Archive for the ‘Food’ Category
Posted by terrepruitt on September 25, 2012
This year my husband was really on the ball. In July he started asking me what I wanted for my birthday. Since going out of town isn’t something we have in our budget, I thought about it for a bit, then decided that is what I wanted to do for my birthday. I wanted to go to a bed a breakfast place on the coast that we both love. So I got my heart set on a weekend at THAT particular bed and breakfast. When I looked it up on the internet I was happy to see it is still there, however, it is no longer a bed and breakfast establishment. The house is for rent as a vacation rental, but it is no longer a place to rent a room for the weekend. I was sad. I was so bummed that one of our places is gone. Plus I was bummed because I had to come up with something else for my birthday. He asked me every month. I thought I had found something, but then circumstances changed and so that didn’t work out. Then I remembered there was a time when I entertained the thought of one of those super blenders. But really, to me that is an outrageous purchase unless you are really going to use it. Having it sit in my cupboard would be a waste. In my opinion there are a lot of things that are outrageous if they just sit and not get used, but when I use things often I feel I get my money’s worth. I would like to include more vegetables in my diet. I like to serve a green salad every night and a vegetable, so I was thinking another way to add fruits and vegetables would be to make green smoothies. I don’t drink fruit smoothies so I really wanted to TRY a green one before I had my hubby make the investment. I hear that green smoothies are an acquired taste and I don’t just want to blend fruit. I want more veggies than fruit. But then I started looking at some recipes online of other things I could make in a “super blender”. I think I have posted about how my hummus is not smooth. I made a joke about being the inventor of “whole bean” hummus — which is basically just chickpeas. So I thought I could use the power of a super blender to make hummus. So I decided to ask for a blender for my birthday.
When I received my blender I didn’t have any greens, but I was going to get some delivered the very next day. In my box I received a new-to-me veggie. The box contained Rainbow Chard and so I thought I could put that in my first smoothie. I think of it as a fruit smoothie with some green since it really didn’t have that much green. I am breaking myself in slowly — as has been suggested.
Another suggestion that I have seen on various website is that if it is an “ugly” green smoothie put it in a mug and if it is a “pretty” green smoothie use a pretty glass. I think that is just the type of silly suggestion I can follow. It makes an odd kind of sense.
Well so far I have used my blender four times. I am sure you are going to hear about each time in future posts. Well, perhaps not all four times . . . but maybe, we will see.
So my first fruit/”green” smoothie was:
1 Cup water
1/2 of apple chopped
1 banana (sliced)
1 leaf of rainbow chard (cut up)
My blender has a smoothie button so I just used that and it worked great. There were NO chunks at all. What I really love and was somewhat surprised to see is, it comes out frothy!
I think my first “green” smoothie was pretty good. Although, I think that one leaf of green and 1.5 “fruits” is a larger fruit ratio than I want to stick with. I am going to work my way up to more greens and less fruit. My idea is to like and drink the more-veggie-than-fruit smoothies, but also enjoy the more-fruit-than-veggie smoothies when I feel the desire.
I am thinking I might have a smoothie before Nia, but I am not sure. I usually try not to drink so much liquid before class. 🙂
Have you heard of these blenders that blend SMOOTH smoothies?
Posted in "Recipes", Food, Smoothies, Vegetables | Tagged: birthday present, Blendtec, chickpeas, fruit smoothie, green smoothie, hummus, Nia, Nia class, rainbow chard, vegetable smoothie | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 22, 2012
Since I am still busy with my Nia classes and I have my Zumba teaching debut coming up, it really helps to have produce delivered. I know Nia and Zumba instructors that can learn a routine in an afternoon and teach it that night. I am not one of those teachers. It takes me a long time, so something that saves me a trip to the store is awesome. But then I do spend a little time trying to figure out what to do with the new-to-me produce. I also like to look up the nutrition. One thing I didn’t remember when I received my beets is that the beet greens can be eaten. I forgot about my own post Borscht Is Beets and I just chopped them off and threw them away. Now I know. I do have faith that beets have more nutrition than dirt, but I don’t actually know the nutrition value of dirt, so I really am just going off of faith.
As a reminder beets have anti-inflammatory affects along with antioxidant properties. According to World’s Healthiest Food website here are some numbers on a cup of raw beet:
1.00 cup raw
136.00 grams
58.48 calories
folate 148.24 mcg
manganese 0.45 mg
fiber 3.81 g
potassium 442.00 mg
vitamin C 6.66 mg
tryptophan 0.03 g
magnesium 31.28 mg
iron 1.09 mg
phosphorus 54.40 mg
copper 0.10 mg
The website states that the phytonutrients in beets are called betalains and the longer the beets are cooked, the less there are in the root. They “recommend that you keep beet steaming times to 15 minutes or less, and roasting times under an hour.” So some of the nutritional value is higher the less they are cooked. I had mentioned something similar in my Borscht post.
