Squashing Our Hopes And Dreams ~ Blog 17

It's almost this bad.

Why do I do this to myself?

That was the thought Saturday as I was picking up our winter CSA share. I am the worst localvore ever. I buy a locally raised turkey and then complain about how much it costs. It also tasted terrible. We prefer to go to local bars and restaurants and then I order buffalo wings and nachos at every one of them.

If you know me at all, you know I am not a man of refined tastes. My beer-nerd friends (OK, mostly just the Bearded Bearnut) will jump in here to defend me; they might also note that I occasionally drink a Miller Lite.

I aspire to being a super yuppy, minus the iPhone and the iPad and the skinny jeans and the horn-rimmed glasses. And I want to want to love my CSA share. I simply don't.

This is the second attempt at a Community Supported Agriculture share. You pay a lump fee before the growing season, then each week you pick up your produce. It's a way to support local farms and local produce while maybe saving a buck or two on buying stuff at the farmers' market (or Whole Foods).

The first, in Portland, brought weekly allotments of kale, chard, collard greens and other things we never, ever eat. On the year-end evaluation form, we pointed out there were hardly any of the vegetables we eat on a regular basis. Where were the corn, the cucumbers, the tomatoes? Give me a pepper or give me nothing.

For some reason, it was decided that a second shot at a CSA was in order. The upshot of a CSA, aside from supporting local agriculture, is it forces you to eat healthy foods.

I lost five pounds over the last three weeks. That coincides with our first 40-pound winter CSA share being delivered. There were leeks, potatoes, squash, squash, more squash, carrots and about 10 pounds of leafy green vegetables.

I made a cabbage soup, with onion and potato. I made a huge, two-bowl salad from a pair of cabbages with a soy/ginger/garlic dressing. And aside from one serving of salad, I ate it all by myself.

You do not need that much fiber in your diet.

Then, three weeks later, we picked up our second 40-pound load of veggies. TW unloaded the bok choy, leeks, lettuces, radishes and myriad other things I can't even identify on some friends in Portland. We still have a 5-pound bag of carrots sitting in the fridge.

The attraction to this CSA was value. It's $240 for 120 pounds of produce. If it was 120 pounds of red peppers, I think I'd be OK with that. As it stands, we have a 10 pounds of squash rotting in our basement.

Even the weight-loss effect is temporary. I went out for garlic herb fries Saturday afternoon and put on all the weight I'd lost. That's OK. I'd rather be a little pudgy and happy than eating squash.