Our family has been meaning to do this forever, and I am excited to say that we finally joined an organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) co-op (what is a CSA?). In truth, this particular co-op focuses first on organic and seasonal produce, and secondly on local. Therefore, not all the produce is necessarily 100% local. Nevertheless, I think this is an awesome step in more directly supporting farmers who are committed to organic production by eliminating the store distribution system, while at the same time getting great fresh produce for our family at a good price without having to go from store to store looking for organic items every week.

Here’s how it works: every 2 weeks we pay $50 to get a crate of organic fruits and veggies.

Here’s a shot of our first crate!

One reason I put off taking this step for so long is that most of the CSA’s or co-ops I had looked into previously would have required me to drive a long distance and would only allow pickup during the day on a weekday. Since I work 9 hours a day on all weekdays and only get 60 minutes for lunch (we have to send notifications to our entire team when we leave and when we return…so it’s not flexible), I was sure my schedule would make it impossible for me to participate in a CSA or co-op.

I was excited to find Your Health Source has pickup areas all over the Dallas/Fort Worth area, many that have Saturday pickups! So we signed up for the Saturday morning pickups in Lake Highlands.

Here’s a list of what we got this week:

• Broccoli, 1 bunch
• Carrots, 2 lb bag
• Celery, 1 ct
• Romaine Lettuce, 2 ct Changed to Romaine
• Spinach, Cal Organic, 2 ct
• Squash, Hard, Sweet Dumpling, 1.75-2 lbs
• Squash, Hard, Pie Pumpkin 1 ct  Info below
• Tomatoes (Regular), 2 ct
• Apples, Jonagold, 3 lb bag
• Avocados, Hass, 2 ct
• Banana, 3.75-4 lbs
• Kiwifruit, .75-1 lb
• Pears, DAnjou,  3 lb bag
• Valencia Oranges .75-1 lb

During the week, the co-op sends out emails about the upcoming food and includes links to recipes. With our  2 Sweet Dumpling Squash I made Stuffed Sweet Dumpling Squash Saturday night! I would recommend the recipe! It also made use of some of our spinach and celery.

We got the pumpkin just in time for Halloween, but I’ll probably be cooking it since it’s a pie pumpkin.

So, I’ve got a ton of spinach and lettuce right now. Also a pie pumpkin – I have never made pumpkin pie.

Anyone got any good recipes?