Another CSA pickup - #17

Pickups are getting more manageable again, which is a nice thing. It has been quite a lot of work processing all this food. Many people, after seeing how much I really pick up every week, have asked me - “Well, how much of this do you have to throw out each week?” which is a question that almost makes me gasp. What do you mean throw out? Okay, I admit it every now and then - something does go bad on me. Which drives me nuts. The occasional lettuce that commits suicide in my fridge, before I have a chance to use it, almost makes me cry. I know, I am looking into counseling, there just isn’t much support out there for looney veggie lovers. Generally, I could be considered obsessive - compulsive in my drive to use every last bit of my share. This has endeared me to friends, who I have given little teaser baskets full of produce (when I just couldn’t handle the overflowing counters any longer) and has also prompted me to invest in a new freezer, after I almost killed our refrigerator filling it to the gills with pesto, tomato sauce and green beans. I feel like a squirrel at times, trying to make sure I can rescue some of this produce over into the winter, where I know it will hurt to pay $3 per pound of not even remotely organic green beans.
I know some people really embrace pickling and canning, I just does not seem to be my thing. Somehow I still struggle with the thought of giving up so much of the nutritional value and adding either tons of sugar or salt. I know some pickling actually enhances certain aspects of the veggies - I guess it is something to be learned in the future.

2 heads Lettuce $3.38
2 pounds onions $2.60
4 heads bok choy $6.00

1 pound kale $1.86
8 pounds tomatoes $31.92
4 pounds peppers $7.36
1 ½ pounds rainbow chard $3.28
2 eggplants $3.00
unlimited green beans (15 pounds @1.99) $29.85
6 stems flowers $5.00
1 handful raspberries $2.00
unlimited cherry tomatoes (hard time pricing that) $15
1 bunch parsley curly $1.99
1 bunch parsley flat $1.99
1 bunch edible flowers $1.99
1 bunch hot peppers $1.00
1 bunch cilantro $1.99
1 bunch dill $1.99
1 handful okra $1.00

Total this week: $123.20
Added to our season’s total so far of $1407.37 - our new total is: $ 1530.57.
So, if we had bought the produce we received in stores tallying up average prices form chain supermarkets to health food stores we would have had to pay $1500 for veggies we prebought for $ 860 - not a bad deal!