This summer I signed up for a CSA program (stands for Community Supported Agriculture), and we get a box of fresh, local, organic produce delivered to the house each week. It has been an interesting learning experience. We’ve been eating some veggies that we don’t ordinarily buy, and we’ve experimented with some great new recipes. But it’s been a challenge to use everything up each week (especially since we also grow some produce in our garden), so I end up freezing some things that freeze well. For me, successfully dealing with this much produce each week takes practice and diligence, but I’m getting better at it. I try to clean and bag everything as soon as I get it, and I’ve been spending time on Sundays making things like soups, sauces, and muffins to eat throughout the week. Some of the recipes we’ve tried that have been a big success are: apricot jam, carrot/zucchini muffins, roasted heirloom tomato sauce, sauteed collard greens with Canadian bacon, corn/potato chowder, and eggplant parmigiana. Yum!

Here are all the deliveries we’ve received so far…

May 28: carrots, turnips, red onion, oregano, red potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce

June 3: strawberries, carrots, basil, cabbage, walnuts, lettuce, red potatoes

June 10: lettuce, dried apricots, squash, zucchini, red potatoes, peaches, carrots, red onion, garlic

June 17: zucchini, squash, fingerling potatoes, garlic, yellow onion, parsley, carrots, collards, apricots

June 26: peaches, lettuce, blueberries, pattypan squash, red onion, basil, carrots, corn

July 4: corn, purple basil, apples, blueberries, fingerling potatoes, jalapeno peppers, yellow onions, carrots, zucchini

July 12: cherries, corn, carrots, green beans, nectarines, squash

July 17: cherries, eggplant, gypsy peppers, cabbage, heirloom tomatoes, spring lettuce mix, small yellow onions

July 25: nectarines, Japanese eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, gypsy peppers, squash, cantaloupe

August 1: pears, small yellow onions, heirloom tomatoes, pattypan squash, honeydew melon, cucumber, gypsy peppers

August 7: heirloom tomatoes, portabello mushroom, purple basil, green grapes, yellow onions, yellow wax beans, honeydew melon

August 14: green grapes, gypsy peppers, zucchini, squash, heirloom tomatoes, galia melon, lettuce, eggplant

This is the Academy of Art University Library, where I work.

I took these photos while on lunch break. The Yerba Buena Garden is about a block away from my work (and across the street from MOMA). It’s a great place to escape to in the middle of the day. The Academy of Art building that houses the library is on the corner of New Montgomery and Howard.

Took these while Lucy and I were on our walk around the apartment complex. I do like the fact that we don’t have to walk along the busy street.

They use strawberry plants as a ground cover alongside the paths, which is a really cute idea.