By way of introduction

It was 5 degrees this morning. We still have a heap of snow on the ground. But I'm holding onto a vision of spring, and it comes down to this: Swiss chard. Maybe asparagus. Followed by strawberries and zucchini and corn on the cob and that first tomato.

Yes, I have mailed out the paperwork for this year’s Community Supported Agriculture program.

During the summer and fall of 2008, I discovered the joys and trials of having a weekly CSA basket. The family was knee-deep in produce for 13 weeks; and now, a good three months after the end of the local farm season, we are working through the remains of the bounty: winter squash, pickles, pesto, and the ubiquitous chard. With a little planning, we should be able to finish everything off before the new produce starts coming in mid-June.

There is nothing like seasonal produce from a local farm, unless you grow your own. So I accept the challenge of finding something to do with all of those vegetables. It doesn’t matter that the farm-share season will be longer this year (18 weeks!). It doesn’t matter that the girls strongly prefer their vegetables in the forms of Carrot Cake, Chocolate Zucchini Cake, and “Not Quite Pumpkin Because We Have a Lot of Squash” Bread. I am armed with ideas and recipes and a second freezer.

Bring on the fresh chard!