Summer, where are you?

It's still February but we are already dreaming of summer. "I can't wait until we have watermelon and cherries and peaches," my 8-year old daughter said yesterday as she surveyed the fruit bowl sitting on the table. She sighed at the sight. The bowl held five browning bananas and an indifferent looking Bosc pear. The refrigerator wasn't much better: A few oranges, some carrots, a bag of romaine hearts and a bunch of kale that I meant to roast but somehow forgot about despite the fact that its green leafiness had consumed most of the bottom shelf for the majority of the week.

She took an applesauce out of the fridge and grabbed a spoon.

I'm tired of winter, too. And since a Spring break getaway somewhere warm is not in the cards this year, I started thinking about joining a CSA instead. Buying a share means that from June to November, a local organic farm will present me with a box of eight different kinds of fruits and vegetables grown just a few miles away. I've wanted to join one for years but always told myself that I could just go buy what I wanted at the Farmer's Market instead. Some weeks I did, but most I didn't.

This year is different. I cook dinner every night and make grocery lists every week. I love the idea of not having to choose every single item we eat, of making things based on what's in season and what's in my fridge.

What does the box have in store for me this summer? I have no idea. But I know I can't wait to find out.