Summer CSA 2026

A CSA, or community-supported agriculture share, gives me a different starting point for cooking: a collection of ingredients to work with each week. Here is the running record of my summer 2026 share and what I cooked as the season progressed. The first pickup was May 12.

There were plenty of salads, a few familiar recipes adapted to whatever was available, and vegetables carried from one week into the next. Some weeks were more elaborate than others. Sometimes my wife and I just ate the produce raw.

Week 1

May 12–18

A bunch of Bulgarian leeks, mixed greens, snap pea leaves, baby kale.

The first week went into three familiar recipes. I made Caesar Salad with the kale and pea leaves, Goat Cheese Summer Salad with the mixed greens, and Potato Leek Soup with the leeks.

Week 2

May 19–25

A bunch each of scallions, parsley, and young cabbage leaves, one head of romaine lettuce, and bok choy.

I made Creamy Cucumber Salad, substituting scallions for the radish and onion and parsley for the dill. It was still yummy. I made it again later, adding lettuce and scallions.

The cabbage leaves and bok choy became [[Sauteed Greens]].

Week 3

May 26–June 1

Young heads of escarole, loose lettuce mix or heads of romaine, bunched red salad radishes, scallions, and kale. I also picked radishes and leeks.

This was a simple week: a garden salad with a lemon dressing, sautéed kale, and radishes eaten raw. Not everything needed a recipe.

Week 4

June 2–8

Bunched green curly kale, kohlrabi, red butterhead lettuce, green onions, garlic scapes, and open heads of Stella Rossa radicchio. I also picked leeks and radishes.

I made Caesar Salad with kale again, this time adding seared tuna. Kohlrabi, radishes, and lettuce went into a garden salad.

I also made chicken broth with the garlic scapes, leeks, radicchio, and leftover vegetable ends and greens. The scraps had a use alongside the rest of the share.

Week 5

June 9–15

Bok choy, kohlrabi, lettuce mix or head lettuce, green onions, and escarole.

The kohlrabi and lettuce went into a garden salad with other vegetables. I saved the rest. A week’s intake did not necessarily become that week’s meals; some of it waited for another dish.

Week 6

June 16–22

Head lettuce, cabbage, green onions, kale, and baby carrots.

I made Okroshka with the carrots and escarole saved from the previous week, along with dill and parsley from the pick-your-own selection. I also made Caesar Salad again, using lettuce and kale.

The escarole was a useful carryover from Week 5.

Week 7

June 23–29

Beets, napa cabbage, chard or kale, fresh garlic, and carrots.

Kale Caesar Salad with seared tuna made another appearance. I also made a velouté-based Herb Sauce with kale, saved bok choy, and picked herbs.

The same greens could become a salad one day and part of a sauce another. That gave me another way to use the recurring ingredients.

Week 8

June 30–July 6

Purple cabbage, beets, green onions, a fennel bulb, and radicchio.

I saved most of this week’s share for the following week.

Week 9

July 7–13

Lettuce, carrots, fresh bulb onions, chard, and beets. I also picked kale and dill.

I made Caesar Salad from the kale and a batch of Borsht. With beets appearing in three consecutive shares, this part of the season brought a different set of ingredients into the kitchen.

Week 10

July 14–20

Cucumbers, red slicing and cherry tomatoes, multicolored new potatoes, mixed green crisp and red leaf lettuce, small or medium fresh onion bulbs, and kale.

I made Caesar Salad, and some octopus mixed into a garden salad. With lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes in the share, the salad consumed the rest of the produce.

Week 11

July 21–27

Cucumbers, mostly red slicing tomatoes, new potatoes, bunched chard, and medium onions.

I made another batch of Borsht and a garden salad.

Week 12

July 28–August 3

Sweet purple and green peppers, mostly red slicing tomatoes, bunched kale, onions, and cucumbers.

I made Garlic Bread and Calamari Cacciatore from the peppers, tomatoes, and onions.

Week 13

August 4–10

Purple and green bell peppers, mostly red slicing tomatoes, garlic, edamame, and cucumbers.

Saved the peppers. Tomatoes and cucumbers went into yet another salad, and processed the edamame for a simple snack.

Week 14

August 11–17

Mixed green peppers, mostly red slicing tomatoes, garlic, baby potatoes, and cucumbers.

I made Tomato Sauce from the new and remaining tomatoes, which produced [[Lasagna]] and [[pizza]].

Week 15

August 18–24

Mixed peppers, tomatoes, parsley, zucchini, and eggplant.

I made French Onion Soup and roasted chicken thighs. The soup came out pretty good, but my note for next time was to go easier on the wine and add more thyme. I also made [[Pizza]] dough.

The next day was a duck day: Duck Broth, rendered duck fat, cracklings, Seared Duck Breast, and Duck Legs Confit. Alongside that, I made a salad with shiso, kale, and sorrel.

I baked the pizza later in the week. It needed more salt, the crust was uneven, and the tomato sauce was too watery. Next time, I would reduce the sauce further.

Week 16

August 25–31

Mixed peppers, zucchini, sweet potato greens, and green summer crisp lettuce. Mini spaghetti squash.

I made Ratatouille, a couple of times in the week. Between this week’s peppers and zucchini and the previous week’s tomatoes and eggplant, the shares lined up well with the dish.

Week 17

September 1–7

Wild American plums, tomatoes, cucumbers, green summer crisp lettuce, and mini Angel Hair spaghetti squash or Honeyboat delicata squash.

Easy week here; a garden salad from the produce, some plums as snacks, and saving the squash for the future.

Week 18

September 8–14

Pawpaws, Honeyboat delicata squash, mixed sweet peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a small amount of baby eggplant.

Pawpaws are a lovely fruit this time of year. Most of these ingredients went into [[Givech]]. Normally, one adds peppers to this and ratattouille, but my wife doesn’t like cooked peppers. Instead, I have weeks worth of peppers that I made into a Pepperonata.

Week 19

September 15–21

Mini Angel Hair spaghetti squash, garlic, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and chard.

I made a Cucumber Salad that came out nicely. Saved the Squash, and ate tomatoes raw.

Week 20

September 22–28

Honeynut squash, green tomatoes, chard, Asian pears, and mixed sweet peppers.

I made London Broil. It was okay. The chard combined with last weeks to make a [[Sauteed Greens]].

Week 21

autéed Green September 29–October 5

Honeynut squash, collards, baby bok choy, garlic, and Asian pears.

I made roasted chicken legs, Honeynut Squash Puree, and [[Sauteed Greens]] with collards, chard, and picked Thai basil.

Week 22

October 6–12

Chard, mixed peppers, honeynut squash, local organic apples, and local organic yellow potatoes.

Cooking notes to come.