Summer Time and the Veggies are oh so nice....

Living in Central New York has ups and downs. We try to focus on the positives, and it is so much easier now than it is in the depths of February darkness with frigid temps and thigh-high snow. At this time of year, it feels criminal to think about leaving for a vacation because of the many things that are just about perfect here. This summer, even though it's been rainy, we haven't even needed the air conditioning! We can pick fresh fruit from June through October at a huge assortment of U-pick fields, we've got gorgeous country side, plenty of parks, lakes and recreational activities, and we are doubly rewarded as the fields ripen and the hard-working farmers present us the fruits of their labors in many wonderful venues. We have a wonderful farmer's market here - now expanding to the city center on weekdays so that we can walk at lunch time from work and see what luscious goodies await us.

We have re-discovered a wonderful opportunity this summer that is allowing us to have access to organically grown and freshly harvested vegetables on a weekly basis. It is a Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) farm that delivers a box of whatever is ripening in the fields each week. Members of the community purchase a 'share' of the farm's annual harvest before the growing season. From June through the middle of November part of the farm's weekly harvest of the freshest, highest quality produce is distributed to each member. We have experimented with the concept of a CSA in the past - one many years ago in Rochester had me working in the fields once a month and it was a great way to introduce the kids to the idea that food is actually grown and not just plopped onto the shelves as if by magic (sort of like them not understanding why when we needed money we couldn't just drive to the machine and get more!) Then there was another one more recently in Syracuse that offered great food, but was accompanied by a requirement that once a month we be present to divvy up the produce delivery to distribute to the members, and I got paired with someone who was downright mean and nasty - so we did not return the following year. This spring I was tempted by an email from Phyllis who runs Sugarpearl (http://www.sugarpearl.org) down the street from us offering CSA produce that would be delivered to their coffee shop, and all we would have to do would be to pick it up. How much easier could it get? Being part of a rapidly emptying nest (yahoo!), we figured it might be too much food for 2 adults and one or two vanishing and re-appearing teens. We talked our friends Zach and Linda into splitting a share with us - so we each wrote checks for about $250 and sent them into the Common Thread Community Farm with high hopes. And we have not been disappointed!

Each Thursday afternoon, we wander down to Sugarpearl, walk in and grab our box and newsletter, and rush home to figure out what is in it. Each week there has been at least one thing in the box that we were unfamiliar with - remarkable when you realize that we are NOT food-sissies and have tried pretty much everything we've ever had the opportunity to try in our lives! A recent box had Red Cabbage, Carrots, Fennel, Radicchio, Garlic Scapes, Kohlrabi, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Lacanato Kale and Head Lettuce (2 kinds). Last week we had Thursday diner with Zach and Linda, and prepared fish cakes with a mango salsa and a side of greens and beans. Then they went home with a grocery bag full of the remainder of their half of that week's box. The Common Thread Community Farm folks are making it possible for those of us who live away from the farms to enjoy their produce every day, and their efforts are also building a community. Last weekend they were hosting an evening on the farm complete with movies in the fields, and their facebook page is full of links to good information, photos of the farm compete with chickens and piggies, and of course recipes shared by others like us who don't always know what to do with something or other in the box. We like to think that Common Thread Farm is benefiting from our support and that they will grow and prosper and continue to provide us with more interesting and delicious food for long into the future. It is small farming operations like this that will ensure diversity in what is available to us, and continue to propagate so many of the varieties of vegetables that are not grown large scale commercially because they aren't great sellers or keepers in the mass-market. What fun - and what great food. So when the snow is flying and I am starting to hallucinate with Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms next winter, maybe someone can remind me that this is why we choose to live here!