Friday Fotos....

A basket of bounty!

The Englishman and I joined a "CSA" a few months ago.  

(As opposed to the C. I. A.)

What is a CSA, you ask?

CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - allows families and individuals to share in the bounty of a local farm's harvest each week during the growing season.  You pay for either a full share or half share up front.  By joining with other people in our area who are interested in putting their resources behind locally sourced food, we are helping to sustain, in our case, a local family's business named Argos Farm.

We pick up our portion in a basket on Friday mornings.

Our first pick up was June 13th and we will continue until mid-October.

This week's goodies included beets, broccoli, cabbage, mustard greens, mixed lettuces, arugula, kale, Swiss chard and a garlic scape.

We were also able to purchase a dozen eggs, freshly laid by their hens this morning.

The colors are gorgeous!

Angela, one of the owners of Argos Farm who greets us each week,  has set up a private Facebook page for those of us who belong in which to share recipes and uses for our bounty.  She also suggested that I immediately wash all the items when I get them home, dry them thoroughly on paper towels, and store them wrapped in paper towels in the fridge.  I've followed her advice and I must say everything is lasting beautifully!

Parsnips and beets

This snake like stem is actually a garlic scape - the flower stalk which emerges from hard-necked varieties of garlic. 

According to a print out Angela gave us about this delicacy, "it is highly prized and traditionally used in Southern and Eastern European cuisines, along with Middle Eastern, Korean and other Asian cuisines,..."

I'm learning something new every week!

Wishing everyone brilliant sunshine and cool breezes this summer weekend!