I'm almost always the last one to jump on the bandwagon, whatever that bandwagon may be. The computer bandwagon, the email bandwagon, the cell phone bandwagon, the blog bandwagon, the Facebook bandwagon, the Pinterest bandwagon (all technology related, I know) and now the fresh, organic, local, delicious produce bandwagon. The fresh, organic, local, delicious produce bandwagon to which I refer is called Abundant Harvest Organics.
Several of my friends have been participating in Abundant Harvest for over a year now, and I've finally joined in. The person that finally gave me that last boost up onto the wagon was this amazing piece of fabulousness:
There we go. This is my friend, Susan, who is the captain of my walking team, Team Safe at Second. She also happens to be the author of this little-known-yet-impressive blog, entitled Cooking Out of the Box. In my humble opinion, it's the best foodie blog out there. Susan combines humor and wit with a thousand one delicious and nutritious ways to use all of the produce that comes from, yes, the box. Check it out. She cracks me up.
So, I jumped on the Abundant Harvest bandwagon, and Tuesday I picked up my first box of local, organic produce:
I was so excited. It felt like Christmas morning! Minus the sleep deprivation, angst, and stress. Yes, just like that.
"Oooooooooo, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh," I oooed and ahhhed.
Look at this! So beautiful! My mouth watered as I unpacked it all. Especially when looking at these ruby red, vine-ripened tomatoes. There's nothing better.
The one thing I hadn't thought of, though, was that if it came straight from the farm, then it probably had to be washed. Some of it was covered in dirt! So Diego and I spent about an hour washing, drying, and packaging it all to put in the fridge, or at least on the counter. I felt just like my Mormon pioneer ancestors, washing the dirt off of my own fruits and vegetables. Minus the 3 month walk across the plains and the heat exhaustion and frostbite that came along with it, plus the fact that they didn't really have any fruits and vegetables to speak of. I think they ate grubs along the way. At least they had plenty of sister-wives to help catch them.
As a reward for helping, Diego got to try the first plum.
Deeee-licious! Sweet and juicy!
In a text later on, when Susan asked about the box, I said,
"I already feel healthier."
"And even a little virtuous."
She replied, "You look it too."
Then:
"Oh. Well you look healthier anyway."
No, wait. That's not the photo I was after. Try this one:
So, I jumped on the Abundant Harvest bandwagon, and Tuesday I picked up my first box of local, organic produce:
I was so excited. It felt like Christmas morning! Minus the sleep deprivation, angst, and stress. Yes, just like that.
"Oooooooooo, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh," I oooed and ahhhed.
Look at this! So beautiful! My mouth watered as I unpacked it all. Especially when looking at these ruby red, vine-ripened tomatoes. There's nothing better.
The one thing I hadn't thought of, though, was that if it came straight from the farm, then it probably had to be washed. Some of it was covered in dirt! So Diego and I spent about an hour washing, drying, and packaging it all to put in the fridge, or at least on the counter. I felt just like my Mormon pioneer ancestors, washing the dirt off of my own fruits and vegetables. Minus the 3 month walk across the plains and the heat exhaustion and frostbite that came along with it, plus the fact that they didn't really have any fruits and vegetables to speak of. I think they ate grubs along the way. At least they had plenty of sister-wives to help catch them.
As a reward for helping, Diego got to try the first plum.
Deeee-licious! Sweet and juicy!
In a text later on, when Susan asked about the box, I said,
"I already feel healthier."
"And even a little virtuous."
She replied, "You look it too."
Then:
"Oh. Well you look healthier anyway."
16 comments:
Mmmm, the tomatoes and plums look so good! And beans...mmmmm! What a good lesson for Diego! Unlike what we get at the grocery store...this actually comes from the ground?!
I love fresh tomatoes. I would totally love them more though if you had indeed worked 3 months to get them...or maybe not : )
Diego is so cute.
Oh, lovely!! I used to get a weekly market basket from the SM Farmers Market. It was like Christmas every week, finding out what was in my basket!!
Have fun with it!
And i will try to get signed up again!
It looks amazing. I'd have to eat it all raw since I seem to have forgotten how to cook.
Tonight I made a fabulous potato recipe I found on Susan's blog. Enjoy your produce!
I love friends like that!!
lovely harvest.
Hi...long time lurker - love your blog.
You didn't know you had vegetables and fruit came with dirt?!! Grocery stores actually wash the produce for you? That's something totally unheard off in my corner of the world (tiny island Malta in Europe).
I actually think washing some vegetables BEFORE using them can make them spoil more quickly.
So I (or rather all Maltese) only remove the "larger" dirt but do not wash our vegetables/fruit before tossing it in the fridge (don't worry we do wash it before cooking/eating).
Enjoying your blog and adventures,
Ti
Mmmm....my mouth is watering just looking at those pictures! Is it wrong that I'd also like to take a little nibble of Diego?
We have a bunch of produce co-ops like that around here, but I've never joined. I have been super interested, and then I forget about it, but I should, since produce is the only thing in my fridge, except for condiments.
YUM!!
Oh, that Susan is such a trendsetter! I'm enjoying my box too, but I had to go for the small box. :)
Well gosh. Shucks. Thanks for the compliments! They make you look more virtuous.
And, no, you shouldn't wash most of it until you are about to cook/eat it. A lot of produce has a natural protective coating that gets washed away, allowing it to spoil more quickly.
P.s. If that's the best picture you have of me, then you, a camera, and I need to hang out more often. Like on days we didn't get up at 5:30 am and walk 20 miles in the rain.
Maybe I should join.
ha ha! Sister wives...
When we moved here I asked my Japanese neighbor about organic produce. She asked "what is organic". I explained its locally grown, with no chemicals used.
She smiled a huge smile and said "then yes I know organic, everything in Japan is this way"...
I will miss being able to stop on the side of the road for whatever it is I need! Or being able to stop at any grocery store and know it probably came from the farm across the street..
If it is shipped in then they add a label showing what prefecture its from! They even label the rice!
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