Meat Share

I love the idea of CSAs (community-supported agriculture programs) but have never subscribed to one. Everyone always talks about the guilt and pressure to use up all those veggies before the next pickup, but I do envy those who get gorgeous fresh produce all summer. And all winter, as it turns out—Tammy over at Food on the Food participates in a winter CSA also, where she even has to contribute several hours of grueling farm labor. I think I would be ready to do myself in after all those winter squashes, but she is a more inventive cook than I.

Anyhow, the exciting news for me was the discovery of a meat CSA! A friend from Cooks Talk told me about a couple who run a wonderful farm and offer both produce and meat shares—she's sampled their stuff at farmers' markets and raved about the quality. The meat and poultry is all grass-fed, pasture-raised, and hormone-free. So Tammy and I are going to split a 6-month half-share  (10 lbs. of assorted meat and poultry each month). The meat is all freshly frozen and vacuum-packed, so into the deep freeze it'll go. The first pickup is in a couple of weeks; I'll report back with news of what exactly we got.

Comments

[steve]

You won't be required to spend a few hours a month plucking or slaughtering, will you?

p.s.
Speaking of cooking: I am utterly uninspired to make dinner tonight. I need a relatively simple meat recipe - preferable something on the lower-fat side and that will keep well enough that I can take left-overs for lunch. Any suggestions?

[Karen]

Here's what we're having tonight: http://verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/2007/06/dinner_and_part.html>It's surprising how much flavor comes through with a very quick marinade. I bought 2 lbs. of sirloin tips.

[nancy]

I share a CSA share with a friend and it is wonderful!

[Risottogirl]

Hooray for the meat CSA...can't wait for my first pick-up :)

Love,love,love my winter produce CSA...squash and all. We both love squash and I use tons of onions, poatoes and carrots anyway. Love all the other stuff too.

Not sure I want to commit to a summer CSA...because Then I'd probably have to skip the Farmers'Market and I LOVE the FM.

[jo]

I share that CSA with someone at c-a-c we pick up at Clear Flour. We LOVE it.

[tanya]

i've been getting almost all of my beef, chix, and some pork from local farms, plus milk and eggs. there is indeed quite a difference and i know the farmers treat the animals with the respect and gratitude they deserve. it feels good to do business with small farms as it is the only way they will be sustainable--over the long haul. i have belonged to a csa for many years now. you can split those shares, too. it does get to be a lot of veggies to use each week.

[Joel]

OK, this has me totally jazzed! I just checked and there are two CSAs in our area and I am looking forward to hearing from them about their available subscriptions. One has an option to choose the produce you receive, but I prefer to get what they send and then figure out what do do with each. Kind of like going to a sushi bar and asking for the "omakase" or chef's choice. Thanks for the tip!

[Di]

OK...call me inappropriate (and most people do) but all I can think of is how the title of this post is going to come back to haunt you when you look at people's searches that lead to your blog!