I am a farmer... sort of!

Okay, I am not really a farmer. I haven't even owned a pair overalls since the mid 1990s. (Don't laugh, you know you owned a pair too!) But, this week, I joined a local farm cooperative program. I read about it ages ago in an issue of Real Simple magazine. The article linked to this website, CSA. From there, I was able to find the farms in my area that participate in community supported agriculture, JROrganics. I get an email at the beginning of each week telling me what to expect in that week's package, and then on Thursdays, I go pick up my bounty! I subscribe to the fruit/vegetable package and the fresh flowers package - because I may need to eat, but I NEEEEEEEDDDDDD beautiful flowers. Dontcha think?? ;)

I know that my flower arranging skills are sorely lacking - but here's to getting lots of practice!!!

Aren't they pretty?

This weeks case includes the following: lettuce, celery, broccoli, swiss chard, leeks, beets, carrots, sugar snap peas, rosemary, blood oranges and apples.
I am really excited about the prospect of good, fresh, organic produce. I mean, how do you get fresher than picked the day before I get my hands on it?! I am not sure who I am going to pawn off those beets on, but I am pretty excited about everything else!! And, the flowers are so pretty! The bunch was so huge, I split it into two bunches and now have fresh flowers in two rooms of my home.
Our family eats a lot of fresh produce - both vegetables and fruit. So, the way I look at it, this cooperative program allows me to feed my family the freshest possible produce - and it is organic. I will be motivated to cook with vegetables that are in season (think higher quality) and maybe a little outside-the-box for me. And, I support a local farmer, all at the same time. Woo hoo!

Here is the first recipe I am going to cook using my fresh rosemary:

Rosemary Grilled Chicken Thighs

1 garlic clove, pressed
1 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP dijon mustard
2 TBSP honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/2 lemon


comine garlic and next 6 ingredients in large ziploc plastic bag, squeeze bag to combine ingredients. Add chicken, turning to coat, and seal bag. Chill 1 to 24 hours.
preheat grill to 350-400 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade.
grill chicken, covered - heat 5 to 7 minutes on each side. transfer chicken to large piece of foil. squeeze juice from lemon over chicken; fold foil around chicken, covering chicken completely. let stand 10 minutes.

I'll let you know how it turns out!