I have great news! My good friend Amanda from Casa de Lindquist is joining me this year in our first ever CSA farm share!
What is a CSA, you may ask? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Having a CSA farm share is a wonderful way to give your family amazing, quality food, from a nearby local farmer. When we found the Lake Superior CSA, we sent in our application right away. We’re both super excited for all of the farm fresh goodies that we’ll be getting starting in May, and personally, I can’t wait to see what we each decide to do with all of our wonderful foods!
About our CSA share
We’re starting out small, since this is a first for both of us. Our share is a Whole Diet share, with an additional Grains and Goodies share for the 11-month contract. Over those 11 months, we will be getting approximately this much food:
Whole Diet Share
PASTURED POULTRY:
12 chickens, 1 holiday turkey
WILD FISH:
22 lbs of Lake Superior fish
100% GRASS-FED LAMB
11 lbs lamb (ground, kabob and/or stew) plus one boneless leg of lamb
100% GRASS-FED BEEF:
38 lbs of ground (1 lb packs), 8 lbs of roasts, 7 lbs of steaks
PASTURED PORK:
50 lbs of assorted cuts of pork (chops, roasts, hams, ham steaks, ground, brats, pork steaks, etc)
ORGANIC EGGS:
1 dozen every other week May 22 – October 16
ORGANICALLY GROWN VEGETABLES:
Every other week, May 22 – October 23 – 3/4 bushel box of seasonal vegetables
Monthly, November – March – 3/4 bushel box of storage vegetables and seasonal hardy greens
BAYFIELD FRUIT:
Every other week, late-June – October – 4 lbs of Bayfield fruit
SEASONAL EXTRAS:
Honey, maple syrup, and other tasty treats
Grains and Goodies share
11 lbs farmstead cheese
8 – 3 lb bags of Maple Hill Farm Four
3 – 3 lb bags of Maple Hill Farm Pancake Mix
11 – 1/2 pint jars of Spirit Creek Farm Garlic Scape Pesto
11 – 1/2 pint jars of Great Oak Farm Organic Honey
18 loaves of Starlit Kitchen bread
18 various baked goodies from Starlit Kitchen
11 pints of Bayfield Apple Company Jams & Jellies
11 – 6 packs of White Winter Winery’s NA fruit spritz
11 pints of Spirit Creek Farm fermented veggies
So yeah, it sounds like a lot of food. Still, I’m incredibly psyched to start getting our deliveries! I’m particularly excited about having fresh eggs and berries. I don’t usually eat much beef, lamb, or pork, but I’m looking forward to trying out new recipes. And I figured that if I am going to eat any of those meats, this is the best way to get it, since the animals were all well cared for and treated humanely.
I am still planning on having a full vegetable garden of my own this summer, so we’ll see how crazy I’m going to be during harvest time. I may try to adjust my garden plans to accommodate more flowers and fewer high maintenance vegetables. Anyhow, I’m glad that I have a few months before we’re going to start getting food. Now I have time to clear out our freezer and pantry before I’ll starting putting anything up again! Sounds like fun, right?
How to Join a CSA
If you’re interested in joining a CSA yourself, then firstly I’d like to say that you’re awesome! Secondly, I would recommend checking out Local Harvest to find a CSA near you. You can also just Google “CSA + your location.” It’s also a good idea to search popular local websites. We actually found ours via Perfect Duluth Day, not through Google or Local Harvest.
Bonus Salsa Recipe!
This is the Best. Salsa. Ever. I’m not lying. It even has cucumbers in it.
I admit that I don’t actually can this salsa, I just keep everything in canning jars. But it’s amazing when everything is fresh out of the garden.
Recipe
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeds removed and minced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 large red or orange pepper, diced
3 large chopped tomatoes
1/2 large cucumber, diced
1/4 bunch of cilantro leaves (or parsley if you prefer)
juice of 1 large lime
1 t kosher salt
a dash (or two) of your favorite hot sauce
I did all of this by hand, but it can be done with a food processor
Thanks for reading, folks!
