Basket case

It's official. I'm a basket case. I am totally, utterly, bat-poo, locopants cuh-raaaaaaazy.

For CSA organic baskets, that is. We've been members of South Coast Farms' CSA program - one of two organic farms in The OC offering CSA - off and on for the last three years and mere words can't express how insanely awesomely deliciously wonderful fresh, local, seasonal produce is. Check out the basket we picked up yesterday:

LOOK at ALL THOSE VEGGIES!!! And underneath those luscious greens were a whole bunch of oranges, grapefruits, kiwis and other fruits, all picked at or slightly before the peak of ripeness. And if you're still not impressed, remember it's still early in the growing season...by July my basket will literally be overflowing with organic goodness.

If you're not familiar with the concept of Community Supported Agriculture, read this. I'm not here to explain what CSA is, I'm just here to explain why it's the single best thing ever to happen in the history of cooking and eating. Or at least in the recent history of cooking and eating.

If you're a fellow Gen-Xer, you probably ate a lot of fast food as a kid, and your exposure to vegetables was probably limited, like mine, mostly to the frozen and canned varieties. That's because your parents, like mine, grew up taking nutrition for granted. It's not their fault; when the pre-boomers and baby boomers were growing up, they weren't exposed to the same levels of sugar, additives, artificial ingredients, pesticide residues and commercial messages glorifying blatantly unhealthy foods that members of Generation X (which, incidentally, is a term I haven't heard anyone use lately...are we called something else now?) were exposed to as kids. They didn't think a whole lot about what to feed us beyond cost-effectiveness and possibly some vague sense of food groups because when they were kids you just ate what you ate and it was good enough.

I was in my mid-twenties before I discovered what really fresh fruits and vegetables tasted like. And by "really fresh" I don't mean fresh off the grocery store display after being picked green and sitting in the back of a hot truck for several days on their journey from some distant field in another state. I mean actually FRESH fresh, as in straight out of the earth...the difference is enormous. I recently read a biography of Alice Waters in which she is quoted as saying something to the effect of "gourmet cooking consists of taking the freshest, ripest, most delicious ingredients and doing as little as possible to them." And it's absolutely true. If you have the freshest, ripest, tastiest fruits and veggies, they will taste amazing no matter what you do to them, and that's where CSA comes in.

Picking up a basket of fresh-picked vegetables and fruits every week or every other week ensures that you ALWAYS have the freshest and ripest available. It also provides the opportunity to learn about new stuff you might not have worked with before. For instance, I never would have discovered the joy of fennel bulbs sliced thin and roasted with potato wedges without the CSA program. CSA baskets get more credit than anything else for turning me into a gourmet. Or at least setting me on the path to gourmet-ism.

Also, local organic baskets keep organic farming alive and well right here in the local economy. Here in The OC! A region that is, despite the economic downturn, still trying to sell itself as the Silicon Valley of SoCal and where, consequently, agriculture has given way to industry and most of the fertile farmland has been paved over and built into office parks. More organic farming means not only better produce, but also better soil and less environmental toxicity. It also means less toxic runoff and therefore healthier waterways and beaches, which are a big deal here in The OC. So the farmers support the local ecology & economy, I support the farmers and my family gets fresh fruits and veggies all the time. Everybody wins! Yaaaaaaay!!! The whole arrangement makes me so happy I want to jump up and down with glee just thinking about it.

I encourage all of you to look into your local CSA programs. Do some web searches using the terms "CSA," "organic farming" and the name of your city. If you love to cook, sign yourself up! Paying for an entire season up front (if that's what your local CSA's do) might give you sticker shock, but when the cost is broken down per basket, it works out to about the same price or a little less than buying the same organic produce at your local grocery store, assuming you can find any organic produce at your local grocery store. If you like your fresh salads but don't want to mess around with the other stuff, find a friend to split the cost and the contents of your baskets with. If you just aren't into vegetables, think about giving a season of CSA membership as a gift to a friend or relative who likes to cook...they will probably invite you over for a home-cooked meal to say thank-you. Or if you're feeling charitable, find out if your CSA program donates baskets to any local orphanages, soup kitchens or similar organizations and sign up to support them for a season.

Do it for your health, your community, your local ecology and your gourmet sensibilities. Whatever the reason, do it! Pretty soon you'll be a basket case too.