… and more fun items from my CSA share

The angle of the sun has shifted, the kids are headed back to school and football fans are restless. All signs that summer is threatening to end. But because my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership lasts until October – I’m refusing to admit summer is over. Having the freshest in-season fruits and veggies over several months is perhaps the most obvious reason to have a CSA. But your purchase of a CSA share or subscription also provides important support to local farmers throughout their growing season. I find that I plan my meals around what’s in my CSA box each week, so we actually end up eating more fruits and vegetables. Another one of my favorite things about belonging to a CSA is that it exposes me to unique produce items that I may never purchase otherwise - or that may not even be available from the grocery. Last week I received a pint of ground cherries. Ground cherries are housed in little paper husks sort of like mini tomatillos. Inside the husks are marble-sized orangish-yellow fruits that have a sweet-tart taste described by some as a tomato mixed with pineapple or mango. I had never tried these little gems. At first I wasn’t sure what to do with them, but they quickly found their way into a slightly sweet ground cherry salsa.