CSA fun!

I've been wanting to join a CSA ever since I learned about them from my friend Erika. I signed up for the newsletter a few months ago, but we decided to join at the beginning of the new year. 

Wait. Hold on. What is a CSA anyway? Well according to my good friend Wikipedia, a CSA is a:

"Community-supported agriculture (in Canada Community Shared Agriculture) (CSA) is a socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farming operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food production. CSAs usually consist of a system of weekly delivery or pick-up of vegetables and fruit, in a vegetable box scheme, and sometimes includes dairy products and meat."

So, the deal is, I went to CSA California and signed up for a bag of veggies/fruit for $25 every other week. I go to this Dojo (yeah, I had to google it, too) on Tuesdays after 5:30 and pick up my bag of organic, local produce. I get an email on Sundays that tells me what will be in my bag and also gives me a few recipes to use if I wish. It is really pretty awesome. It has already forced us to eat more vegetables and we're only on day one.

Here's what was in our bag for this week:

Pineapple Guava

Lemons

Tangerines 

Lettuce

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Carrots

Zucchini

Persian cucumbers

Celery

Red onion

Parsley

Aren't they beautiful? The pineapple guavas (small avocado-looking things) are really delish, as are the tangerines. I was initially afraid of the cauliflower, but after tonight's meal, I will never be afraid of it again. Here's the recipe I used, from All Recipes:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large head cauliflower, separated into florets
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 
  
• Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish.
2. Place the olive oil and garlic in a large resealable bag. Add cauliflower, and shake to mix. Pour into the prepared casserole dish, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

SO delicious. It kind of (sort of) tastes like garlic mashed potatoes. But healthier. 

We also had balsamic grilled zucchini and grilled chicken (and white wine).

It was one of my favorite dinners. However, I realized I don't really like chicken. 

I barely ate any of it! I think it's time for me to finally go pescatarian. Maybe.