In Season

We live in a culture of instant and nearly infinite gratification with a click of a mouse or trip to a super-store. The internet gives us instant access to anything we want, day or night 365 days a year and if we spend more than $35 we can get free shipping! And while I love amazon.com and mega-store shopping, one of the things I am enjoying about having decided to do the CSA as our main source of produce this winter is the fact that it is challenging me to think differently about food. I can't have anything I want, any time I want it. We pick up the bag on Friday and what we get is what we get. This week we have:

turnips

rutabagas

celery

potatoes

some citrus fruits

leeks

green pepper

2 local hot-house tomatoes

Not what I would have picked up at the grocery if left to my own devices. Over the past 2 weeks Jim and I have realized that we are big fans of roasted turnips and sauteed collards- things we never would have tried had they not been the only veggies in the house for dinner. This experiment is teaching me to think differently, to enjoy what is available to me in season- to appreciate the lean, hearty root veggies of winter and to anticipate the bounty of summer. I have a few onions, a sweet potato, and part of a head of lettuce left over in the fridge. And that's what's for dinner at our house this week!

PS: check out the size of the green onions we got last week! Maybe this is my city-girl ignorance, but I didn't think green onions looked like this except perhaps in Jurassic Park!