Now don't get me wrong... I love my veggies. I was a vegetarian for over 10 years, and my husband continues to be a vegetarian. We eat vegetarian meals almost every night for dinner, I only occasionally make a separate meat dish for Andy and I. But I have found that since Andy was born I started using a lot of pre-prepared foods to supplement our dinners. No more! We didn't even have a chance to eat a frozen pizza this week, a typical weekly "easy-out" staple for us.
Each week we pick up one box from our local drop off point. We have bought 12 weeks of shared crops from Angelic Organics. We don't get to choose our vegetables... it's all random, depending on the weather for the week and what was harvested. We do get a large variety of seasonal, local vegetables. Rick and I thought this would be a great way to "act locally" through our food choices and stretch ourselves a bit culinary-wise.
This is what was in this week's box...
- 2 Green Leaf Lettuce Heads (looks/tastes great! Last weeks lettuce was "spotty")
- 5 Bell Peppers
- 4 small Jalapeño Peppers
- 1 Eggplant
- 1 bunch Swiss Chard (I have no idea how to cook this!)
- 1 bulb of Fennel (last week was the first time I'd ever eaten fennel... yum!)
- 1 bunch of Celery (the farm told us they were not happy with the variety they grew this year... and it is really strong and sort of woody celery)
- 2 Cucumbers
- 6 ears of Corn
- 1 Honeydew Mellon (last weeks Cantaloupe was supper yummy!)
- 9 Tomatoes
- 1 Bulb of Garlic (looks so moist!)
- 1 Bunch Anise Hyssop (I have never had this herb in my LIFE!)
That's a lot of veggies right?!? And I still have one Zucchini and one Cucumber left from LAST week! Let alone all the fruit in the house! I think we may need to buy a juicer!
My plans for tomorrow... make Corn Soup, Carrot/apricot muffins, and Tzatziki Sauce... maybe some refrigerator pickle slices. It's a full day!
If you'd like to learn more about Angelic Organics I recommend this blog written by another shareholder; 24 boxes.... it's been very inspiring to me. Eating locally grown/raised food is one small way you can reduce your Carbon Footprint. Read One Local Summer for more inspiration... wherever you live.
This sweet little melon had a face... bonus! I didn't even notice until I looked at the pictures!
5 comments:
I just wanted to add, that I found out about Angelic Organics through LocalHarvest.com which lists CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture) all around the country. No matter where you are, you can probably find a local farm that can provide you with fresh organic veggies.
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
I'm all about reducing one's footprint and organic csa's!! I have yet to find one out here, so I try to buy what I can from the farmer's market. Hooray for fruit and veggies with faces, too. :D
all the local co-ops were filled this year and have a waiting list for next year too. I am lucky to have a wonderful farmers market and grow some of my own too. I just picked my first eggplants and am making egg plant stew with tomatoes and garlic tonight. and homemade garlic bread too (the vampires wont want me for a while!). I have not eaten any animal flesh in over 30 years but hubby does. He knows where OUtback is as I dont allow it in my kitchen (well, the cat food but gross) but he will eat what I make or go out. one kid is and one isnt-so it sure was interesting mealtimes until they moved out. I will eat any veggie except muchrooms as I am allergic to them.
Yay for organic produce - this is the BEST time of year. I bought fresh beets today for the first time and saved the greens to cook too - we shall see... but I posted to say we love Swiss chard. It cooks much faster than kale and doesn't need a lot of salt - has a good bit of natural sodium content. Rinse and chop roughly. Cook with a small amount of water or steam it - can serve with a splash of vinegar. Maybe make soup out of the tough celery?
Ann
Oh YUM! Your share looks really yummy Sarah. We LOVE fennel, I saute it with sliced acorn squash, red bell peppers, red onion and a touch of nutmeg. Then serve it over jasmine rice with S&P. Simple and incredibly good.
We use up all of our greens (chard, kale, spinach, choy, lettuce, mizuna, etc) in raw green smoothies every morning. Even our 2 year old LOVEs them. Toss 2 frozen bannanas, a handful of another fruit (blueberries, grapes, pineapple, apples, peaches, mango, cherries, etc), 2 cups of water, and 2 large handfuls of mixed greens into a blender and blend. SO good to drink for breakfast! We're to the point now, that I use an entire bunch of spinach along with a handful of kale, dandelion greens or chard every morning. Work up to that point though. You might be surprised by how good it tastes!
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