What Happens in the Kitchen...: Eat what you know

Today I had the opportunity to tour the grounds of the farm that our CSA box comes from. I know I haven't blogged much about our second year as CSA-er's and our adventures with the weekly box but I can tell you that we are enjoying it just as much as we did last year. What's nice about no longer being amateurs in the CSA world is that in year 2 you know what to expect above all else. You know to pace yourself especially when it comes to those lovely leafy greens and how to avoid the burn-outs that we experienced last year of what felt like endless weeks of eating the same veggies. You become better prepared about how you plan to use your veggies as you've now had an entire year to remember recipes (and think of 18 different ways to conquer the kale) and how to look ahead with the help of the freezer in order for things to be there if you aren't quite ready to use them just yet.

So we set out today to tour the grounds of Stone Gardens Farm in Shelton and got to hear first hand from our growers, Stacia and Fred what it's like to grow a wide range of veggies that provide for close to 1000 CSA boxes each week and has made them one of the most popular farms in Connecticut. Shown below are a couple photos from the tour and above all else it gives you so much appreciation for what you're eating and everything that goes into it. It allows you to never look at a veggie from the grocery store and a veggie from the farm in the same light again because there is no way they are created equally. I found the grounds breathtaking and beautiful and maybe just maybe I finally have become one with nature as my Mother so often urged me to do when I was younger as we were on a ski lift or a beach. It was fun to pick the brains of the farmers and I came away learning a lot of new things about growing and farming and without a doubt can see their commitment to producing great crops.