The paper that comes with the produce I have delivered states that the beets were gold beets. Being unfamiliar with beets I say, “Ok.”, but they were not yellow. They were deep red/purple — as you can see. And I KNOW, I have seen yellow beets before. I had a co-worker who loved beets and she would eat them in all the colors. Maybe the yellow ones aren’t called gold beets and these really were gold beets? I don’t know. The red and yellow pigment in beets lose their “super powers” the more the beets are cooked.
Since I have had my first foray into cooking beets and making something with beets I think I can do it again. I know I just made a salad, but it wasn’t terrible. I think I need to move onto something my husband just loves. In fact when I asked him if he liked beets he said yes and he reminded me that he loves borscht. I forgot he loved borscht and I forgot I posted about it. So I think I will actually purchase some beets and give it a try.
This is exactly one of the reasons I chose to have a produce box delivered. I never would have bought beets — obviously since back in January 2011 I talked about them and STILL haven’t done it. So now it is one of the things I can add to our list of vegetables for us to eat. I have the tendency to buy the same vegetables over and over even though I know variety is good. I just don’t buy it if I don’t know what to do with it. But when it lands on my doorstep, I feel as if I have to find something to do with it. I am so excited to be expanding my produce horizons. I also love that so many people have ideas on what to do with these new-to-me items.
Do any of you like Borscht? Do you have a recipe for it?
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, beets, borscht, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia instructor, Nia routine, Nia Teacher, organic produce, teaching debut, World's Healthiest Food, yellow beets, Zumba, Zumba classes, Zumba instructor, Zumba teacher | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 20, 2012
You might have read in my blog I am having an organic box of produce delivered to us. I love it. It is so nice to have produce and not have to go to the store. It is nice to have organic produce. So far I really like this. You might also know that part of the reason I decided to have a box of fruits and vegetables delivered is because I was hoping I would be “forced” to use produce that I normally wouldn’t buy. The last box I received had figs in it. Turns out I am ok with figs. I so enjoyed the salad with figs I had made, I tried to order the next box that had figs but I waited too long. I only have delivery every other week. Farm Fresh To You posts what will be delivered in a week the week before so I had known for a whole week, but I waited until the day before to decide that I actually wanted an additional delivery. It was not enough time for them to do it. So I missed out on another delivery of figs. But . . . in addition to the figs you might have noticed in the picture I posted on the first fig post that I had beets delivered. Now, I KNOW I don’t like beets. I have tried them, and I don’t like them. They taste like dirt. For those of you that don’t know what dirt tastes like, eat a beet and then you will know. So here I was with dirt to deal with. I was wondering, “WHAT DO I DO WITH A BEET?”
In the same conversations I had with people about figs I had asked about beets. One person said to boil them, peel them (the skin will come right off), and then put them in a salad. I think she said she cooks them then uses them as she needs them (within a reasonable amount of time. A couple of days or so.). Another person said she didn’t like beets, so she had no suggestions. Again, I was faced with a salad. That was the only thing I found that sounded remotely appealing. I was thinking I would boil the beets and then put them on a salad with goat cheese. Goat cheese seemed to be what I was finding as the cheese of choice with beets.
But you might have read that I was thinking about making a salad with figs. The recipes I was finding for figs in salads called for feta. But for me, I was thinking that the goat cheese would go better with the figs as it is creamy and mild — almost flavorless. And the feta — which to me is firm and much more flavorful — would go better with the beets. I was thinking the beets needed a strong flavor to help drown out the “dirt” taste.
One recipe I spotted said to roast the beets. Well, heck, why didn’t I think of that? Perhaps you know roasting is my prefered method! Geez, can’t understand why I didn’t think of that. Especially since I mentioned roasting beets in Borscht is Beets! Well, just as I did with the figs I didn’t read the recipes because I thought I could figure it out. I skimmed them and I saw some say, roast on a pan without foil and some say use foil. One recipe said the skin will come right off. Well, it didn’t so much for me, but it turned out ok.
I roasted them until they felt somewhat soft. I think it was at least 50 minutes, but I am not sure because I just kept resetting the timer and would run off to do whatever it was I was doing.
I had roasted the beets with olive oil and salt and a little garlic salt and I have to admit that even though while I was cutting them they smelled like dirt, they didn’t taste overwhelmingly like dirt.
Salad with beets:
mixed greens
pecans
beets (roasted with olive oil, salt, garlic salt — 375 degrees F for about 50 minutes)
feta cheese
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Yay! Another produce item that I had not eaten before and I NEVER would have bought at a store or farmer’s market.
