Imagine yourself staring at a box of produce brimming with fresh seasonal vegetables – some that you do not recognize, and instantly feeling “buyer’s remorse” for having purchased a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. Welcome to cooking from a CSA. Take a breath. Help is here!

In the winter of 2021, Family and Community Health staff, OSU Family Food Educator/Master Food Preserver volunteers, and Zenger Farm collaborated on the development of a series of Culinary Skill Sheets. Unlike a recipe with rigid step-by-step instructions and ingredients, Skill Sheets teach simple, intuitive, and creative culinary skills, empowering folks to use food items on hand, thus maximizing food resources and the enjoyment they get from the food, as well as decreasing household food waste.

The concept originated with Zenger Farm’s CSA Partnership4Health program. CSA members received skill sheets with their produce box as a way to encourage members to use all of their CSA. They developed six topics: Grilling Vegetables, Roasting, Stir-frying, Cooking Greens on the Stovetop, Pickling, and Storing Fruits and Vegetables. The collaborative effort initiated by the FCH Program led to the creation of four additional sheets: