My First CSA Subscription!

I signed up for my first CSA! I'm only doing one month — June — of the Bring It Food Hub CSA and kind of testing it out. I'd like to see if I can manage to cut my grocery budget this way by focusing all of my meals around fresh produce and only buying pantry items and perishables, like tofu and almond milk.

If my budget gets bigger with the CSA, I'll probably end it in July. But we'll see. Until then, here's a look at my first haul. Mostly greens — mixed baby lettuce, kale, chard, garlic, cauliflower, and garlic scapes.

I sort of forget that things like tomatoes and squash aren't in season here yet, so I wasn't expecting so many greens. But that's okay! I need to be eating more greens anyway. I've been eating plenty of salads using the mixed lettuce, plus other veggies that were already in my fridge, like carrots, radishes, and bell pepper and add-ons like tofu, raisins, almonds, and cashew ranch.

Last night, I had some bean and rice leftovers from Imagine Vegan Cafe with a saute of cauliflower and scapes (from the CSA bag), plus squash and broccoli. On the side, I sauteed the kale and topped with a little tahini. I wasn't crazy about this kale. I think it's Russian kale? Really bitter! 

I had the Swiss chard tonight as a side to yummy vegan eggplant lasagna dish from Memphis-based food prep company, Your Personal Chef. I sauteed the chard with the garlic and some scapes. No oil!

I got my second CSA bag today, but I'm leaving for Bonnaroo early Thursday morning. It has kale, lettuce (2 kinds — mixed baby greens and a head of red leaf lettuce), beets, collards, broccoli, and garlic. I'm making it my goal to take as much of the fresh produce with me as possible, so I can eat very healthily at the campsite. I'm turning the kale into kale chips for snacking on while I'm there, and I'm bringing the baby lettuce to make salads at the campsite! I gave the red leaf lettuce to a friend since I doubt it'll last, but I figure the other veggies are hearty enough to stay fresh in my fridge until I return.

Speaking of Bonnaroo, this will be my last post until I return early next week. But I'll report back with lots of delicious campsite meal pics and pictures of the vegan goodies I find at festival vendors. I've heard tale of vegan cheese tots this year, so I'll be on the hunt for those.