it's an adventure, it's an adventure, it's an adve

My husband and I belong to a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture - it's common elsewhere, but relatively new to North Texas).

Each season, we buy a share of vegetables from a lovely woman named Beverly who runs a farm in Weatherford. When times are good, everyone shares in the bounty and when Mother Nature is ornery, we all share risk of not-so-plentiful crops.

This summer has been particularly brutal. Beverly is good about posting the heat stress index for plants (which has been 100 out of 100 for the last several weeks...) so we know what to expect when we receive our share. She also keeps us updated about her daily activities. Lately, she has been limited to picking at night because the risk of heat stroke is too great. Her descriptions of the twinkling eyes of the little critters "helping" her pick after dark add a whole other layer to my vegetable eating experience.

With the drought in mind, Beverly told us that this week's haul would include some unusual items. She told everyone to adopt the mantra "it's an adventure" and she wasn't kidding. In addition to some beautiful corn, carrots and green beans, we also received cactus and yucca root. I will spend the next several hours googling recipes for these items and I'm eager to get pictures of what we make with them.

It's an adventure.