Moving across the country to return home was tough in part because it meant giving up big city things I loved: some of the world's most phenomenal museums, the best theater in the country, same-day grocery delivery from almost anywhere via Instacart, ramen so divine it makes you weep in your kotteri broth... I could go on. But then, there are always new things to love in a new place. While the Midwest teems with farms eager to make you their CSA client (Community Supported Agriculture), Albuquerque has Skarsgard Farms.
Here's what a typical CSA farm does: You sign up in spring for a full or half "share," plus maybe some eggs or dairy. Once a week the farm delivers to a location in the city where you pick up your box of produce (with your hair on fire,if you're like me, because missing pickup is the pits). You don't know exactly what you're getting. Your job the next 6 days is simply to figure out how to cook and eat all that produce, which changes week by week according to harvest. The boxes end in late summer/early fall.
Here's what Skarsgard does: You sign up online and control every detail of your orders week to week. (You can skip weeks whenever you want.) They have produce boxes and several other things raised on the farm, plus they source gorgeous meats, seafood, eggs, lots of dairy, pantry staples, baked goods, coffees and teas, and about half of the stuff you would get at the grocery store. Except that this is all organic, from wonderful farms and producers in the region, and they deliver this bounty TO YOUR DOOR. They even have adorable blue trucks with a dog driving a tractor on the side of them. Some favorite items:
Blue corn pancake mix milled at Santa Ana Pueblo
Fresh basil fettuccine by local pasta maker Nocco
Farmer Monte's Hard Apple Cider - so good it merits its own post
Feta cheese from a creamery in Tucumcari, NM
Fresh squeezed juice blends like beet, apple, lemon and ginger
Bacon from Niman Ranch
Salami from Zoe's Meats
Farmer Monte is the man behind all of this, and it couldn't be better if I had dreamed it up. Definitely worth trying if you live in NM. And the beauty of grocery delivery once again? Reunited and it feels SO good.
Here's what a typical CSA farm does: You sign up in spring for a full or half "share," plus maybe some eggs or dairy. Once a week the farm delivers to a location in the city where you pick up your box of produce (with your hair on fire,if you're like me, because missing pickup is the pits). You don't know exactly what you're getting. Your job the next 6 days is simply to figure out how to cook and eat all that produce, which changes week by week according to harvest. The boxes end in late summer/early fall.
Here's what Skarsgard does: You sign up online and control every detail of your orders week to week. (You can skip weeks whenever you want.) They have produce boxes and several other things raised on the farm, plus they source gorgeous meats, seafood, eggs, lots of dairy, pantry staples, baked goods, coffees and teas, and about half of the stuff you would get at the grocery store. Except that this is all organic, from wonderful farms and producers in the region, and they deliver this bounty TO YOUR DOOR. They even have adorable blue trucks with a dog driving a tractor on the side of them. Some favorite items:
Blue corn pancake mix milled at Santa Ana Pueblo
Fresh basil fettuccine by local pasta maker Nocco
Farmer Monte's Hard Apple Cider - so good it merits its own post
Feta cheese from a creamery in Tucumcari, NM
Fresh squeezed juice blends like beet, apple, lemon and ginger
Bacon from Niman Ranch
Salami from Zoe's Meats
Farmer Monte is the man behind all of this, and it couldn't be better if I had dreamed it up. Definitely worth trying if you live in NM. And the beauty of grocery delivery once again? Reunited and it feels SO good.