I signed up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) this spring for the first time. It is something I had been thinking about doing for the past few years, but just hadn't got around to.  The spirit of CSA deeply satisfies a few needs that have become increasingly important to me in the food I consume and prepare for my family: CSA food is local, organic, seasonal, and produced by independent, sustainable, family-owned farmers.

A friend of mine and I are splitting a full (or family) sized share.  We pick up the fresh bundle every Sunday from a coffee shop just a few blocks from my home (convenient!). Each week it's an exciting new surprise: So far, there have been lettuces, kales, rhubarb, parsnips, black beans, sweet peas, purple potatoes, fennel, strawberries, zucchini, green onions, corn meal, sauerkraut and more, and we are only three weeks in!  

I've found myself confronted with vegetables I've never prepared before and odd mixtures of produce I'm not sure how to combine into tasty dishes: The perfect situation in which to expand my culinary boundaries! Last week the puzzle was what to do with fennel, kale, red pepper, and a couple pounds of purple potatoes?  An unusual sort of potato salad came out of that collaboration: A bold step away from the standard heavy-mayo based summer picnic salad.  

2 lbs small purple (blue or red) peeled (optional if organic)
1/2 fennel bulb cubed (1/2 inch)
1/3 cup fennel fronds diced  
1 red pepper diced
1/2 cup Kale finely chopped (optional)
1/4 cup Green onions diced thin

2 T apple cider or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 t agave
1 T Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of fennel powder (optional)

Boil potatoes until just tender. Run cold water over them. Slice them into bite sized cubes.
While the potatoes are boiling prepare the vinaigrette. Pour half of the vinaigrette into a large bowl and add the potatoes. Stir to coat. Gradually add remaining ingredients and gently mix together. Drizzle more vinaigrette as needed. Take to your next BBQ and enjoy!