I Heart My CSA

Each spring, I get super-psyched about my “CSA season,” which typically runs from June through November here in the Northeast. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture; its structure connects conscientious consumers to a local farmer. As a CSA member, you purchase a share of the farm and in return receive an abundance of seasonal produce every week throughout the CSA season.

I have been a member of three different CSAs: one in New York City, one in Easton, PA, and my newest CSA in my newest city of residence, Syracuse. I feel amazingly gratified to be able to say that my CSA, Wyllie Fox Farm, just received its USDA organic certification! The USDA has many specifications for farmers who choose to become officially organic and the process of becoming legally organic is so arduous that many farmers choose not to apply for the certificate. In order to become USDA certified organic, a farm has to refrain from using synthetic pesticides or fertilizers; they can not use plastic mulches, they can not use non-organic transplants; they are not allowed to use any synthetic materials in their washing, handling, and storing of the produce; the list goes on and on. But Jamie and Maggie Edelstein work very hard to meet the USDA certified organic specifications.

Here is an example of a large share! So many greens! And rhubarb!

(wait until you find out what I did with THAT!)

Brent and I had the great pleasure of visiting the farm and celebrating their certification. They’re totally GREEN! For example, the plastic that they use for their high tunnels is recycled; it came from farmers who no longer need high tunnels. The farm equipment appears archaic, but hey, it does the job; they feel no need to get the “latest and greatest” farm equipment.

We are thrilled about our CSA! We’re splitting it with a friend so it’s only costing us $275 a season. $275 for 20 weeks! That comes out to $13.75 a week. What a deal for the freshest, local, organic produce!

Finding Europe in the U.S.A.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am equally obsessed about healthy eating and green living: always desperately in search for the freshest food and constantly tweaking my lifestyle in a way that will be kinder and gentler to our earth. My latest effort has been a grand attempt to avoid purchasing plastic. For those of you who take my classes, you know that I refuse to buy plasticware so you taste my food samples using real silverware.

My deep love for Europe stems from the fact that I have always found fresh organic produce in open-air markets whether in Paris, London, Florence, or small towns throughout Switzerland. And I actually loved the fact that a dear friend of mine was reprimanded for not having a shopping bag with her years ago when we were grocery shopping in Ireland. I love that my friend in Paris dries her clothing on a dry wrack and bicycles everywhere. It seems that everyone there has the same obsessions as me!

Yes, I have found communities throughout the United States that share my obsessions. I am incredibly happy that here in the Lehigh Valley, PA I have access to healthy organic local food with the abundance of farms in the area. Happily, my community also values recycling. Near my hometown in Central New York, Ithaca boasts an AMAZING farmer’s market and even has its own currency: Ithaca Dollars.

This past week I traveled to the Bay Area, California and it was dreamy. I praise that community for prioritizing healthy living and the planet. So many bike lanes and so many people commuting via bicycle…in the RAIN! Wineries, such as Frog’s Leap produce delicious organic, sulfite-free wines. The area in a sense “invented” local eating long before it became trendy. Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1971 and from the very beginning provided only the freshest, local foods, as she was inspired by her dining experiences in Paris.

Then there are the small conscientious matters that may go unnoticed in the Bay Area. For example, Brent and I brought our own bags when we went shopping, but didn’t have a bag when we had an impromptu shopping excursion at Buffalo Exchange (where I got CUTE Dansko shoes for a mere $30). We had them pack all of our clothing into one plastic bag, and get this: it was biodegradable. Yes, at a clothing store! I was impressed.

Everywhere we ate there wasn’t only a garbage and recycle container to throw away your plates, bottles, cans, etc, but also there were containers to put away items that were biodegradable, and also a place to put stuff that could go into compost. I don’t think we had to throw one single thing into a garbage bin. Everything was biodegradable-plates, forks, cups; it was fantastic.

And the cherry on top is this: My friends Lizette and Jon took us to a bar in Oakland called Café Van Kleef. Now I’m not much of a liquor drinker but I must confess that their signature drink, a freshly squeezed greyhound, was divine. The grapefruit was so tasty and fresh – it was amazing.

So the next time I daydream about Europe…I know that in actuality I can get the same experience without leaving this continent! And the scenery Brent and I saw on our drives through Napa and on Highway 1 were quite comparable to many drives I’ve experienced in Europe.