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In the coming weeks, I will report about an eating experiment my husband, Dave, and I and four friends are trying. We have jointly purchased a half-time share in a CSA or community supported agriculture.

We paid an up-front fee to the farmer/grower which entitles us to a box of fresh, organic, “locally” grown vegetables every other week from that farmer. One of the couples will pick up our box of food every other Thursday at a delivery spot in La Crosse from the farmer that grew it.

The couple picking up the produce will cook a meal that night using as many samples of the food as possible. We have agreed to supplement the box of produce with other staples such as pasta, rice, spices, oils, local cheeses, milk, other dairy products, and by demand from at least one participant, chocolate in some form. Local beer and wine will be served with the meals.

The six of us are concerned about where the food we eat comes from, how far it has traveled to get to our kitchens, how fresh it is, who grows it and what is in it in the way of pesticides, additives and food enhancements. We all like the idea of knowing something about the farmers who grow our food, where it is grown and how.

We especially like the idea that by purchasing food from a local farmer we are contributing to the local economy, helping to sustain local farmland and decreasing the amount of time and fuel needed to get that food to us.

Local food, wine and beer means grown or produced within 150 miles of the La Crosse area.

This asparagus guacamole was served at one of the first dinners when the box of produce included three large bunches of asparagus as well as a large head of Napa cabbage, two kinds of radishes, two large bags of leaf lettuce of two different varieties, a bag of beet greens, a bunch of garlic scapes and a bouquet of flowers consisting of mock orange, peonies and iris.

Note that the previous week our farmer had more than 8 inches of rain, which damaged or delayed some of the crops so some things that we might have expected were not ripe or were washed out. The uncertainty of what will be included in the box is part of the adventure in this experiment. We also share in the risk the farmer takes whenever he or she plants a crop hoping for a harvest.

Dinner was an appetizer of asparagus guacamole, served with crackers, a stir fry using asparagus, chopped scapes and Napa cabbage served over cooked pasta and topped with a dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and spices; radishes; warm bread from a local bakery; and local butter. Dessert was locally grown strawberries topped with a yogurt/brandy dressing and chocolate pieces. Wollersheim wine from Prairie du Sac and Pearl Street Brewery beer rounded out the meal.

Asparagus Guacamole

Serve this with tortilla chips, crackers, the seasoned pita chips in May 23rd Gretchen’s Grub or as a sandwich spread.

2 cups cooked and chopped asparagus

2 tablespoons plain yogurt or sour cream

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from one small lime)

2 tablespoons minced green onion

2 tablespoons tomato salsa

1 tablespoon minced cilantro

1 teaspoon minced garlic, pressed to a paste with a fork

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Puree asparagus, yogurt or sour cream and lime juice in a blender or food processor. Stir in remaining ingredients. Chill before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Yield: about 1 3/4 cups.

The guacamole recipe came from “Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce” published by the Madison Area Community Supported Agricultural Coalition. Available for $19.95 from the MACSAC, P.O. Box 7814, Madison, WI 53707-7814, (608) 226-0300 or info@mavsac.org

Inspiration and recipes for other meals come from our mothers’ and grandmothers’ recipe boxes, our kitchen experiments over the years or the following cookbooks:

n “Fresh Market Wisconsin: Recipes, Resources and Stories Celebrating Wisconsin Farm Markets and Roadside Stands” by Terese Allen, published by Amherst Press. Limited availability .

n “Chez Panisse Vegetables” by Alice Waters, published by HarperCollins. Available at local book stores.

Future columns will include more information about the produce included in our boxes and feature additional recipes from our food experiment.

If you have a question or comment about a recipe in this column or a suggestion for a future column, e-mail Gretchen Skoloda at gskol@earthlink.net.