Cooking is less of a chore when it’s more of an adventure. This is why I am so enamoured of my CSA — community-supported agriculture — box.

Every other Wednesday it shows up, delivered to my office, filled with a selection of produce from local farms. This allows me to feel morally superior for buying local and all that, but more important, it brings with it a challenge: Put all this stuff to good use, the bag seems to say, even though you did not specifically choose it and some of it you’ve never seen before.

Last week’s challenge was a large bunch of dill. I’ve often used a sprinkle of dill to flavor salmon, mix into salad dressings or to punch up an egg dish. Using up a whole bunch always takes some creativity.

I settled on making pesto, which was good as a dip, but the bulk of it went into a potato salad.

Pesto is normally made with basil and pine nuts, but have you priced pine nuts lately? You’d think they were coated in gold. This version uses dill and almonds but otherwise holds to traditional pesto ingredients of olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese. It all goes into a food processor, and zip-zip you’re done. Mixed with potatoes, it was a great mayonnaise-free alternative to the traditional potato salad.

I also got red potatoes in my CSA bag, so this recipe made good use of two items.

Some of my friends abandoned the CSA experience when they either couldn’t keep up with all the produce or found too much of it not to their liking.

I, however, consider it part of the fun to figure out ways to use all of it. And in the process I usually learn to appreciate something new. For example, did you know that longan (not my favorite fruit) can be pureed to make cocktails?

Besides, the treasures more than make up for the occasional bag of longan. My CSA service regularly brings me local butternut squash, asparagus, beets, cremini mushrooms and even, once, a breadfruit.

Interested in a CSA? Look them up under names including Oahu Fresh, Just Add Water and Local Inside. Several farms also run their own. Prices usually start at $20 per bag, going up as size increases. Some services deliver; others bring bags to a central pickup point.

Try it for a couple of weeks. You can always cancel if you can’t find the fun in it.

Dill Pesto Potato Salad

• 5 red potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds), unpeeled
• >> Dill pesto:
• 1 cup packed fresh dill leaves
• 1/3 cup roasted almonds
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Cut potatoes into bite-size chunks. Bring pot of water to boil. Cook potatoes in water until just tender; don’t overcook. Remove potatoes to an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain and refrigerate 2-4 hours.

To make pesto: Combine ingredients in food processor and process until well combined. Toss with potatoes. Serves 4.

Variation: For a creamier salad, mix in 1/4 cup plain yogurt.

Approximate nutritional information, per cup: 380 calories, 26 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 35 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 8 g protein

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