I won't eat that!

When you join a CSA one of the first things you'll notice is that some of the vegetables are types you've never tried. Possibly you've never even heard of Quelites (Lamb's Quarters) or many of the herbs and leafy greens that you are toting home each week. Trying something new can be a leap of faith.

However, this is nothing when compared to foods with which you are familiar and towards which you have a decidedly negative opinion. Some foods just aren't open to ambivalent opinions. Most people know whether or not they like tomatoes or Brussels sprouts, for example. So, what do you do when you get something in your share you're sure you don't like?

Perhaps you trade it out (our CSA has a trade box, where you can put in the vegetable you don't want and take one that someone else left but that you do like). Perhaps you give it away. But this isn't a truly appropriate use of your CSA, the point of which is to eat what the farmer grows. Plus, if you get beets four weeks in a row, you're going to have to learn to eat the beets.

If you don't like a certain vegetable, the first thing to do is try eating it fresh. I don't like radishes, but I discovered that radishes from my CSA farm, La Baraja, taste nothing like store-bought radishes. They are spicy, not bitter, crisp, not soggy, with no bad aftertaste; they do not overwhelm a salad when added in. Same goes for the aforementioned beets. I so loathed beets that I couldn't stand the smell of them! I decided once and for all to get over myself. Beets are amazingly good for you (especially for women; beets are great at keeping UTIs at bay); you can make juice from them or put them in salads. My favorite beet salad is below.

My point is that to be a true part of a CSA, you gotta learn to eat your vegetables. If you have kids, think of it as being a role model. And you may just surprise yourself and find those foods to which you were averse taste pretty darn good when they're fresh and properly prepared.

Beet and Smoked Duck Breast Salad

Ingredients: Beets from your CSA, smoked duck breast (fat removed) from the duck farm that sells on Saturdays at Washington Park Market, green onions (CSA), Fage yogurt (I prefer non-fat), salt & pepper

• Clean and trim beets, wrap individually in tin foil, place on a cookie sheet and cook at 350 for approximately 20 minutes (times may vary depending on size of beets; check them; they should be soft, like a boiled potato)
• Slice duck and onions into small bits, mix in a bowl with the seasoning and approximately 1 cup of yogurt
• When beets are cool peel them - they do stain, so use a knife and a cutting board that you can wash - and dice. Mix with other ingredients.
• Chill and eat as a side dish or on a bed of lettuce.