CSA Week 1 – Strawberry Feta Salad

I do not know how long I might be able to keep up such a feat, but I would like to emphasize the benefits of utilizing a CSA share (also known as Community Supported Agriculture).  I do not have the exact number but I think we paid about $600 (might be more like $700) for a family farm-pick-up share.  I will try my best to get the grocery store equivalent of each item and tally overall grand total value of produce.  Items that are missing an estimated price denote information n/a.

Officially the CSA started two weeks ago, but the strawberries in the PYO fields were not ready yet and only 6 heads of lettuce were being distributed.  Not really worth the near 90 minute r/t in gas.  So we started this week:

Distribution:

• 4 heads of Red Summer Crisp Lettuce ($6.38)
• 4 heads of Green Summer Crisp Lettuce ($6.38)
• 3 Quarts of Strawberries ($11.97)
• 1 sm bunch catnip (PYO)
• 1 sm bunch lemon balm (PYO)
• 1 sm bunch horehound (PYO)
• 1 sm bunch thyme (PYO)
• 1 sm bunch of winter savory (PYO)
• 12 stems Sweet William flowers (PYO)

Total Estimate For This Week: $24.66

What I did/am doing with this produce:

Being that we still have small children that turn their noses up at veggies, a good portion of the produce that cannot be frozen will go to nearby relatives. At least one quart strawberries is heading for the freezer.

I have been making the following salad over the last couple of days:

Strawberry Feta Salad

• 1 Head Lettuce cleaned & hand torn to bite sized pieces
• 1 pint of strawberries, sliced into 6 – 8 wedges each
• 2 – 3 oz garlic/herb feta cheese (plain feta will do) and well crumbled.

Simply combine all ingredients into very large bowl and toss well.  Dressing options are: 1 – 3 tablespoons plain basalmic vinegar, 1 – 2 tablespoons of vinegar/oil dressing, or (personalfavorite) forego dressing altogether and enjoy each ingredient individually.