What our CSA members are saying

We have been members of the Crossroads CSA for several years now.  We were members of other CSA’s prior to this, but have stuck with Crossroads for several reasons.  Primarily we have because of the quality and variety of the fruits and vegetables.  Everything is always great quality and such a good variety.  We really love getting the email with what is in our box for the week and being able to just base a couple meals each week around the box – we have tried many, many new meals because of theses.  I would never be buying pea shoots or some of the other items we get on my own, but they are great in many different meals.
 
 
I really feel that the CSA has broadened our food horizons and made me personally a better, more adventurous cook.  While we always ate plenty of greens, kale, Swiss chard, collards some times, I feel like I have learned how to cook them better and tastier because of the CSA and getting these items more frequently.  The Same is true with some of the other, less frequently used greens such as Turnip greens, etc.  I cannot overstate how much we have enjoyed, learned from, and benefited from the crossroads CSA.  It is, by far, the best CSA we have been a part of.
Adam, 2024 CSA Member

I love to cook and the CSA from Crossroads has helped me to become a more thoughtful and seasoned cook over the last year since retiring. As a result, I would heartily endorse Crossroads CSA offerings.

Let me explain why I am making this endorsement. First of all, the CSA has helped me to be a better meal planner. It forces me to take into account the vegetables and fruits we get each week and gives me the opportunity to brainstorm and find recipes that can work well for our week. This has enabled me to experiment and learn new techniques and expand my repertoire of meals to prepare.

The CSA has also introduced me to different vegetables that I never tried to cook, thus challenging my assumptions about appearance and taste of vegetables that may not look attractive. For example, I have learned to cook different types of squash and root vegetables to make a variety of dishes from butternut orzo to parsnip, potato, and carrot soup. Previously, I would not have imagined using these root vegetables because they were not familiar to me.

Finally, the CSA has also challenged me to take a seasonal approach to cooking. My wife periodically challenges me to use vegetables and fruit in season when I get in the habit of just cooking things that are easy and convenient. I have learned that cooking things based on the availability of fresh produce is healthier as well as more in tune with maintaining ecological balance and sustainability.

For all of these reasons, I am a happy consumer of the produce Crossroads provides through its CSA program as it is a worthy investment. I miss it during the winter months and I cannot wait until spring arrives with a fresh CSA shipment!

Ray and Kristi, 2024 CSA members

One of the most memorable recipes we’ve made with Crossroads produce was the first time we combined kale and fennel from the same CSA share into a warm za’atar scented salad that is eaten atop a simple chickpea flour pancake, called socca. We’ve revisited this recipe many times in June when these two show up in the box together.
 
This is just one of many moments when the Crossroads CSA has gently inspired and sometimes nudged us more forcefully to find or adapt recipes to accommodate some of the foods that farms in this region tend to have a lot of at certain times of the year and/or foods that we wouldn’t necessarily select when shopping at the farmers market or grocery store. (I’m looking at you radishes, okra, and turnips).  Because of the CSA we learned that roasting okra makes it much more palatable and that braising in butter can amplify a mild turnip or mute a spicy radish. 
 
Almost invariably, the produce in the Crossroads CSA is at the peak of its character and thus has the ability to elevate even the most humble of entrees.  At least a couple of times per month, too tired to really cook, we’ll just scramble up some eggs and serve them alongside whatever hearty green, creamy potato, or juicy tomato was in the share that week. This is even better if your eggs also come from Crossroads!
 

The Crossroads CSA has definitely impacted our cooking for the better. Our household’s menu has become more seasonal even in the off-months when we aren’t getting the weekly shares. We’re been more careful to reduce food waste (even though it ends up getting composted). It feels different to watch that bag of arugula languish in the produce drawer, when your newsletter just included a message and photo from the family that grew it. Additionally, our weekly meal plans are more likely to include at least a couple recipes that are reliably good with any number of combinations of CSA vegetables like an egg bake, pasta dish, or a slightly different version of the chickpea pancakes I mentioned earlier. Vegan Chickpea Pancakes With a Creamy Pesto Dressing (Gluten-Free) | Heartful Table

 
We’ve been members for a few years now and we’re still loving it! More recently, we’ve celebrated the addition of the CSA store. In order to maximize enjoyment of your membership, we definitely recommend taking advantage of every opportunity to order an extra quart or two of Tuckey’s peaches. Purchasing a jar of local tomato sauce that’s delivered with your share practically ensures that dinner is going to come together with ease. Lastly, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure about any items in the box you can almost always process it into a pesto or roast it in the oven.  We’re looking forward to signing up again this year and encourage you to do the same!
Jenna, 2024 CSA member

Having a CSA is something I consider an essential part of my life. After it ends around Thanksgiving-time every year my wife and I go through what we call “seasonal empty fridge syndrome” where we open the fridge and say “Hey, where did all the veggies go?” The way we use the vegetables we get from the CSA is to challenge ourselves to make new recipes. Sometimes you have a lot of kale, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, or herbs and that motivates us to find new recipes that help us use up all this produce. Then, these recipes often become staples. For example, there’s always a time of year when we’re inundated with leafy greens like kale or chard. So we have a go-to pesto recipe that uses a ton of these veggies and we make it all the time.

A tip I’d give a CSA member is to find these kinds of recipes that use a lot of one ingredient and then make big batches of them. Then, eventually, once you make these dishes enough times, you can change the ingredients or the proportions as you like. Another tip is to look for recipes that freeze well–like the aforementioned pesto. Overall, I’d say you have to be open to trying new dishes. I hear sometimes people freak out a bit when they get something in their CSA that they’re not familiar with and they say things like “How do I cook with this?” But that’s part of the fun! Thanks to the CSA, I’ve learned how to cook all kinds of foods that I never would have purchased at the grocery store. And in some cases, now I actually seek out those veggies when I’m at the store and struggling with “empty fridge syndrome.” Enjoy!

David and Rae, 2024 CSA members

SIGN UP NOW!