What I've learned from our CSA subscription

First, here's what we received this week:

• Zucchini
  
• White zucchini
  
• Yellow squash
  
• Potatoes
  
• Peaches
  
• Garlic
  
• Spinach
  
• Rosemary
  
• Flowers (decorative, not edible)
  

A lot of what I've learned is not actually new knowledge but, rather, a fuller understanding of things as I always knew (in my head) them to be, but didn't know (in true belief/feeling) them to be.

I can try new foods. I still generally don't like new foods, but given a good enough reason (such as trying to be a good example to our (future) kids) I can manage to try things I've never eaten before - even when I know I won't like them.

I could someday become a vegetarian. That's not to say that I will eventually like all vegetables, but I have hope (however miniscule) that I will find enough foods to eat with proper nutrition to not rely on meat. I may never choose to entirely give up eating meat, but the option will probably be there.

Helping the little guy is rewarding. When we pick up our weekly box of goodies, we get the chance to converse with the owners of one of the farms that provides our share food. We know who we're supporting and sharing the burden and harvest with.

We're only about 25% of the way through our CSA year, so there's lots more to come. I can't say for sure at this moment that I will be interested in purchasing a share again next year. I would rather have a local farmer's market to attend weekly where I can pick up foods from the same small local growers but within my own set of taste boundaries. For instance - I could do without anymore yellow squash for a few weeks. But I could definitely go for more potatoes or cherries or beets. However, I don't know of any farmer's markets that are geographically and chronologically convenient. I'll have to look into that.