Thing is, I don't really like kale that much. I tried a couple things, putting it in stir-fry, making kale chips out of it (lots of people I know really love them, but I think they are weird.), and I even put it in a smoothie. After a couple weeks of so much kale, I stopped even trying to do stuff with it, and I just gave it away to my friends. I'm glad I have so many friends who like kale!
My brother-in-law bought us a 13-week subscription to this CSA last fall as a gift. I found the CSA's website and showed it to him because I thought it was so neat. I was originally going to see if I could persuade The Husband to let me buy a share so we'd have tasty veggies all through the winter, so I was really excited when they told us about the gift.
At first it was really fun, but then the farm suffered some setbacks. That's a natural part of running a farm, but I got really frustrated because the farm neglected to actually tell anyone anything. I was told in November that due to one thing and another that they were taking a haitus for three weeks. Three weeks turned into about to six months. Arg. I kind of felt as though I had wasted my in-law's money by even pointing the CSA out to them in the first place.
When deliveries finally started back up again in the middle of May, kale was the primary staple. A LOT of kale. I have no idea what I would have done with all that kale, had I not given it all away. I got into the habit of showing up at my friend Analei's house on Monday afternoons with cries of "It's KALE day!!"
So no, I don't think I will renew the subscription to the CSA. Some of the stuff was really tasty (I loved the salad greens and the green beans, and last fall they had some nice canteloupe), but the same cannot be said of everything (they gave us broccoli leaves and just the tops of carrots. That's just weird). They gave us way more of several items than two adults and a toddler can reasonably be expected to eat in one week (like kale). In the end, I gave away about 75% of the food each week. I like zucchini, but I don't like it enough to eat it for every meal for seven days, and that is the only way I would have been able to chow through it all.
In the end, I feel a sense of conflict within myself over the whole experience. Am I being ungrateful for expressing disappointment over a gift that I was hoping to get for myself anyway? Am I being picky and unreasonable for not even trying to find a way to cook broccoli leaves and carrot tops? Am I, fundamentally, a pessimist? I think I have to accept that the answer to all these questions is, at least a little bit, "yes." Sigh.
I think from now on, I'll do my produce shopping at the farmer's market or through Bountiful Baskets. (Have you heard of Bountiful Baskets?! They are so great. I love that The Squeaker begs and pleads and cries for oranges and plums and strawberries instead of candy.)
I grew kale in my garden last fall and it is an exceptionally heavy producer. I'm not surprised you got so much of it. My favorite way to eat it was in Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana copycat recipe. It's really good cooked with bacon and cream too.
ReplyDeleteThe broccoli I planted last fall also produced more leaves than florets and my favorite way to use those is to blanch them and roll up meatballs (seasoned like you would make a meatloaf) in them, then pour spaghetti sauce on top and bake. So delicious!
It's nice to know not all experiences with a CSA are all sunny and amazing selection.