Sometimes I can get in my own way.*
I know, I know it’s hard for me to believe too.
*Laura used this same phrase earlier this week, so she might be partially responsible for my epiphany, or at the very least the verbiage prattling around my over-active brain.
As stubborn as I can be, it’s even harder for me to admit.
Before I get to the “how” surrounding my first sentence, I have a few words to share first. Of course I do, and by few I mean a lot, so grab a cup of coffee or your beverage of choice and get comfortable.
I am head of over heels for my weekly food share and completely enamored with my newly acquired deep freezer.
You wouldn’t know it by coming here though, since I’ve gone mum on the topic of my CSA. Whenever I sit down to write about my wonderful weekly haul, my usual witty and inappropriate banter escapes me, and when I stop being inappropriate, something is seriously wrong.
Some of you might have assumed the veggies got the best of me this year. Maybe I’d had enough. Hell, maybe it was too much to handle without the Hubby around to help. Or maybe I’m just done to death with produce in general. It would be a good guess in light of my recent silence, but an incorrect one, nevertheless.
Simply put, I love getting my CSA share. Right after being reunited with the Hubby, it’s the highlight of my week. There are folks who will think this is crazy or my priorities are all wrong (chances are they aren’t food bloggers) but different things makes different people happy, and my weekly farm share makes me ridiculously happy.
I get beautiful, bountiful, produce on a weekly basis. All kinds of produce too, which has not only kicked my creativity into overdrive, it’s forced me to buy a deep freezer from a complete stranger on Craigslist. Yes, the kind big enough to story a body; not that I’m into that kind of thing.
I also love investing in our farmers, and I do mean the actual people, not some monolith corporation pushing cheap food-like products; bunch of shady fuckers that group. Sorry, the last bit just slipped out, but it’s good to see my inappropriate self make an appearance.
Every time I sign up for my another round with my CSA (winter produce, here I come), every time I select an “add-on” to my weekly order (hello farm fresh eggs), every time I go the farmers market, and every time I sing their praises, I am advocating for change in our current food culture. I am literally putting my money where my mouth is. Quite frankly, aside from the Hubby’s overpriced, although worth it, education and the roof over my head, it’s the only place I’m putting my money these days, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
When it comes to managing the sheer volume of produce we receive on a weekly basis, I’m not even the slightest bit concerned. I’m on year three now, and I’ve realized, I’ve got this shit. I’m owning my CSA, so much so I’m buying more vegetables at farmers markets, I’m berry picking, and I’m happily accepting all garden bounty from friends, family and coworkers. The sight of mass quantities of fruits and veggies littering my counters or crisper drawers no longer intimidates me. Oh, who am I kidding? We all know they are neatly lined up and sorted in order of age. I eat you in the order I receive you, unless something’s about to go bad because spoilage takes precedence.
Even though I haven’t been saying it much, I want you to know I love my veggies and I love what I’m supporting by getting them.
So I started this post oh so long ago by saying, “Sometimes I can get in my own way.”
I often joke about my self-diagnosed OCD, being a planner, and a list lover, and while there are some great benefits to all of these (even the OCD), it’s possible I can overcomplicate things as well. Now it doesn’t happen often (cough, cough), but it’s definitely happened where my CSA posts are concerned.
It started with a plan and perhaps a certain someone’s unwillingness to deviate from said plan (I’m looking at…well me, crap). My plan was to share my weekly haul and then detail how every morsel got eaten because it’s one thing to get the food, and it’s another to actually use it. It’s a sound idea, but it’s not working for me anymore.
Honestly if you saw what I turned it into, you’d be shocked.
I started making lists of each week’s share. Easy enough.
Then I started adding to these lists exactly how each item got used because I was going through so much produce (practically every meal) that I could barely keep track of what gotten eaten and how. Did the tomatoes from week five go into another batch of Tomato Pesto? Perhaps I made a Pasta Sauce, which went right into the deep freezer or maybe they were turned into a Caprese Salad. Was my Gazpacho from the week seven tomatoes or the week eight tomatoes? And god forbid I actually combine produce from two different weeks. How do I account for it? (Side note: This happened all the time. It’s suppose to happen and it means you’re doing something right if your produce is overlapping).
Trying to document every single morsel with pen, paper and even a camera got to be overwhelming and exhausting. It was almost as bad as that time I tracked my food for a lovely reader.
Despite the fact, I’ve been getting busy in the kitchen, I simply stopped writing about my weekly food share. Then I stopped making CSA lists altogether (aside from my deep freezer list; that is an important list to have) and one week I didn’t even photograph from veggies. Gasp.
What this means is while I can tell you I ate a phenomenal grilled cheese sandwich two nights ago for dinner, where CSA peaches made an appearance, I can no longer tell you what week those peaches relate to. I do know the sandwich was amazing, and that’s all that really matters.
The very short end to this extremely long tale is I’m switching up my CSA ways. I am going to share my produce in all it’s glory because I do love my fruits and veggies, but I’ll be doing it in a less structured format.
