For Those Who Care - CSA Deets
Sooooooooo, I decided to roll the dice this year and see whether or not I was bumped off the waitlist for the CSA near my house and given a slot. I was informed that I was #43 and therefore, had a good chance at getting in. (Which surprised me. #43 sounds LAME.) However! Lo and behold, on Monday, I got an e-mail telling me that I had secured a place and did I want it?
UH. HECK YES I WANT IT!!
The pick up is every Tuesday from 5:30-7:30 down the street from my apartment. This is great because 1) Last year’s CSA pick up was on Thursday, which annoyed me for some reason because it was at the end of the week. By the time Monday rolled around, all the produce was gone and I would have to buy lunch or head to the grocery store. B) Last year’s CSA was five subway stops away. Most of the time, my friend JK picked it up for me since he lived nearby. Other times, I would have to drive over to get it because the vegetables were often heavy and walking 30 minutes home was excruciating. Driving = Evil.
SO! Picking up produce early in the week! Picking up produce down the street! Getting a FULL SHARE this year so that I hopefully don’t run out of vegetables in a few days! OH THE GLORY! THE GLORY OF IT ALL.
I decided to sign up for:
* a full vegetable share
* a fruit share
* an herb share
* a one-time delivery of tomatoes
Let it be known that everyone I know made fun of me for days for this last bullet point. The tomato delivery is simply that: a one time delivery of a 20 pound box of Roma tomatoes.
Upon hearing this, those closest to me either 1) Ripped out all their hair B) Fell out of their chair laughing at me or C3.) Both.
They were all, DO YOU REALIZE HOW MANY POUNDS OF TOMATOES THAT IS?
And I was all, TWENTY?
And they were all, DO YOU REALIZE HOW MANY TOMATOES THAT IS, YOU CRAZY WOMAN WHO LIVES IN A NYC APARTMENT WITHOUT A FAMILY?
And I just blinked a few times because why was everyone yelling at me?
My brother was like, THOSE FUCKING TOMATOES WILL FUCKING OVERTAKE YOUR FUCKING APARTMENT.
Calm down, dude. I’ll totally share.
It seemed simple enough to me. Tomatoes are delicious. I love tomatoes. Why wouldn’t I want a 20 pound bushel full in the middle of summer? I have absolutely no problem dumping the entire barrel on my kitchen floor, stomping on them like a crazed Italian and then putting them all in a huge pot to simmer for five straight days. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THIS. My landlord and roommates probably would. But. Whatever. Who cares about THEM, am I right?
I signed up for the delivery to happen the week of September first. (The options were every week starting mid-August to mid-September. I could select any number of weeks or all of them. I thought that one delivery was pushing it, forget five of them.) September first is right smack in the middle so I figured that would be PRIME tomato time. Also, it happens to be the Tuesday before Labor Day.
Obviously, I have off for Labor Day which will give me time to get a handle on the tomato delivery. I am also traveling home to Long Island that weekend to attend one of my favorite people’s weddings. (ZOMG ASHLEY! YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED SOON.) I figured I could always pile the tomatoes in my car, head home to my parents’ house, cook ten thousand vats of tomato sauce using my mom’s pots and pans and then take a shower and go to a wedding. NO? SEEMS SIMPLE ENOUGH TO ME.
Deanna was obviously the most supportive person I talked to. She said I could learn to can the sauce OR I could simply freeze it AND/OR I could have a mozzarella/tomato caprese party.
I feel like that definitely needs to happen. Who wants to come?!
So, there you have it folks. I promise to document any tomato party I throw. I also promise to take pictures should I decide to stomp on the tomatoes on my kitchen floor. I feel like there needs to be several blog posts of me, rolling around on the floor among twenty pounds of tomatoes. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY POUNDS OF TOMATOES THAT IS!? SERIOUSLY, DO YOU!? Would they fill up my bathtub? Because that would be hilarious. Sort of gross. But hilarious.
One more selling point about this particular CSA — they have a box out during pick up where you can LEAVE BEHIND all the vegetables you don’t want. !!!!!!!!!!!!! NO WASTE! I can leave behind my beets! And Swiss Chard! And possibly take someone else’s eggplant! Or broccoli!
OH MY GOD YOU GUYS!
This summer is going to be the BEST SUMMER OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!
