Basket of Goodies {photo from Author’s Personal Collection}

Sorry to have kept everyone in suspense. I had to go out-of-town and our first CSA delivery was delayed.

We decided our first foray into Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) would be with a farm called Re Rustica. Re Rustica is a farm located in Squaw Valley, California. We chose them based on the recommendation of a good friend. We also selected them because they don’t require us to work on the farm. As much as we’d like to have that level of involvement, our schedules won’t allow us to participate in that manner. Additionally, they allow you to select from what is currently in season. Many CSA farms select your fruits and vegetables for you. As a few EAD readers have mentioned, that can be part of the fun of participating in CSA.

Food straight out of the box {photo from Author’s Personal Collection}

Last Friday, our first delivery arrived via UPS. According to Re Rustica, they use UPS because they have a low carbon footprint. Originally, they used to deliver the produce themselves in their bio-diesel truck. Talk about dedication! The produce arrived in Ziploc bags inside of Styrofoam cooler. The packaging was a little less eco-friendly than we expected, but the produce looked amazing. Re Rustica sells their produce by the box. Their website does a great job of helping you calculate how big of a box to order. We selected the smallest box they offered.

Here’s what we received.

Baby Carrots, Lemons, Baby Beets, Parsnips, Broccolini, Italian Parsley, & Kale {photo from Author’s Personal Collection}

Green Leaf Lettuce, Purple Kale, Italian Parsley, & Kale {photo from Author’s Personal Collection}

We were impressed with the quality of the produce.  We took little nibbles of everything. Yes, we snacked on raw vegetables. Even though it was uncooked, everything was delicious. There’s a freshness and flavor about the produce that is significantly better than the produce you find in the grocery store. The only negative is that what we received differed slightly from what we requested. According to Re Rustica, most of what we had selected from their “In Season” list had been damaged by frost. This isn’t a huge problem since many EAD readers had posted suggestions on where we could find recipes. Rob, my chef hubby, is really excited to experiment with these ingredients. I, on the other hand, can’t wait to taste what he comes up with.

Bottom line, would we recommend CSA? The answer is a resounding “yes”. We are planning to get a subscription.  The amount of produce delivered is a little overwhelming. So, we are probably going to split the subscription with a friend of ours and have our produce delivered every other week.  Check my personal blog for upcoming posts with photos of Rob’s creations.