raspberries

broccoli

a lot of basil, its pesto season, and we only have a few basil plants in our garden!

more snap peas, maybe this time jessi will get some since i cant eat lately (something is horribly wrong with my jaw!)

beets for the dogs

Still no tomatoes and no zucchini ready, I guess this cooky weather is really having an effect on the farms and blight is destroying our tomatoes! I am hoping things turn around soon, or we might not be canning for this winter..BUM BUM BUM

What's in my box? Weekly CSA update, veggies galore

A CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and before the growing season starts you purchase a share of the farm, then when veggies start popping up, you get a box every week. The box we get from our csa is more than enough for the 2 of us and our 2 dogs, and I bet would be fine for even a family of 4! My csa is with Old Path Farm, an organic farm in my area. Our boxes started the first Monday in June, but of course I didnt have the brilliant idea to document them until last week! The first box also came with 2 organic tomato plants, which are growing like weeds! So now that you are familiar with what a csa is, lets get down to the goodies! What is in my box this week?

Thyme Plant, smells great

Lovage, which I had never heard of before, but I guess it makes a great salt substitute...so we shall see. It has a very interesting flavor, and I really like it, I cant wait to use it in a raw recipe of yummmy ness!

Radishes, beats (Penney's second favorite to get in her food, she also likes sweet peas!), scapes (kind of like an onion and garlic had a baby, it would be called a scape), zucchini, snap peas (which barely made it in the photo, I love them so they were mostly demolished by this time, lots of parsley (we are making tabouleh today!), arugala, red leaf lettuce (my fav. lettuce)

Interested in getting a CSA in your area, go to google and google your town with CSA next to it and see what comes up. It might be too late for this year, but you can get on next years waiting list early. Our first year with Old Path Farm, we were late signing up so they let us get a half share for $200 and we started halfway through the season! Good luck, and eat your veggies!