The Springdell Show and Tell – Summer CSA Pickup #1


Hi everyone, Jess here to share about an exciting day, the kickoff of the Summer CSA Season over at Springdell Farm! I’ll miss the dark greens of spring asparagus and fiddleheads, but the first summer pickup is always so special, and today is no exception. If you’re not in the CSA, no worries, the farm stand carries all the same goodies I’ll be highlighting here, so please feel free to stop by and join us on our culinary summer journey!

As you can see, the first pickup has lots of red! Berries and ‘barb are making their CSA debut, along with some heirloom greens.

If you’re new to the blog, welcome! You’ll see that every week I highlight what you’ll find in the full, small, single, and mega CSA boxes. Click on the name of the produce that you’re curious about to be whisked away to info on that item, along with a continually growing list of tested recipes for that item. Let’s give it a look-see!

  • StrawberriesSave the caps for strawberry cap water, (toss clean strawberry caps into a jar of water in the fridge overnight and chill, it’s that simple!) It’s a wonderful summer treat as Farmer Jamie will attest! Remember to click on “Strawberries” to read up on more ideas!
  • RhubarbHowever you enjoy your rhubarb (click for suggestions), and be sure to save the peels of the rhubarb make a wonderful and colorful simple syrup that’s the perfect compliment to a summer cocktail. Pour some into your strawberry cap water for a sweet little zing!
  • LettuceBig leaves for lettuce wraps, smaller leaves for salads… Eat your greens!
  • Siberian Kale Strawberry vinaigrette is especially delicious with fresh kale and the farm stand cheese of your choice.
  • Rainbow ChardEnjoy this sooner than later, as freshest is best with chard. Have fun with the stems, they can be grilled up on their own. I hope to give this one a try this week and will report back. If you miss your launch window for consuming the chard, fear not! This simple bean soup breathes delicious new life into it.
  • Strawberries are also in this week’s Super Fruit Add-on. Bring it on, these are amazing and the season goes too fast for my liking.
  • 1 Dozen Eggs grace the CSA box each week of those that have the Egg Share Add-On.

Small Shares this week will receive strawberries, rhubarb, lettuce and rainbow chard, as do the single shares, but in smaller quantity. I’m sorry to say that my picture came out too blurry for me to accurately report the extra goodies in this week’s Super Share, so this week it’ll be a surprise!

Please note that while the value within the CSA crates remain the same, the contents may vary slightly throughout the season. In other words, please don’t fret if the contents of your Friday pickup box looks slightly different than that of the Monday pickup box. It happens as this is a farm and things are picked to order in quantity and season. After all, variety is the spice of life!

I’m loving the fancy new eye-level boards at the CSA pickup! If you’re new to the CSA pickup process, please remember to leave your CSA tag in the little bucket seen here labeled “tag drop”, as this tag is an essential part of the system that ensures your crate will be there week after week.
The boys and I enjoyed the Pick-Your-Own strawberry field today, perfect day for it!
These are better than candy, and what a wonderful perk of being a CSA member! Be sure to stop by the farm stand for your empty quart container to fill, at this time limited to 1 quart per CSA, please.
Today was also our meat subscription pickup, I’m looking forward to cooking and sharing about all these farm goodies!

As always, this more input this blog has, the better it gets! I heartily welcome your ideas, recipes, tips and tricks, (200 kitchens are much better than one) and of course, questions! Please always feel free to drop me a line to ask questions, or share your photos of how your items are being enjoyed. Sharing mistakes and mishaps is an absolutely welcome practice here as well, as we can all learn from them and laugh together along the way.

I look forward to sharing this summer season with you. Don’t be a stranger!


About Jess

Jess Anderson is the creator of CSA|365 and is passionate about the local food movement. A long time member of Springdell and a busy mother of two, Jess loves keeping her family fed by honest local food.

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