What's in our first CSA bag:

This Wednesday we picked up our first CSA of the year! CSA stands for community supported agriculture, farmers share their freshly picked crops with the community, and it's a great opportunity to promote local farmers; a win-win if you ask me! It's our third year subscribing to Brenckles and this year we are picking up the produce once a week from their greenhouse in our town. We absolutely love it because we know where our produce is coming from, eating more seasonally and often get vegetables we can't find at the grocery store! 

Here's what we got in our first bag and here are what I plan on doing with each item:

• Garlic scapes - One of the least common items in our bag! They are those long green thingies on the left hand side of the photo and are the flower bud of the garlic plant. We usually receive them the first couple of weeks, and I remember the first time I saw them I had no idea what to do with them! Fortunately for Google, I learned that they make an excellent base for pesto and can also be used in place of garlic (though they're more mild in taste.) I am thinking of using this batch in chicken stock over the weekend and if I have any leftover maybe I'll chop some up to put into guacamole for Father's Day!
• Kale - Anyone who knows me knows I love kale. I'm a big fan of raw kale salads especially massaged kale. I am really intrigued by this Kale Guacamole recipe. I usually keep things simple with my guacamole but adding kale into the scene is worth trying!
• Spinach - I already made chopped spinach salad with strawberries, fresh shallot balsamic vinaigrette and poppy seeds back to back, and also added some to my smoothie this morning! I love the spinach our CSA gives us. It's so much sweeter and fresher than the stuff I find at the grocery store. My favorite ways to use it is in smoothies because it's one of the more neutral greens, raw in a salad, and it also tastes fabulous sauteed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Strawberries - I am obsessed with these strawberries! They're perfectly sweet and ripe. So far Lydia and I have been eating them as is, in the aforementioned spinach salad, and sliced up for overnight oats. 
• Local honey - I'm a big fan of baking with honey and will probably use it in some future desserts, drizzled in plain yogurt, sometimes on waffles, or in a timeless peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich. Mmmm!
• Mild salsa from the farm's veggies - The salsa is made from the farm's tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers. It is a simple little salsa but definitely not lacking in the flavor department! Chips and salsa here we come... 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming months and using these vegetables to make delicious meals. I hope you all have a beautiful weekend and Father's Day :)