When our family first signed up for a CSA (community-supported agriculture) share last summer, we were unsure how our eating routine would adapt. Frankly, even with the seasonless stream of produce at the grocery stores, we were never really all that adventurous in our vegetable choices. Broccoli, squash, peas were probably the most commonly used.

So the mystery bag of vegetables that was delivered each week may have contained repetitive items, but no more so than had I merely picked up my usual items at the grocery store each week. There were also a handful of items we had never tried before, like garlic scapes and Swiss chard. And even old familiar items, like simple lettuce greens, took on new appeal when tasting the freshly-picked, locally-grown versions.

My husband still doesn’t like asparagus, but he is willing to try anything once and didn’t take long to admit that fresh and organic produce really does taste better. This spring, I have even succeeded in finding fresh mushrooms that he willingly eats and enjoys. The little basket of earthy morels I snagged at market recently was an eye-opening introduction to the depth of flavor mushrooms offer, when grown naturally and brought fresh to the market.

We are only a small portion of the way through our sampling of the “Mushroom Lady’s” offerings, but can’t imagine ever returning to those tasteless white orbs at the grocery. Now that the hot days of summer have arrived here in Virginia, I’m eagerly anticipating juicy peaches and tomatoes to come.

Curious what’s in season where you live, or coming into season next? Visit the new Epicurious map feature. We are in the greens, greens and more greens phase of our CSA season, so I am constantly on the hunt for new recipes to use them in. Websites like Cookthink and Foodbuzz allow you to search recipes by ingredient, in case you need new ideas to cook your seasonal bounty.