CSA - week two

Things were a little sparse at our CSA pick-up yesterday.

We got there towards the end of pick-up (which runs from 1-7 p.m.) and a few things (like broccoli rabe) had been cleaned out and there were (very) few peas to be found in the PYO field.

In the barn:

Green garlic
Beets
Spinach
Garlic scapes (I skipped them because I'm still not sure what to do with them and the green garlic seemed like enough garlic for one week)
Sunflower sprouts
Lettuce

In the fields, PYO:

Strawberries
Peas (though we didn't manage to find any)

No complaints though. We had a wonderful time picking TWO pints of strawberries (and probably eating close to that while we picked).

Yesterday morning I cleared out the fridge from last week's CSA left-overs (not that everything was "bad" but just because I'm wanting to stay ahead of the produce this summer). There was a bit more than I'd like to be in there at the end of the week, but the good thing about having chickens is that nothing really goes to waste. The chickens (and rooster, who is still here, but we hope, moving on to a new home soon) happily feasted on sunflower sprouts, spinach, chard, and lettuce, which we will absorb the benefits of via their eggs!

This morning we made pancakes with fresh strawberries - delicious!



In other news...

I have two "dates" set up in the coming weeks. During the first I will be helping to "process" chickens at our CSA farm and for the second I will be riding along with my friend Don, from whom we buy our grass-fed beef, when he brings three steer for "processing."

I sought out both of these experiences and crazy as it might sound, I am really looking forward to them.

But I am also find myself taking lots of deep breaths every time I think about it.

I was a vegetarian for over 17 years -- from sophomore year in high school until I was pregnant with our second child, while still nursing our first, and my body SCREAMED for red meat.

I tried to offer high-quality vegetable proteins and upped my intake of fresh eggs from our hens (as I had done during my first pregnancy) but the messages from my body were loud and clear -- it had to be red meat!

I tracked down a local source for grass-fed beef and we have been eating, and thoroughly enjoying, it ever since. (And incidentally learned that I was one of many former vegetarians who were now loyal grass-fed customers.)

I feel very much in alignment with eating (local compassionately raised) meat (more so in the winter or when I have extra demands on my body from pregnancy/nursing) but I am still not fully in alignment with the "process" by which a living animal becomes my food.

And so I've decided to lean into that discomfort and learn more about this process (I'm trying to type "slaughter" but my hands don't even want to type it).

I know, from talking extensively with local farmers every chance I get, that there are many gentle, peaceful, spiritual, loving people who raise animals for meat. I know some of them are former vegetarians themselves and so I want to talk to them more and learn from them and see if I can find peace around this subject.

Wish me luck...