The Background

A couple of summers back, I fell in love with a farmer. That's partially true. Paul was cute, if a bit shorter than I prefer. He had some cool glasses and he knew how to talk compost, aphids, blossom end rot and powdery mildew. He was enthusiastic about the idea of running his farm equipment on biodiesel made in my husband's kits. He met me without fail each week at the organic farmer's market in Sandy Hook Center. But what really made me fall for him were his tomatoes. Green zebras, Cherokee purples, the classic brandywines...I got to the point where I couldn't separate the man from the organic produce. It was true love.

And then my heart was broken.

Paul's farm venture was rather new. He was working farmers' markets to peddle his produce while working up to his real dream: Community Supported Agriculture. After two years of rendezvous in the Hook, he disappeared from my life. He had handed out CSA applications during his last October at the markets, but we were on hard times. There was no way I could afford to pre-pay for a season's worth of vegetables. I felt abandoned, and had to suffer for a year trying to get my sad, shady plot of earth to produce a few Cherokee purples as consolation.

As my family's finances slowly recovered, I decided it was time to join Farmer Paul's CSA. I went to forthillfarm.com and filled out the application, only to be placed on the waiting list. For two years. This winter, I got a letter, completely by surprise in the mail. I was in, as long as I coughed up 600+ dollars for the vegetables by June 1st. Expensive, yes, but there was no way I was going to the end of the list again while waiting to become rich folks.

So the following posts will be my adventures preparing meals for my husband (who, before marrying me, considered the pickle on his burger to be a suitable daily allowance of vegetables), my three sons (who, while far better veggie-eaters than most American children, still draw the line at anything that isn't broccoli, carrots, green beans or salad) and myself (who will eat anything but canned tuna fish). Wish me luck!