first csa share of the season!

I had our CSA pickup to look forward to today, so I walked out the door at 4:30 PM so I could pick up our share and still be home at an earlier time than usual. Our CSA is just a few miles north of our house, in the West Hills just above Linnton.

As I got out of the car, I let go of the stress of the day and the last few weeks. I wish I'd thought to bring my camera so I could've taken pictures because it's absolutely magical, but their website will give you a bit of an idea. It was gray and misty and sprinkling (as it's been for days and days on end here) and the farm is nestled in the midst of forest. Chickens roaming about, rows of plants down the hillside, trellises made from random sticks and twine. Hand-lettered signs, a painting for the chickens to enjoy in the coop, window boxes full of flowers. I love everything about Wealth Underground, emphatically, everything they stand for and believe in.

Nolan and Chris were there to greet me as I picked up our first share in one of their lovely natural cotton canvas bags designed by Nolan. We got to know each other a bit, and I mentioned that Sal is the lead pastry chef instructor at OCI, which they've partnered with (Brian, one of the school's founders, is also a CSA sharemember). They're sweet and nice and kind, and clearly very passionate about what they're doing. They had samples of turnip there for tasting -- "Turnips don't usually get me excited," Nolan said, "but these do." I know why -- it was sweet and crunchy. Who knew? They were giving away cherry tomato starts -- yellow or red, our choice -- and even though we're always overrun by tomatoes in our garden, I took one anyway.

I'm so excited that we get to be in on the ground floor of this wonderful experiment of theirs! I left with a heavy bag in one hand, a half dozen fresh eggs in the other, and a grin on my face, and I ate a dinner that consisted of nothing but a heaping bowl of greens with turnip and radish slices, and fresh hard boiled eggs. (That's a pound of greens in the share.) I decided to make the arugula pesto recipe on their website.

This is going to be a good summer...