CSA vegetable survival tips

Whenever I talk about my CSA on social media, someone invariably asks me about the Confederate States of America. Although I do love history, in this case, I'm talking about Community Supported Agriculture, in which consumers (me) buy a share in the season's harvest. We usually pay up front in the late winter or early spring, so that the farmers have the "seed money" to get rolling. Then, we go and pick up our harvest share once a week. In our case, since we value organic produce, we selected an all-organic CSA that also had a convenient pick-up day, time and location, The Fredericksburg Area CSA Project.

The reason I personally love a CSA is that I get really fresh, locally grown food. I am supporting agriculture in my own community. I also chose this specific CSA because all the suppliers are organic farms, and that's important to me. The fact that most of the food I buy at the grocery store travels from California, Oregon, Mexico and Chile is very frustrating to me, when there is perfectly good farmland right here in Virginia. Every mile my produce travels takes a toll on its nutritional value and on the environment. Yes, I will still buy bananas from Ecuador and avocados from California, because I love them, and they just don't grow in this climate, but I would like the bulk of my food to be as local as possible.

I have done a CSA before, but it has been several years. I haven't had one since I moved to the Fredericksburg area. In my previous experience, I learned some valuable CSA survival skills.

1. Make time to get to the pickup each week. It sounds obvious, but this is your one day to get your veggies. The pick up day and time should be a generally good day and time for you. The one I have now works well. For my previous CSA, I had to travel 30 miles in rush hour traffic after the end of a long work day. There were many days I just couldn't make it. That resulted in a waste of money and a less positive experience for me.
2. Make a serious effort to include vegetables every time you eat. This doesn't mean you need to become a vegetarian, but find some way to squeeze veggies into every meal and snack. At breakfast, it's pretty simple to put kale (or any greens) into your morning smoothie along with carrots and beets. I have given these veggie smoothies to my kids and even my reluctant husband, and as long as all the bits are well pureed, everyone was fine with that. If you don't do smoothies, throw some spinach (or any other greens) into your eggs. The addition of sautéed onion and feta cheese makes a delicious omelette. Make a salad with lunch and dinner. 
3. Use the internet to find recipes for the mysterious vegetables you've never seen before. The first time I got mustard greens, I was stumped. But I found over time that you can stir-fry just about anything with a bit of soy sauce and garlic and it tastes awesome. You can toss most vegetables (especially beets, sweet potato, carrot, asparagus, broccoli, kohlrabi) in olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes and they come out caramelized and delicious. But just spending a few minutes looking up collard green recipes can open your eyes to new possibilities you may not have considered--like an Asian rice and raw collard salad with sesame oil, soy sauce and hot peppers.
4. Understand that seasons vary. When you buy produce at the grocery store, the selection is pretty much the same in July as it is in December. With a CSA (depending on where you live) the variety changes with the season. Early spring will feature lots of leafy greens. In Virginia, we don't see tomatoes until July. Be patient, and instead of longing for the vegetables you can't have, love the ones you're with. Of course, you can always supplement your CSA supply with other veggies, but if you have a large share, you might already have a struggle consuming what you have before the vegetables wilt.
5. Store carefully. Once you pick up your veggies, take care to store them properly. Greens wilt quickly, but it helps if you bring lettuce home  (or kale, collards, herbs, etc.) and wrap them in a couple of damp paper towels, then put them back in a plastic grocery bag, and nestle them into the refrigerator. Don't feel like you have to jam everything into the vegetable crisper. Not only are you more likely to see and select the vegetables if they are out on the shelves, the extra humidity in the main compartment of the refrigerator that results from opening and closing the door actually helps keep the greens fresh longer. Here's a link to a handy article from the Washington Post about storing veggies: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/one-way-to-fight-food-waste-revive-wilted-produce/2013/09/16/b1342b20-1b1a-11e3-a628-7e6dde8f889d_story.html
6. Share the wealth. If you feel overwhelmed by your vegetable share, give some of your abundance to others. Neighbors, friends, parents, grown-up kids, maybe even a homeless shelter might be able to use what you can't handle. It's all better than throwing away the produce you pre-paid for.
7. Plan for absences. If you have to be out of town or miss a share day, arrange to have someone else pick up your stuff. That way, it doesn't go to waste, and your friend can either enjoy the free food (if you are out of town) or can hold it for you until you can pick it up.
8. Keep an open mind. Over the course of the season, it is pretty much a sure thing you will receive vegetables that you never would have picked on your own. My husband, for example, dislikes both kale and collard greens, which of course are an early-season staple. If you get things you think you don't like, make a serious effort to find new ways to prepare them. Maybe you just don't like spinach when it's cooked, but it's okay in a salad. Perhaps you can roast that vegetable with olive oil and salt and you find a new appreciation for it.