Dear Katie,

The day has finally arrived! I’ve started getting CSA shares. I was expecting that the farm might need a few weeks of ramping up, but right out of the gate, we got two overflowing boxes of veggies!

I started this post last week so I was going to talk all about the first share, but we got our second share yesterday so I’m trying to cover both. I have a feeling it’s going to be a summer squash kind of year since we got 6 (!!!) the first week, and the season has only begun. We made zucchini pancakes a few days ago but I think I’ll need to broaden my zucchini/yellow squash recipe base.

Our strategy for the first week was to triage by what goes bad first. We used both kinds of lettuce and one of the scallion bundles to make a salad on Sunday that ended up being big enough for six meal sized portions (oops). It was an Asian inspired salad with hoisin marinated chicken thighs, edamame, grated carrots, clementine segments, and a peanut dressing. Thankfully it stored well because we were eating it for a while.

I was inspired by our mutual love of bucatini to make a pasta dish that incorporated the rainbow chard with some chicken meatballs and tomato sauce. We managed to get through all of the veggies during the first week, but I think it’s going to be a full sprint this summer to make sure we use everything before it goes bad.

I picked up the second share yesterday. I was expecting it to largely resemble the first box but I was pleasantly surprised to find some changes. Here’s the rundown:

• Another pint of blueberries
• One bundle of rainbow chard
• Two bundles of carrots
• Three summer squash
• One cucumber
• Lots of snap peas
• Mint
• A ton of basil

When I saw the basil, I knew immediately we’d have to make pesto. There’s just way too much to use before it goes bad. I also found a recipe for carrot soup with coconut milk that I’m excited to try. Looking forward to sharing recipes with you! Any suggestions for the deluge of summer squash headed my way?