God Bless the Harvest

The Bounty

Growing up throughout my childhood, one of my favorite summer "activity" was helping/watching my mom's garden grow...peas, beans, carrots... Mary, Mary, quite contrary... So, when I "grew-up" I was eager to have my own garden. When I finally had a house in Rochester, NY, I slaved to dig up the ground and plant a garden myself. Yes, I did it all myself. The neighborhood had been a brick yard in the 1800's and so with each shovel-full of dirt, came bricks.

Anyways, so after Elle was born and we moved to the Twin Cities, I couldn't find the energy within myself to plant another garden. My next best option, a CSA (community supported agriculture). My dear friend Jenny and I decided to share a garden share for the season. Each week we pick up our huge bag of veggies and then we split them. We have had napa cabbage, kale, swiss chard, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini and lots more. Also, we got to go to the farm (in Prairie Farm, WI) and work for a day, picking veggies and loading the bags. Then we delivered them to the pick up site. Jenny and I took her 3 kiddos and had so much fun. The kids got to help pick, pet the dogs and the horses, and SEE where their food comes from and how it grows! Recently I heard a story about a kid who was surprised when they went to pick strawberries that they didn't go to the store!! More kids need to be a part of growing and picking vegetables. I really feel that it helps grow a true love of eating healthy!

Ok, so the mangoes didn't come from WI. Jenny got a great deal at
Costco, so we split the mango bounty!