How to Join the Norwood CSA

Our membership is open two times a year, in the late winter/early spring for the Summer Share, and in the fall for the Winter Share. If you are interested in joining the Norwood CSA, email norwoodcsa@gmail.com and we will reach out when our membership is open. 

You can find out more about how the CSA works here

Quick Spring CSA Frittata

 By Vani Kannan

The bounty of spring CSA veggies has inspired me to experiment with quick homemade frittatas. One of them had leftover roasted beets, radish, and onion; another had spinach and red onion. Today for lunch, I pulled out CSA onions, parsley, and eggs from our last box of the season.

I sauteed the onions slowly in avocado oil, then beat the eggs with a little water, dill, and black pepper and added them on low heat. While this set, I chopped up some gruyere and gouda cheese from Arthur Avenue and added it on top. Finally, I broiled it for a few minutes to cook the top, and added parsley. 

This was so delicious and a welcome relief from boring weekday lunches.

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Sunchokes - Native Species on Your Plate

By : Shannon Haas

Did you know that sunchokes / Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus) are native to North America? It’s one of the few native plants we still enjoy eating to this day, although it has not been widely cultivated across the continent.

When it’s flowering in the late summer / early fall the plant looks like a sunflower or daisy, all of which share common traits as members of the Asteraceae family. The part we eat is an underground storage stem called a tuber.

Picture by Couleur (2021). Licensed by Pixaby.

This plant grows fairly tall - up to ten feet in height! And it spreads quickly through its underground stem system (rhizomes). Some consider it a nuisance, as it has a tendency to quickly overtake gardens and can grows well in a sorts of soil conditions - a resilient plant, indeed.

My preferred preparation method for sunchokes is to thinly slice them (around ½ an inch thick) and roast them with olive oil and herbs at 425 degrees for around 20 minutes or so, typically flipping them halfway through. They’ll be tender and crispy along the edges. Check out this recipe for more details.

Next time you’re eating some sunchokes, consider the fact that this plant was once cultivated and consumed by Native Americans, and give appreciation to those that determined that this edible tuber was full of beneficial nutrients (and they’re tasty, too!).

You can learn more about the history of the sunchoke and more about where it’s name came from, by reading gardener Nadie VanZandt’s blog post here or by reading this article from FoodPrint (and some more recipes as well).