She's Rolling in Veggies: A Farm-Share Newbie Shares Insights

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MORE PEACHES THAN ONE fridge can hold. A glut of produce I can't stomach. Misshapen veggies. I envisioned all these nightmares before signing up for my first farm-share membership this year.

Sure, there are many positives of community-supported agriculture, or CSAs. Locally grown food is often better for you, since it's usually neither mass-produced nor exposed to pesticides. Eating it helps sustain farmers. But since my boyfriend Darren and I were shelling out $500 for 20 weeks of deliveries, I wanted to think it through. And canning like a 1950s housewife? Not an option.

We ended up with a "half-share" from Bluemont, Va.'s Great Country Farms. This means the farm delivers a 17-liter box packed with fruits, veggies and herbs to our Arlington apartment every Tuesday from June through October.

Kate Zurschmeide, co-owner of the farm, says interest in CSAs has soared. "People care about what they're eating." And who doesn't love receiving a weekly surprise package? Here's the scoop on my first few weeks with a CSA:

» First delivery: June 2
Farm staffers drop our CSA box at our apartment building each week, so pickup is convenient. We're happy to get a bundle of asparagus, 10 spring onions and a pint of strawberries, but befuddled by a bunch of leafy, dark green kale, which we've never bought, much less cooked. We learn lesson No. 1 about CSA participation: Be ready to try new things.

Culinary confidence doesn't hurt, either, says Holly Herrick, author of "Southern Farmers Market Cookbook" ($20, Gibbs Smith). "I think whether or not a CSA works for someone depends on how comfortable they are in the kitchen," Herrick says. My first stab at garlicky kale (from Herrick's book) is easy and tasty.

» Second delivery: June 9
This week's loot: asparagus, spring onions, strawberries and dill. Our revelation: Don't judge farm food by its appearance. Our strawberries, for instance, look pretty but seem bland. The pencil-thin asparagus, though dinkier than Safeway's, tastes great. I usually don't like asparagus, but this I toss into omelets and pasta all week.

Herrick says farm produce surprises folks used to super-market perfection: "Locally grown food is not always uniform. It looks more like food and less like Hollywood."

» Third, fourth and fifth deliveries: June 16, 23, 30
In this period — call it the Epoch of the Onion — we learn the importance of patience. Every week, we receive a large bundle of fist-sized spring onions, and we're becoming downright sick of them. Luckily, the chive-like veggies are versatile. I use them in recipes from salsa to risotto.

And despite the oniony blahs, our shipments also boast major highlights: collard greens (zippy as a side for some grits and fried chicken), and snow peas, broccoli and basil (yummy tossed in pasta).

» Sixth delivery: July 7
This is the week we've been waiting for. Our box brims with ripe fruits (white peaches, red plums, apricots) and veggies (beets, squash and cucumbers — no onions!). I'm in love with the sweet-yet-tangy apricots. Zurschmeide is familiar with my nectar mania. "An apricot off a tree is so different from an apricot at the store," she says.

» Postscript
Since that week, we've gotten even more goodies: zucchini, cabbage, cilantro, dill and corn. We're looking forward to fall produce — potatoes, eggplant, apples. Darren and I are eating more fresh foods and less processed junk. And no, we're not wannabe dieters; we just need to gobble up each week's bounty before the next delivery.

I also like the challenge of coming up with a seemingly random menu each week. As Herrick puts it, a CSA membership "makes fresh food exciting."

» Recipe file: Put your fresh blueberries to use by making ice cream.

» Wash it down with rose: Great Country Farms' Bluemont Vineyards tops off summer with the pink-hued wine.