I am getting out of my own way now. Excuse me, while I step aside.
How do you get in your own way? How to get out of it too?
I used to love my CSA as well, but they kept giving me okra. I hate okra more than words can describe. So I fired my CSA. Boo.
Well that’s an easy solution. Move to a state that doesn’t grow okra in abundance. We don’t get any okra in our CSA so you’d be safe here in Ohio.
Look at me, spouting wisdom and shit. 😉
I actually need to be better about list-making. My (massive) ego tells me I will remember all the things. In reality, I forget half the things.
My massive ego tells me I can accomplish everything on the list, and the reality is I only get half done.
By the way, I will be bringing my peach grilled cheese to next week’s Strange But Good party.
I love you because you love your veggies. After going through a “snark on all things healthy” phase as a result of rebounding from a disordered mindset, I’m finally falling back in love with veggies and I couldn’t be happier. I never thought I’d see the day where I actually craved things like roasted broccoli and kabocha squash, but there you have it. And after being away last weekend, I honestly can’t wait to hit up my farmers’ market tomorrow and pick up some goodies.
I can see why you’d be a little leery of veggies and all things healthy, and I really enjoyed the post where you talked about this and decided to embrace the veggie love anyway.
Roasted broccoli with some olive oil, pine nuts (can you have pine nuts?), lemon juice and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese is amazing. My favorite part is the crispy bits.
I hope you had a great time at the farmers market and maybe picked up another squash.
I was going to ask why you would tease us with that grilled cheese and then not give us a picture… but then I saw your comment above. Still it sounds amazing and I cannot wait to get a peak 🙂
Speaking of amazing the sheer amount of produce you are going through is inspiring! Seriously 🙂 I cannot wait until I have my own job (and my own say over the kitchen and where the food in it comes from) there are lots of great CSA options around here and I want to join in on the fun!
I had the grilled cheese again this weekend. It’s like dessert for dinner; it just melts in your mouth.
I’m thrilled to hear you want to join a CSA; it’s like a chopped kitchen challenge every week.
I love your CSA posts!! And I also love your inappropriate comments. They complete me. I can see where it would be difficult to tie the two together in one post, but sometimes it’s ok to be so face deep in produce that we appear as if we are appropriate human beings! HA.
Appropriate human beings? What’s that?
I find your love of veggies equally magical. And hey, did you notice? There was no cheese in this post. The photos are all vegan!
As soon as posting about CSA became more like a chore and less like something fun, it’s definitely time to change it up! I just love reading about all the recipes you make, no matter what week the veggie came from 😉
I get in my own way a lot when writing. I tend to just lose myself, ramble, and then forget what I was talking about in the first place. Both in real life and while blogging!
Thanks Madison. I actually have a couple of good ones coming up, and I’m excited to share.
I do the same thing in real life and blogging. Maybe it’s why we get on so well….oh wait, what was I talking about?
Your pictures are so pretty! Getting pretty produce from the farmers market each week is definitely the highlight of my week- and you’re right…the people who don’t agree or understand are totally non-food bloggers/lovers.
I’m glad to hear someone else loves weekly farmers market trips as much as me.
Meghan,
I loved these photos, especially the photobombing . . . Max? . . . well the cat that I’ve met who seems like he wants to get in on everything.
I can relate to your words, because I’m currently struggling with writing a “what we got and what I did with it” CSA Cookoff post for Homegrown.org . I just don’t roll in a ‘got this, did that, move on to the next week’ sort of way, and this is haaard . . . (please hear the whine in my first world problems).
Yep you got it. That was Max, and I think the stair laps are working because he seems to have more energy for photobombing and life in general. Plus he might be getting a bit sleeker. The vet would be so proud.
Whine heard and empathic nod given. It is hard, especially when the CSA makes up some part of almost every meal and the other half just gets frozen without being photographed first. Who wants to see all those plastic bags of food?!
I negative self-talk myself, very bad habit and it definitely gets in my way! Sometimes I get around it, sometimes not.
I can only imagine how this less structured CSA format is jiving with your OCD.
The pictures are glorious. I say that all the time and should probably stop repeating myself, but nah.
You can keep on repeating yourself. I don’t mind at all. l;)
The less structured format is taking some getting used to, and I can’t say it’s been entirely comfortable for me, although it’s good to get our of our comfort zones from time to time. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.
Look at you…reigning in the OCD! Now that…THAT shows absolute power! And please note that I said that in my “ET” voice! 😉 God girl, I know a thing or two (or three) about getting in my own way…six months without a single flip of a pancake ring any bells? Um, yeah. Sometimes we need a break. Sometimes we need restructuring. And sometimes we just need to get out of our heads for a bit!
By the way, love your little shadowy photo bomber! 😉
Shadowy photobombers are the best, especially when they come in feline form.
I’m not gonna lie. Reining in the OCD has been uncomfortable to say the least, although I know it’s a good thing.