Community Supported Agriculture or CSA for short, is a way for city dwellers to support small scale, local farmers and reap a share of their harvest. Investors or “partners,” buy a share of the produce before the season begins. These partners then receive a share (a basket, box, or bag) of produce each week throughout the growing season. When people invest in a CSA, they assume the risks inherent with farming. Hail storms, grasshoppers and drought all can spell disaster for the crops. But when you receive your weekly basket the rewards definitely out weigh the risks.

CSA’s first were developed in Japan, Germany and Switzerland in the 1960′s, in response to concerns about food safety and urbanization of agricultural land. The concept of Community Supported Agriculture spread to North America in the 1980′s, and now there are over 1500 CSA farms in Canada and the United States.

If you are new to CSA’s, you might find it odd to be asked to pay for your produce months in advance. But receiving the capital upfront allows the farmer to accurately plan their cash flow and expenses, and that translates to the farmer focusing their time and energy on growing high quality vegetables.

You will receive no fresher ingredients, than the ones that come in your weekly CSA bag. Local produce, is just that local, which means unless you picked it out of your own garden it is some of the freshest vegetables you can prepare.  Cooking fresh foods plays a substantial role in getting back to healthful living.

You will also be treating your taste buds with the fresh produce that you are receiving in your CSA bag. Fresh, homegrown produce has the best flavor and vitamin benefits that you can get. Always has and always will.

Breaking bread and cooking together, with family and friends alike, allows you to reconnect with what’s important in life. What better connection can you make than with the farmer that grows your food? I saw a quote from a CSA farmer in a newspaper one time that said, “Most people have a mechanic and a family doctor they trust, and we feel like they should also have a farmer they trust to grow the food they are eating and feeding their families.”

When you invest in a CSA you will receive produce that you may or may not be familiar with. This is a great way to get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking. Most farmers have newsletters, online resources or fliers to help give you ideas and recipes for produce that you may not be familiar with. Many families find that children who are exposed to these new items are more willing to try them because it came from “their” farm. Check out Nutrition Know How during the summer months for more creative ways to use the produce from  CSA bags. Last summer Carrie shared this Cucumber Salsa Recipe in her blog, I wanted to run it again to wet your appetite for what wonderful ideas and recipes that will be coming when the CSA starts up again this summer. ENJOY!!

Cucumber Salsa
Servings: 12

Ingredients
2             medium cucumbers, peeled andchopped
2             medium tomatoes, chopped
½ c.        chopped green bell pepper
1             jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1             small onion
1 t.          garlic, minced
2 T.         lime juice
2 t.         minced fresh cilantro
½ t.         salt
1             package tortilla chips

Directions
1.  In a medium bowl, stir together the cucumbers, tomatoes, green pepper, jalapeno pepper, onion,garlic, lime juice, cilantro, dill, and salt.
2.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Serve with tortilla chips.

I have been attending the most terrific Dairy Symposium today and looking forward to tomorrow!  This afternoon, everyone visited a local family dairy farm and learned all about what it takes to get milk from the farm to your glass.  Pretty interesting stuff!

Tonight, we all got to go to The Culinary Center in Kansas City, and we all prepared our dinner meal.  This may sound dreadful to some who do not like to cook.  But it wasn’t.  It was exactly how meals should be prepared.  We prepared and entire meal and every group prepared a different recipe.  Wine was served and we noshed on appetizers while we cooked.  My point is that cooking should be FUN!  I know the day to day preparation of family meals gets old sometime, but it can be fun!

We all like to eat, but we don’t always eat what our bodies need.  I am NOT a food Nazi.  I believe all foods can fit.  I also believe if we, as dietitians want to get people to eat healthier, we need to teach them to prepare healthy foods that taste good and are easy to prepare.

Cooking is a lost art in this day and age.  I read a statistic yesterday from the American Dietetic Association that said 75% of people learn to cook from some type of electronic source.  Hmmmm……. Where did learning to cook from your Mom or Grandma go? 

So—I am including a great recipe a friend sent me on facebook.  It’s not hard, and tastes incredible!  Give it a try.  Look forward to more incredible recipes soon, as we signed up for our CSA again, and are all looking forward to fresh, tasty produce again!

Crisp Cucumber Salsa
Yield 2-1/2 cups

2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/4 c reduced-fat sour cream
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Tortilla chips

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.

1/4 cup (w/out chips) equals 16 calories
Recipe from Simple and Delicious magazine

 The call this month for Recipe ReDux was asking the question if people were over the cupcake trend, I can tell you there are several television shows, bakeries, and eating establishments that hope people answer NO to that question.

A standard cupcake uses the same ingredients as a standard sized cake: butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Nearly any recipe is suitable for a layer cake can be used to bake cupcakes. Cupcake batter can be flavored or have other ingredients stirred in, such as dried fruits, berries, chips or candy. Cupcakes may be topped with frosting or other cake decorations. Another popular surprise in cupcakes is to fill them with frosting, pastry cream, jam or jelly.

Most cupcakes highlight at least one ingredient, but for my blog I decided to incorporate vegetables into the recipes. Researching recipes that use vegetables in cupcakes drew me to several sites. One site was from the American Institute of Cancer, featuring beets in a Red Velvet Cupcake. What a great way to get the health benefits, in a less traditional way. Check out the link:  http://www.aicr.org/assets/docs/pdf/her/red-velvet-cupcakes.pdf  Other vegetables that I found recipes for were sweet potato cupcakes, snap pea cupcakes, pineapple-zucchini and chocolate zucchini cupcakes.

The recipes that I choose to feature in my blog this month didn’t come from the web or nationally published cookbooks, but from a couple of church cookbooks that I received when I was first married. I did take the liberty to modify the recipe from their original state to decrease the fat and sugar. They were also originally made into the standard 9 X 13 inch cake pan, but I have made them as cupcakes for the family for years. Don’t forget that if you are using a standard layered cake recipe, and making it into cupcakes they will bake much faster than a normal layered cake because  they conduct the heat more efficiently.

Here is the recipe that I used for the pumpkin and carrot cake cupcakes.

I hope that you enjoy the recipes as much as I did.  And don’t forget to check out my fellow Recipe Redux Bloggers.

It’s April 11, and by this time my lettuce, carrots and beets are usually in my garden beds.  So are some of my herb seeds.  Yep—fresh produce growing in the spring sun.  NOT!  It’s 32 degrees out and is snowing.  Spring forgot to come to Nebraska this year.

I am still hopeful.  I have planted seeds under the grow lights at work for our child care gardens, and the beans and squash are doing well.  The rest of the seeds are starting to come up also.  So I guess I am not so far behind.  How about you?

I love gardening with kids, because they love to play in the dirt, and are more likely to eat produce that they have grown.  I purchased seed potatoes from Menard’s the other day, and one of their salesmen told me which variety he recommended and even gave me a recipe that his wife uses.  It doesn’t get any better than that!  I am growing little red potatoes, because my family doesn’t like Yukon Golds.

There is great satisfaction in growing your own food!  Last year we had a terrible summer with more than 40– 100 degree days and no rain.  The forecast is for the same this year, so I am trying to plant heat tolerant plants.  I would love to hear what you are planting, and any recipes you’d like to share.  Also, be prepared—we joined our local CSA again, so we are looking forward to many new recipes for great summer produce!