My participation in the local neighborhood CSA has completely changed the way I buy and use vegetables. This is how it works: In late winter, I purchased a share in the summer crop of Windflower Farm, located in between the Hudson River and the Vermont border. Every Tuesday the farmers brings the week’s bounty to two spots here in Washington Heights where CSA members gather to pick up their share.

If the crop does well, we get a ton of vegetables. If, like last year, there is tomato blight, well…we get less. But most importantly, our urban neighborhood is able to support local farming and organic practices with little effort and great reward. The best part is that I’ve been introduced to vegetables I never otherwise would have considered, which is why GFS is proud to present a new regular feature….Farm Friday!

One share feeds a family of four, so I split the share with my friend and fiction writer Melissa Swantkowski. (She also has a famous pug named Gus, who will be turning up in future posts.) Today, we welcome Melissa to the GFS family as she shares with us her creative use of one weird lookin’ vegetable.

>> Click here to find out what to do with the purple monster. >>