What if Your CSA Veg Box Came with Instructions?

Subscribers to CSA programs are usually a pretty contented bunch. They're happy to receive an abundant supply of (usually) organic vegetables while directly supporting their local farm to be a viable business. The only complaint we often hear? "Too much kale!" Or "What is that and how do I cook it?" Read on for a brilliant solution.

Each week Riverford Farms in the UK posts a short instructional video on YouTube that relates to the contents of their CSA's current box. They introduce vegetables that aren't too familiar and offer a few ways to cook with them, as well as demoing a recipe.

Clearly Riverford Farms is a well-funded operation. The videos are set in a beautiful restaurant located on the farm and are professionally shot and edited. A glance at their website confirms that this is a well-run, elaborate organization. Not all farmers will be able to pull of this level of production. (I can hear my busy, overworked veg box farmer groaning right now "Oy! Now I'm supposed to make videos, too?")

Still, it's a great solution to a common complaint. I could imagine a less wealthy farm finding a creative way to produce a similar, if lower production, video or maybe even doing a trade with someone to do it for them. Or, at the very least they could just include a link to Riverfarm's offerings with a "What he said!" on their website or newsletter.

Even if you don't subscribe to the Riverford box (or any CSA for that matter) the videos are an excellent introduction to many delicious vegetables and ways to use them. There are almost 50 videos total on their YouTube page, with the weekly 'What's in the Riverford Box?' series running since last June.

• Riverford Farms website
• Riverford Farms YouTube page

Related: How to Start a New CSA

(Image: Dana Velden)

Comments (19)

My CSA farmer sends us a weekly email before our pickup with a list of the week's vegetables are well as descriptions for the lesser known ones and tips on cooking and storage. It's a great way to learn more about the food and become more confident with new ingredients

Our CSA has "Asparagus to Zucchini" cookbooks available each week at pick up. It was developed by farmers and CSA shareholders and offers not only recipes, but tips on storing and preserving the bounty.

It can be found here:
http://www.macsac.org/atoz.html

@TeaGranny: My CSA does the same thing. They have an e-newsletter with photos from the farm, a "veggie spotlight" with nutritional and other information about a different veg each week, plus a recipe featuring that item. My CSA is through Michigan State University, so they have a bit of extra technology know-how.

Our CSA came with sauces and recipes for use with the veggies. It was a lifesaver.

Our CSA sends out an email the day before pick up, and occasionally someone will post a blog about the more obscure stuff. Mostly though, we are left to our own devices. I'm certain I'd be wasting so much food if it wasn't for the internet (especially searching storage advice.) For recipes, www.tastespotting.com has been my favorite.

Or, you know, people could Google/YouTube it. "How to cook (insert veggie name here)"

Our local organic produce delivery, Greenling, includes a list of what's in our box, in the order in which it's going to go bad (a brilliant idea), noting which local farms what came from, and including cooking suggestions. They also post a few videos on their Facebook page, but I have to confess that I don't watch videos. It takes too much time and I read quickly and that's what I'd rather do.

This sounds like a great idea. I have been a bit nervous about signing up for our local CSA as my girlfriend and I tend to be pickyish eaters (her more than me, though we're both getting better :) ) and I've worried what I'd do with everything.

@kip - thanks for that tastespotting website I've never seen that before very neat.

Our CSA often sends little tips and recipes in their weekly email listing what we can expect that week. I also find that the people at the drop off point to be very informative. Don't know what something is? Ask! Don't know how to cook something? Ask! Either the workers or someone else picking up their answer is bound to have a helpful suggestion. One of the reasons why I love participating in my CSA is that I get to be in touch with the people who grow the food, not just an email or a video, but in the flesh having a conversation.

i love this idea. what would be even more awesome: get a dietitian chef to partner with the CSA...they are pretty good at making recipe suggestions and creative videos. :)

My CSA posts regular blog updates with videos, recipes, pictures from the farm, and the contents of each week's box and how to properly store them (and sometimes how to cook them on that list too).

http://www.eatwell.com

I absolutely love that they are so good at giving us updates.

When I pick mine up, I just stop and look at the farmer, and she knows to tell me if there's anything weird in there, and how she cooks it.

@thedinnerhour, I used to use Greenling too and I liked their list, particularly since it was in most- to least-perishable order. Now I use Johnson's Backyard Garden and they have a blog that I use sometimes. Generally, though, just googling, or searching here or on another food website for recipes. I tend to like the blog recipes because they will combine several items that were in the box.

We were about to dump our CSA because I was so tired of not knowing what anything in the box was, actually. It came with a list, but when faced with "sweet and hot peppers," and about forty peppers of different shapes/sizes/colors, I was baffled! Just this week, though, they started putting a link on their website with a picture of this week's box, and mouse-over information on each vegetable. LIFESAVER. I am really considering keeping the CSA now, because my main problem with it - the How Can I Cook It If I Don't Even Know What It Is? problem - is gone! I'm really excited about it.

(that being said, I don't think I'd take the time to watch a video.)

CSA-related: my husband and I have discussed joining a CSA next spring. We're sort of unsure whether or not it is for us. It's just the two of us, and we have a small kitchen (storage issues). I do love to cook and like to try new things. What features should we look for, other than a convenient pick up and a crop list that we like? Curious about share sizes, etc.

Thanks!

Our box comes with a couple (usually like 4) recipies for some of the week veggies. Not always something you wanna try, but quite helpful with 'new' stuff, gives me an idea what I could do with it. Or how to handle.

smellykelly, the CSA itself should have some advice on how many people a share will feed (ours recommended a small share for 2 people and that has worked well for us). If in doubt, go smaller, because it takes a while to get in the rhythm of the thing.

I have found that I get enough veggies in the box, and they spoil fast enough, that I need to really focus my cooking around them. For example, tonight I made pasta with the leeks and greens we got in the box today. We get our box on Thursdays and I cook or prepare the majority of the veg over the weekend. You can easily get overwhelmed with veg and waste a lot if you don't plan meals around the box, so I don't know that I would recommend joining a CSA if, say, you frequently get busy and wind up eating out a lot.

As for storage, most or all of it will go right in the fridge, so you'll have to keep leftovers from building up in there.

Oh, and as for how to choose a CSA, I wouldn't know--there's only one here in our area and it's only been around a few years!

I get a Riverford box every week, and it's a VERY slick and information-heavy operation. The weekend before, you get an email showing you the expected box contents for each box from your particular farm (small box, fruit and veg box, etc) and with links to the recipes they'll be featuring, so you can pick a box that has a particular veggie if you choose. With each box you get a newsletter which contains news from the farm and then 8 recipes featuring the box contents. With "unusual" veg (radicchio, wild garlic, etc) this comes with an extra recipe card with common ways to cook it. The recipe database on the website is pretty amazing, too.

<3 Riverford. It's pretty much the biggest CSA-type organisation in the UK, though, so I can really sympathise with smaller and more local farms which don't have the resources to concentrate on anything other than growing and delivering wonderful fresh food.