“YOU GOTTA HAVE A BABY!”

Do you remember that Seinfeld episode in which Elaine is surrounded by girlfriends who are telling her that she’s gotta have a baby and move to Long Island? My friend Jess sent it to me this past week, and it got me thinking. It seems like motherhood is knocking on my door in the most unexpected of places.

Every Tuesday morning, Gus and I have the same conversation.”Who’s going to pick them up?”,”Can you pick them up?”, “Are you going to pick them up?”. We’re not talking about babies (yet!), we’re talking about our veggies from the CSA, which we have to pick up every Tuesday night. The thing about the CSA that nobody tells you is that these vegetables become a responsibility. First of all, we have to pick them up before 7 p.m. from the Hudson Guild, which means we have to rush out of work (no later than 6:20 p.m.) if we want to see our vegetables that week. I know what you’re thinking: Why stress over these veggies? Well, we paid a nice and hefty fee back when the year began ($530) to get them, so why not do everything we can to enjoy them?

Don’t get me wrong, the veggies have been great. Last week, I prepared a summer squash and corn soup that had the clearest and most beautiful garden flavors I had tasted all summer. The recipe was included in the weekly newsletter we receive from Stoneledge Farm, which lists the produce of the week, and tips for what to do with it. Last week, I got squash, red onion, dill, eggplant, okra, and green beans. For the soup, I sauteed the squash with onions, poured in some chicken broth, blended it, stirred in some corn, and topped it with feta and lemon. It was unbelievable!

I also have to volunteer at the Chelsea CSA during the course of the summer, which takes place during the work day. They scheduled a trip to the farm, which sounded amazing, but it was on a Friday. So, as you can see, it’s a big commitment, and often work gets in the way. But man, I love those vegetables. When we went out of town this weekend, I thought of them often. “I hope they’re OK. I hope that that they’re OK over the weekend”. And you know what? They were. I got home last night and prepared a big, beautiful summer salad. The romaine was perfectly crispy, the red shallots were firm and plump. I was one proud Mama.