Karen Eckhart knows the power of putting your money where your mouth is. After all, she’s been doing it for 15 years. The 71-year-old goes only as far as her front porch to get local, organic produce delivered weekly to her Windansea home from Be Wise Ranch, located eight miles east of San Diego. “I was always interested in the benefits of organic eating and gardening,” said Eckhart, who has lived in La Jolla since 1965. “When I learned there was a way to have a variety of organic fruits and vegetables delivered that were reasonably priced, that was appealing.” Eckhart is part of a growing phenomenon called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Local farms (Be Wise is only one of several in the area) deliver boxes of farm-fresh goods to sites around the county, often at a fraction of grocery store prices. Eckhart hosts Be Wise’s La Jolla pickup site, offering her own front porch as the hub where members can retrieve their produce. The catch is that consumers don’t get to choose what they get. The fruits and vegetables delivered are chosen by the farmer, based on what’s been harvested that week. “Sometimes you get things you might not otherwise have purchased, but that’s part of the fun” said Eckhart. “People are out there going through their boxes, saying, ‘What do you do with this?’ Conversations about the produce take place among members and people share recipes.” Be Wise also offers recipes on its website to prepare things from apples to zucchini, but for members who prefer further instruction, there is now another option. Cups bakery, located at 7857 Girard Ave., offers culinary classes geared toward cooking with CSA produce. The “Farm-to-Table” classes, headed by Cups culinary director Jesus Gonzalez, happen twice monthly and feature a box of produce from a local CSA farm, which Gonzalez uses to creates dishes. On Jan. 16, the class used vegetables from Be Wise and made a variety of dishes, like goat cheese and cod wrapped in Swiss chard and a chipotle peanut sauce over nuts, wild rice and grapes. Students can bring their own boxes and learn creative ways to prepare their not-so-common vegetables. Cups owner Michelle Lerach said she started offering the classes after talking to current or former members of CSAs and realizing they had been wasting produce due to a lack of preparation ideas. “We wanted to show them that it really can be very simple to utilize every item in their CSA box,” Lerach said. Eckhart said knowing she’s not contributing to the degradation of local soils is worth having 40 or so strangers on her porch every week. She said once pesticides and artificial sprays are used, a return to an organic way of farming can take years because chemicals make their way out of the earth slowly. “Once you lose organic soil, it’s very hard to go back,” she said. “By participating in a CSA, you’re not only getting the benefit of great produce, you’re also casting a vote for the sustainability of small farms and organic practices.” Lerach said by making a political statement with groceries, locals can regain a connection to the land that’s been lost, and no one but the big agri-industry loses. “We lose something in the name of convenience and we’re trying to get it back,” she said. “People think it will take hours to prepare something fresh. We’re just trying to show them that with five simple ingredients, all fresh and healthy, you can create something for your family.” Bringing farm to the table: These recipes are just a few of the dishes that Cups culinary director Jesus Gonzalez created with his Farm-to-Table culinary class at Cups on Jan. 16. The class used the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box delivered from Be Wise Ranch the previous week. Cups, which hosts its Farm-to-Table classes twice monthly, will hold the next class on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 9 a.m. (See page 1 story for more details.) Blackberry-tangerine fruit salad “This salad is a great source of protein and fiber. When this recipe was created, I was thinking of a way for people to enjoy something simple as well as delicious and healthy.” – Jesus Gonzalez, Cups culinary director 1 pound tangerines 2 pounds blackberries 2 cups walnuts, chopped ¼ cup agave syrup 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1. Peel the skin off the tangerine and place it on a cutting board. Cut into quarters, leaving the heart intact. Cut the tangerine the same size as the blackberries. 2. Toss all ingredients together. 3. Serve with your choice of yogurt, cottage cheese or granola. Sweet chard rolls with smoked black cod “This recipe is a great appetizer for any occasion that can be served during anytime of the year, ranging from winter to summer. The sweet chard can be substituted with large spinach leaves and the cod can be substituted for any smoked fish of your preference.” –Jesus Gonzalez 1 dozen small sweet chard leaves with the stem removed 1 pound creamy goat cheese, crumbled 2 cups walnuts, chopped 1 pound smoked black cod, flaked 1. Mix the goat cheese, walnuts and cod in a non-reactive bowl. 2. Place half a leaf on a clean surface. On bottom of leaf, scoop 2 tablespoons of mixture and roll tightly. 3. Cut in half, placing them on a platter and drizzle with chipotle sauce (recipe below). Peanut chipotle sauce 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1/2 cup light soy sauce 1/2 cup Mirin (sweet sake) 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 cup syrup of agave or maple syrup 1/2 cup natural peanut butter 2 tablespoons chipotle powder ½ cups fresh cilantro stems removed and coarsely chopped 1. Place all ingredients, except cilantro, in a blender or processor. 2. Puree until smooth. Add the cilantro and pulse until just blended. Wild-rice pilaf 1 cup raw wild rice, rinsed and drained 4 cups water 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 large carrot, finely diced (optional) 2 stalks celery, finely diced (optional) ¼ cup dried currants 2 tablespoons mix of fresh herbs (thyme, sage, basil, parsley) 2 cups chopped raw walnuts 2 cups grapes, halved ½ teaspoon black pepper ½ teaspoon sea salt 1. Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan and add the rice. Stir and return to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Add the currants, cover and continue cooking for 10 minutes. The rice is cooked when it is completely tender and all of the water has been absorbed. 2. In a small sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté carrots and celery until just tender, about 5 minutes or add the vegetables raw. Add herbs, salt and pepper. 3. Combine the walnuts, grapes, herbs and vegetables with the rice. 4. Serve it on a bed of baby greens with peanut butter chipotle sauce.