foodperson.com

Got my first CSA bag of the season yesterday, and it was a delight: gorgeous lettuce, asparagus, spinach and rhubarb were the highlights for me.

I was worried whether the farmers would have anything to offer, though. The rainfall over the weekend ranged from 3 to 8 inches (based on my highly informal survey), and that was on top of a whole lot of other rain. Let’s just say, it was enough rain that flooding was no uncommon hereabouts. How, I wondered, could they possibly harvest anything that managed to grow?
Still, the Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance came through. It’s a minor miracle, really. Although Kansas is well known for its erratic weather, this past April was crazier than usual. First it was very warm-high of 85 in Topeka on April 2-and pleasantly warm for several days before that. Then it was very cold-an overnight low of 19 degrees on April 7-and it was cold for several days running. Then, end of the month and first of May, here came the rain. And that’s not even mentioning the wind. Sheesh!

My hat is off to anybody who could grow anything under these conditions. But they did it, with luck, planning and help from hoophouses, a sort of low-tech greenhouse that sheltered many of the poor plants.

What a treat to have such fresh and healthy food to eat. I was rushed last night and couldn’t take advantage of it. Tonight, I dig in!