It could possibly top the summer I spent living and learning about life, scooping ice cream at an ice cream parlor.
Could possibly top the summer I spent in college working as an Orientation Aide and bonding with people, summer camp style.
Could possibly top the summer I spent waiting tables, making out with a convicted felon and smashing my car into a concrete median at JFK International Airport!
THIS SUMMER IS GOING TO BE IT.
ME. TOMATOES. IN MY BATHTUB. Mark my words. This summer is going to rock.
My favorite part about this is that you are totally going to forget about those tomatoes. And then, in the middle of the craziest week in the whole effing summer, uterus screaming, work & auditions out the ying, apartment a mess and twins crying and five dates scheduled in a row… a very nice man is going to knock on your door and drop a 20-lb box of tomatoes on your living room floor.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh and what a glorious blog post that will be.
HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY THAT I LOVE YOU?
My friend Jessica at Green Mamma wrote a post about canning tomatoes. It’ll either help you or scare you. http://www.greenmamma.org/blog/2008/06/05/canning-tips-from-elizabeth/
I’m really jealous of this CSA… I hope you enjoy it!
I think you’ll find 20 lbs of tomatoes isn’t really as much as you think it is.
I want to come! I eat tomatoes like apples!
ZOMG 20 pounds of tomatoes! Do you know how many pounds that is? It’s 20, Laura! Twenty pounds!
I like beets. I went to Chop’t, and, inspired by your blog, included beets in my chopped salad wrap. Spinach, beets, tomatoes and green peppers. One of the best things I’ve ever tasted in my life.
Tomatoes…warm from the sun with a bit of salt.
Tomatoes…between two pieces of WHITE bread…and some mayo.
Tomatoes…with cheese…any kind of cheese.
We eat about 2 lbs of tomatoes a week in salad alone. They are WHY I go to the farmers market.
I am very jealous.
Wow! Thanks guys!!
Abbie - I will for sure check that link out when the time comes! Probably in advance just to prepare myself.
Tim - You are automatically invited. Tomatoes are AMAZING. And that wrap sounds UNREAL minuss the beets.
Debbiy - I am drooling just thinking about a warm tomato with a bit of salt. Perhaps some fresh basil. MMMMMM!! I eat a ton during the summer but usually avoid in the winter as they are pretty crappy here or imported from somewhere far far away. I try to make do with sauces or diced tomatoes in a can. SO NOT THE SAME.
L,
First of all, let the record show that a can of homemade tomato sauce (or ten) totally counts as a valid, awesome wedding gift.
Second, SNARKS POST?
Third, we had a scare today that HI, we changed to a closer CSA too for this year back in November, and when I tried to follow up (Three! Times!!) I finally got in touch with the farmer, who said Hey!! You’re not on the list, and the lady who used to be in charge left the country! Thus –> PANIC, respond frantically to very very busy farmer who is awesome, write gigantic check to just PLZ ADD ME TO CSA OKTHX!? Crossing fingers. Otherwise I might jump on your bandwagon and help you out with some of those tomatoes. But not, obv, when wearing white.
Dear God! I stopped breathing reading about the CSA. YOU MUST GET IN, YOU MUST.
Perhaps I shall give you ten cans of homemade tomato sauce. CONGRATULATIONS Y’ALL.
Also, the Snarks Post is SO HARD because it keeps coming out really mean instead of hilariously endearing, which it was. MUST WORK ON THIS.
What kind of tomatoes are these exactly? Plum tomatoes for canning or a mixture? Or will you get the beefsteaks in the regular boxes…. Just trying to picture how it all works.
You’ve got me drooling over tomatoes today. I’m growing new varieties this year… a yellow and orange striped one, a green and yellow striped one, a purple beefsteak, red slicers and of course plums for canning.
I’m going to a canning workshop at UCONN in a few weeks. I’ll be sure to post anything new I learn.
For future reference, here are my favorite ways to eat tomatoes: on toasted bread, on pizza (spread pizza dough with pesto, put on tomatoes and dots of ricotta or sliced fresh mozzarella), and um, on everything else, too.
Here’s a link to a great recipe I made last year and I’m dreaming about making again: http://farmersdaughterct.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/summer-garden-galette/
When you’re in a canning mood, why not make some delicious salsa too? My goal is to make all different colors of salsa because I’ll appreciate it so much in the off season. Yum… tomatoes!