Early this spring I signed in on a vegetable cooperative. I had been wanting to do this since last year. I liked the idea of helping to keep a local farm in business and reap the benefits of fresh produce closer to home. Thus began my wild goose chase.
I received an email that my bi-weekly share was to begin two weeks ago and I was very excited to see what kind of produce I would be getting. Thrilled to say the least. I opted for a half share of all four items available: vegetables, fruits, eggs, and flowers.
The pick up site was about a twenty minute drive from my house. Perfect! I was going to be on the north shore of Long Island anyway that day, helping Gorgeous do some things. On my way home I would get my stuff. Well, my directions were no help, pointing my in the totally opposite direction than where I was supposed to be.
That day I had also chose to be the day I roasted a whole turkey for dinner and the subsequent leftovers. Also perfect! I had timed it so that the turkey would take a few hours, more than enough time for me to help Gorgeous, get my stuff and come home. So while I’m tooling around northern Nassau County looking for this pick up site, my goose is getting cooked at home, so to speak.
I drove back south, I drove back north, sweating in the traffic, thinking the turkey is on fire along with my house. God help me come home to an intact house without firemen and trucks outside, please. Back and forth I drove to no avail. The light bulb in my head said “Forget it. Just go home.” And so I did.
Two hours into my wild goose chase, I thankfully returned home to a happily roasting turkey and a safe house. I’ll never do that again. I got on the phone to the CSA to rant about their directions. The girl on the other end of the phone asked if I was sure it was MY day to pick up. Well, I did get the email. She replied she’d check the roster and return my call. As luck would have it, it was NOT my day. Phew!
Last week I set out again. This time without a turkey in the oven and with my trusty GPS. I made it in no time flat. What I didn’t know was that I was supposed to supply my own carrying bags. They had some plastic and we made do. See some of my haul below..
Blueberries, strawberries, half a dozen brown eggs, a bunch of lavender, kale, scallions, arugula, cilantro, salad turnips, beets, two zucchinis, some other squash-like thing, and a head of red leaf lettuce. All very lovely and delicious. And almost all gone by now.
What was the next logical thing to do with all this bounty besides eat it? Begin to paint a watercolor of it, of course.
