http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/

I got my first box today. I ordered a "small" box (usually a family of 2) for $28 and this what I got.

ALL are organic and many are local.

Mushrooms - 2 bags of 6 oz each (I chose not to receive mint and instead get a double portion of mushrooms.
Salad mix (green and purple stuff) 5 oz
Cabbage - medium to large head (maybe 2.5lbs?)
Kale - 10oz bunch
Peas - 13oz (they are in the pod, but you don't eat the pod)
Carrots - a bunch of 7 - weighing 14oz
Green onion - one bunch (3oz)
Honey Dew melon - small about the size of a large grapefruit
Zucchini - two, weighing a total of 13oz
Tomato - two large, weighing 14oz
Oranges - 4, weighing 2lbs (I chose these in place of limes)
Peaches - 4, weighing 14oz total
Nectarines - 4, weighing 1lb total

My best estimate is that these would have cost my $32-$35 at the store - although I've not seen all those products in organic at the store.

Each week you can chose three items to omit and select from a small list of replacements. The boxes are dropped at various points in the community and you are given a window of time within which to pick it up (Wednesdays 3-7pm). My drop point is not much past my closest grocery store, and is actually closer than the "good" grocer.

Another benefit is that the prescribed box 'forces' me to try to new things, or to 'indulge' in things that I would otherwise go without. Today we had linguine with sausage and kale. Ymmm...

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We are planning a kitchen remodel for the spring/early summer. I've spent hours with graph paper and pencil, trying to find the best arrangement for our somewhat awkward space. I've even gone so far as to make little squares and rectangles from cardstock. They represent our dishwasher, refrigerator, stove, and possible cabinets.

Once I get the basic arrangement determined, we can go to town with adding fun features, so I'd appreciate comments that describe anything really useful that you have in your kitchen or have seen in a kitchen. Keep in mind that I have very limited space (about 100 square feet) and I cook from scratch a lot.

Thank you so much for your help!

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Wow! This is so cool! Today was my day to pre-cook some foods, so as to make future dinners easier - sort of my version of Once a Month Cooking. I thawed seven pounds of ground beef.

First I made taco meat. Two pounds were crumbled in my 12-inch frying pan (with straight, not slanted, sides) and taco seasonings were added. We used about a half-pound for dinner. The rest was packaged up and tucked in the freezer, in three containers (for three meals).

After dinner, I made three meatloaves. I put three pounds of ground beef in my Mixer. I whirled 2 sleeves of saltine crackers in the Cuisinart, followed by four onions. I added crumbled saltines and finely chopped onions to the meat and turned on the Kitchen Aid. As soon as I added the other meatloaf ingredients (ketchup, eggs, etc), they were quickly mixed. And thoroughly! No more squishing my fingers through raw meat! Yay! After scraping the sides of the mixer bowl, I put the meatloaves in the oven.

Without washing, I put the mixer back into use for making meatballs. My recipe mirrors the meat loaf recipe (except with Italian seasonings), but I used only two pounds of meat. As I formed the balls, I placed them in my 12-inch frying pan (which I did wash from the taco meat).

By the time the meatballs were cooked, the meatloaves were ready to come out of the oven. I got every thing wrapped up and into the fridge or freezer, in about 75 minutes!

The best news? Next time will be even faster. As I was forming meatballs, I realized that that is definitely the most time-consuming part of the process. So I thought, "Meat-balls, meat-squares, what's the difference?" I ran my idea by dh and we agreed. Next time I will cook the Italian-style meatball recipe in a loaf pan. After cooling , I will cut it into cubes. Behold: meat-squares!

So next time my order will be to get the meatloaves & "meat-squares" into the oven. While they bake, I can crumble and season the taco meat on the stove top.

On Wednesday, I will baking quickbread and muffins - for the first time since receiving my Kitchen Aid for Christmas. I can't wait to see how it lightens my load!

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