This summer we subscribed to a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at the Bush-n-Vine. We pay an amount at the beginning of the summer and the farmer gets money up front to help throughout the growing season. If it's a good season, we get more food. If it's not a good season, we don't get as much and the farmer doesn't loose out. Each week we get a basket of produce grown right down the road from us, and it's been a GOOD summer! We've gotten blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, squash, corn, okra, plums, peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe, eggplant, beans, peas, peppers, and more. Here's a picture of this week's loot:
And more recently we found a similar system for meat. A local gas station (this is not your average gas station.... it's ooooooo-ber nice!) has a butcher in the back. We've gotten meats from them before and really enjoy their selection. They recently started selling "family plans," which offer several different kinds of meats wrapped and ready to freeze. All the meats are local and usually grass fed. We decided to give it a try. We bought their smallest plan which included a whole chicken, chicken breasts, ground stake, a meatloaf, pot roast and one or two more things. Here's a picture of our first tray:
With the CSA baskets and our little garden, we've eaten a lot more fruits and veggies this summer. We had never cooked with eggplant before and we made two delicious recipes: eggplant Parmesan and an eggplant tomato casserole. YUM! All this fresh food means Little Man has been eating healthier too. We've done some jar foods here and there, but for the most part we've given him actual homegrown food. While the Hubby and I haven't always had the best eating habits, we want to teach Little Man good eating habits starting now while he's still small. Hopefully we are teaching ourselves better habits as we teach him.
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