Beautiful Day

This was the week – our first CSA boxes of the season were packed! The previous weeks have all been in preparation for this moment. Although the asparagus and radishes were far ahead of us in the season, the lettuce and salad mixes were not picked until this week. A buzz of energy was present as we assembled ‘the line’ to pack boxes full of radishes, asparagus, salad mix, red oak leaf lettuce, (and some green garlic.) Each person had their job, mine was putting the asparagus in the box and making sure it was facing the correct way so the person folding the box would have a consistent angle to go at it. The line went quite smoothly without any major glitches. We would occasionally catch a box that was missing a bag of lettuce, or catch one that had 3 – but hey, it’s the beginning of the season and we’re getting the kinks out now.

It was so exciting to think that the next day many families would have Minnesota-fresh vegetables in their kitchen, cooking up a storm. The green garlic left a tantalizing smell around the packing area, and I could only imagine that smell amplified days later in people’s kitchens with their families anticipating the first meal from the CSA box. You know you’re a foodie when a thought like this gets your heart pumping.

Although these first few boxes naturally aren’t as substantial as the mid-July boxes, there is something to be said for delighting in the anticipation of the first box – in all its simplicity. Much time, patience, and sweat have gone into the planting, growing, and harvesting of these crops.

My appreciation for a simple salad has grown twenty-fold. I cannot look at one the same anymore as every leaf of lettuce is the result of somebody’s care, somebody’s patience, and somebody’s back – which makes that fresh crunch all the more alive.