Yesterday marked my favorite food day! Thursdays are always exciting when we get to go pick up our CSA box. The specific CSA we are a part of has multiple drop off locations around the Chicago-land area instead of dropping off the produce to everyone’s house. It cuts back on driving for the company and saves them time too! We don’t mind picking it up as it’s not too far away, and the Husband passes it on the way home from work every week.
However, I have been a little too excited the past two weeks to have him pick everything up, so I usually just go after school to grab the box. Having parent teacher conferences last night put a damper on my fun Thursday afternoon activity (how lame am I?), so I sent the Husband instead.
And when he came home with this, I was a little bit nervous.
A REALLY big box! I about freaked out when I walked through the door:
“Oh my gosh, this box is huge! Were there other sized boxes? Are you sure we got the right size box? I will feel so incredibly bad if someone out there got our medium sized box and we have their larger one!!”
End freak out.
The CSA we are a part of has two shares – a medium (feeds 2-3) and a large (feeds 4-6). We, obviously, get the medium one, and our box is a little bit smaller. I went back and checked my email though and everyone got a large box this week. Insert sigh of relief. And then I hugged the Husband for picking up our veggies.
In the box this week:
A bunch of kale and baby lettuce
an onion and the largest squash I have ever seen in my life. I guess it’s called a Long Island Cheese squash? Aaaand it takes 5 hours to cook. Woah baby. I have to figure out something to do with this guy.
Apple cider and corn meal – I’m thinking about putting the cider into some kind of baked good. I always freezer my corn meal until I need it (for the husband) as well. It helps it to stay fresh!
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow that squash sounds intense….especially with Thanksgiving around the corner, clearing turkey has met its match!
I would have instantly felt a little guilty too- Oops, did I steal someones box?! It must have been a nice surprise!
…That LI squash sounds crazy, never heard of it or that it had to cook that long.
Conferences done?! I certainly hope they aren’t doing them on a Friday! ENJOY today, Chelsey! The weekend is almost upon us!
We have the other half on Monday night. I really don’t mind conferences though - once I get going I LOVE talking to the parents. It’s just a late night!
CSAs are the BEST! Jealous! Mine ended a few weeks ago, miss it terribly! Enjoy the fresh goodies. Looks heavenly!
love the box contents!
some weeks our CSA randomly give large shares to everyone…I’d like to think of it as a holiday bonus
Great thought process!
My sister, whose a 2nd grade teacher, hates parent teacher conferences. I think she likes talking about how good the kids are, but when it comes to having to tell the parent that they need to improve on this and that the parents don’t listen. I’m glad that if I choose to teach elementary school I’ll be the P.E. teacher which means no parent teacher conferences for me. However, I might teach high school…I haven’t decided yet, but I have 2 more years to figure out which grade level I’d like.
Love all the yummy stuff in your box! It definitely makes me want to go to my farmer’s market today and buy some things.
I’d be all over the sweet potatoes & apples!
You had me at “big bunch of kale.”
Woah.. that squash is huge! I’d love the apples and sweet potato too, my faves
I need to get involved in a CSA program!! That box is so stacked!! I would love ALL that stuff!!
Wow! Those boxes look awesome
Happy veggie eating!
now that box is filled with a lot of yummy things!
So jealous of your CSA - that’s some amazing looking produce! I’m curious to see what you do with that squash - I’ve never heard of that kind.
what a fun squash- I’ve never heard of that kind before! can’t wait to see what you make with it!
I’ve never heard of that kind of squash!!! Sounds epic. and I LOVE that cider! I bought some last year from the farmers market!
Wednesday is our CSA box day and it’s a highlight of my week, too.
I would love a CSA box! I’m afraid that everythin would go bad though unfortunately, but what a treat to come home to.
that kale looks so fresh and delicious… i can’t wait to hear what the squash tastes like, i’ve never seen this variety before!
Whatta haul! Its so cool though
Woah that squash is a monster! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for it.
cheese squash?! What does it taste like?
kale chips!!!!!!!!!
Okay, totally jealous of all of the kale you received!!!
We definitely got some good stuff this week but you need to see what squash I got. It’s seriously HUGE Chelsey! lol
http://healthydiaries.com/2011/11/18/this-cant-be-true/
I was intriqued that everyone else was getting a different one - holy squash!!!
That squash is huge!!!
What CSA do you use? I live in Chicago, and was looking to join one!
Those apples look absolutely delicious! And that squash. Wow…just wow.
I just bought a Kabocha squash at my local farmer’s market to recreate this amazing flat bread I had at brunch with my family a few weeks ago. I can’t wait to make it for our big Thanksgiving dinner! At first I had two in my hand, but then I realized that was 8 lbs of squash…hmmm don’t think I need thaaaat much! haha
Whoa, that’s a crazy size squash! Lots of great produce! Have a great weekend!
That is one seriously MEGA squash! That would be my only fear, getting into a CSA (as much as I think they’re awesome!) - I would get a bunch of produce and wouldn’t have time to work out what to do with it before it goes bad!
That is really awesome that your CSA gives you more than just fruit and veggies. I love my box, but sometimes I wish we could get random stuff like apple cider and corn meal too!
I love the surprise and mystery associated with CSA boxes. I am totally snoopy and love knowing what other people get in theirs too.
But ACK! Giant squash of doom!
Don’t worry, it’s already been made into soup!
Squash sounds sooooooooooo comforting right now! Cubing them and roasting them is like having little candies; so naturally sweet! Instant “sugar” fix!
Looks like you scored some beautiful veggies in your CSA box! The sweet potatoes and apples look especially delicious. As for that squash, best of luck with that bad boy. Five hours to cook it?! Yowza. Can’t wait to see what you do with it!
We used to get a weekly produce delivery and I was SSSOOOOO excited every day it would show up at the door step.
We used to get CSA boxes, but after a while we would only get lettuce of every kind and not that much variety. I need to find other alternatives. It’s always fun to see what kind of goodies you get.
I have never heard of that squash..I can’t wait to see what you come up with to use it and how it tastes!
How awesome are csa boxes? I have been subscribing to them for over a year and I have to say I still look forward to Wednesdays (my delivery day). Its always exciting to see and smell all of the beautiful, fresh, local, organic, produce. My creative juices get flowing and I can’t wait to cook everything up into a yummy, healthy meal. I too have a weekly post about my boxes…http://inherchucks.com/whats-in-the-box/. I like to share recipes, especially for those veggies that are rare and different…like that amazing squash! Have you ever heard of Kohlrabi? Just got my first delivery…interesting and delicious! http://inherchucks.com/2011/10/31/what-is-kohlrabi/. Enjoy your lovely food! Have a Happy Thanksgiving