Overcoming Vegetable Fatigue.

In less than two months, Trillium will host its first CSA pickup of the season. At first, it's exciting getting all that fresh green produce after the long, lean spring. But, soon enough -- often with new members and especially after the more unusual vegetables go online -- the panic sets in. What does one do with all that kale? (Or dandelion greens? Or Chinese cabbage? Or, God help us, celeriac?) I know, because I've experienced it firsthand myself.

So has Catherine Price:

It's a problem that affects anyone who tries to eat seasonally or consume a wider variety of vegetables, as an increasing number of Michael Pollan-ated Americans are trying to do. But it becomes especially acute when you're faced with a new delivery each week, whether you're ready for it or not. One friend confessed "utter panic" at the sight of tomatillos. When I asked another what he did with his mustard greens, he responded, straight-faced, "I take them home, put them in my refrigerator, and wait until they rot." Cabbage, kohlrabi, collards, bok choy—everyone, it seems, has their problem vegetables. And, like me, many feel guilty about it.

Her solution? Call in some experts, namely Mark Bittman and Deborah Madison. The upshot:

I realized my problem was not that I had lost my creativity but, rather, that I was trying too hard, as evidenced by my attraction to any recipe containing the word gratin. Rather than covering my vegetables in béchamel sauce, I should be making recipes that complemented and highlighted their natural flavors.

My wife and I underwent a similar inversion of thinking our first year as shareholders. Instead of planning a week's worth of meals and then buying the produce to prepare them, we needed to learn how to look at our share and figure out how to make meals with what we had. Such cookery takes audacity and a little panache, but it can be done. And, remember, should you get stuck, we're all here to help.