CSA Pick: Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi

It was a typical CSA pickup. I checked in. Grabbed my peaches, then started towards the veggies. I came across the usual leafy green suspects, turnips, lettuce and then stopped. I stared into the bin. A large, slightly misshaped purple thing stared back at me. Hello kohlrabi. Think broccoli stem, but more round and purple. It was seriously ugly with a few stems haphazardly extending from its base. Certainly new to me, but after being a CSA member for three years, not much phases me anymore. I picked it up, added it to my haul and headed home without the faintest idea of what to make.

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Strawberry Rosemary Ice Cream — Philly Style

Strawberry Rosemary Ice Cream

Summer generally means a few quarts of ice cream. Not all at once of course, throughout the season. I put my ice cream maker bucket in the freezer a few days ago. Unless it’s in use, that’s where it lives all summer, ready to churn at a moment’s notice. A fresh quart of strawberries from the Park Slope CSA pushed me over the edge. As soon as I picked up the small carton, I knew they would soon be turned into ice cream.

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CSA Season Opening Day

CSA Week 1

It finally came! While every other blogger I know has been bragging over their CSA bounty for the past couple of weeks, I say silently lamenting my late start date. I’m hoping when I’m still collecting in November the joke will be on them, but somehow I’m not certain. I’m a bit of a CSA hopper. Or junkie. Whatever you want to call it. While I never jumped from relationship to relationship while dating, I find it difficult to commit to a single CSA. There are flaws I haven’t been able to overcome. The day of the week, the pickup time, the lack of communication, then there’s the produce itself. I’m a former member of the Yellow Hook and Tribeca CSAs and while there was nothing wrong with either of them, I never felt a connection. This year I swore would be my last year. If I couldn’t fall in love on the third try, I would need to face the fact that I was not CSA commitment material.

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