It's the most exciting email I receive all week: Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op's list of the goodies I can expect in my weekly CSA half-share.

That bounty, picked up every Monday from Ippolito's Seafood in Passyunk Square, was an undeniable inspiration for this week's lead feature. I just had to know more about how all that beautiful produce ends up in my white box, along with my weekly fruit share and bi-weekly egg share. The efficiency of the operation is mind-blowing -- it's local small-scale agriculture on steroids.

Because, of course, all that behind-the-scenes infrastructure and entrepreneurial acumen actually means something. At the end of the process Drew Lazor so astutely details, at pick-up locations all across the region, people like me check their name off a list, load their share into reusable bags and bring it home to eat. 

From the instant I get the email, I'm already scheming. Then, once I have the share laid out on my kitchen counter, the week comes into sharp focus. Collard greens (stewed with smoked turkey necks) on Monday; potato salad with dill on Tuesday; asparagus omelette as a quick lunch on Wednesday.

In the spring we ate salad. Lots of salad. We would take all the greens, wash them, prep them and store them in the fridge in our gigantic salad spinner (purchased upon CSA sign-up). We made at least three rhubarb crumbles. We stirred small-batch strawberry jam (no need to process the jar -- it barely lasted a week). We turned chard, kale and funky-looking red-leaf spinach into spanakopita. We sprinkled chopped scallions on everything. I shelled raw sweet peas for mediterranean rice salad. We ate the best arugula I've ever had in my life.

Now that summer is here, I find it hard to resist a whole fish at my designated pick-up location (those folks at Ippolito's are onto something). It's too hot to cook inside, so we throw the bronzino or trout or snapper on the grill, along with zucchini, carrots and sweet onions. Tomato season -- sweet, sweet mistress! -- has arrived, which means fresh mozzarella and BLTs. This week, we made our first peach crumble.

This is our first year participating in the CSA. Yes, we are eating more vegetables and getting creative in the kitchen, but the best part is that moment when you open the box. It truly feels like a gift. (Yes, I know we paid for it, but that was months ago; you sign up in winter or early spring and pay up front). The colors are strange and vibrant (purple cauliflower, white beets, maroon carrots) and the produce is exponentially fresher than what you would find at any grocer. I also feel more deeply connected to the seasons -- and the region. My money is helping to support 83 farms. This is the easiest way to "eat local" there is. 

The one downside is that we spend less time at our local farmers' market -- I'm sure the Amish at the Passyunk Fountain miss us dearly.

LEE STABERT is managing editor of Flying Kite; follow her on Twitter @stabert.