How about you? Do you like beets?
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: balsamic vinegar, beet salad, beets, boiled beets, Farmers Market, feta cheese, figs, fresh figs, goat cheese, olive oil, organic produce, roasted beets, Salad with beets | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 18, 2012
Figs are considered a fruit. Most fruit has a lot of sugar. As I had explained in my Fresh Figs So Unlike Fig Newtons posts, most of the recipes I found for figs were dessert recipes that actually had additional sugar in the recipe. I didn’t want to make a dessert, so I ended up making a salad. It was very good. But as usual after having eaten something I don’t know much about I get curious as to what type of nutrition it has. Sometimes I actually am curious BEFORE eating it and I take the time to look it up, but this time it was after the fact.
Figs are a good source of potassium and fiber.
According to Calorie Count Two large figs (2-1/2″ diameter) contain about 100 calories and roughly the following:
Total Fat – 0.4g
Cholesterol – 0mg
Sodium – 2mg
Total Carbohydrates – 24.6g
Dietary Fiber – 3g
Protein – 1g
According to an article in 1999 by Dr. Sheldon Margen and Dale A. Ogar:
Figs “have the highest fiber and mineral content of all common fruits, nuts or vegetables. They also have as much as 1,000 times more calcium than other common fruits and by weight they actually have more calcium than skim milk.
Figs are 80% higher in potassium than bananas, and are extremely easy to digest. They also have more iron than any other of the common fruits and are extremely high in magnesium. All of this for about 20 to 40 calories per fig.”
I had an idea I would make a salad when I bought the crumbled goat cheese. I know, not exciting, but it was really good!
When I went to make the salad I realized I didn’t know what to do with the figs. My husband said he peeled them and ate the inside. So I tried doing that, but when I peeled off the purple he said that I needed to peel off the white part too and only eat the inside. So I tried that and as I was doing it I decided that it was ridiculous and could not be right. Maybe opening them and eating the flesh works, but it does not work when trying to add them to a salad. Then I remembered all the pictures I saw having purple (to me it is purple) on them. So I Googled them again and figured out that they just need to be cut up the way they were and we could just eat the whole thing. Unfortunately I waited too long to use them and we ended up only able to eat about half. The other half had gotten moldy.
I just made a simple salad:
chopped up figs
lettuce
crumbled goat cheese
fig balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt
pepper (for my husband)
I wish I would have taken pictures. It was nice. Simple and yummy. Just enough sweet, creamy, and savory.
I saw recipes that said to use feta but I thought the creaminess of the goat cheese would go better with the figs.
Did you know figs are often referred to as the “perfect” fruit?
Posted in "Recipes", Food, Fruit | Tagged: Calorie Count, dietary fiber, Fig Newtons, fig salad, Fresh Fig Nutrition, goat cheese, perfect fruit, Potassium | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 15, 2012
As you may know I’ve been having an organic box of produce delivered every other week. My hope was in addition to getting fresh, yummy produce I would receive some new things that I normally would not have come home with from the grocery store or farmers market. Well, up until last week, I think I had received some pretty basic things. Different varieties of fruits and veggies, but nothing too new, right? I am asking because I don’t remember. 
I am thinking I did receive something else I hadn’t had before, but I can’t remember what it was. Oh, except those Shishito peppers that did end up being thrown away. After I tasted one every time I just looked at the container I felt like I needed something to drink to get that bitter taste out of my mouth so I couldn’t bring myself to cook them. In my last box I received a container of beautiful figs. Mission figs. I remember I tried some figs last November. I remember it was November because we had gathered to watch V for Vendetta and one of the snacks was figs on goat cheese. I don’t remember have eaten figs before because they just seemed icky to me. I think I had only been presented with dried figs and I don’t like dried fruit. I actually KNEW I didn’t like figs because of fig newtons. Now, I know that a fig newton really isn’t a fig and I should have not based my liking of the fruit on such a thing, but I had. So here I was with a container of figs. I had no idea what to do with them. What do you do with a fig?
So I asked a few people. Believe it or not their response was the same, “Just eat ’em.” Um . . . no thanks. My husband likes to just eat them and he ate one. When I told him I didn’t know what to do with them he said to just give him the go-ahead and he would eat them. He said they were good.
The bulk of the recipes I found online seemed to be tarts, pastries, desserts, and ooey-gooey things. And salads. Sigh. I thought I would go to the store and get some goat cheese and try making that dish that I had eaten before, but when I went to the store I found crumbled goat cheese and not a “brick” for slicing.
I can’t remember exactly, but I believe the snack was a piece of fig on top of a slice of goat cheese, with honey drizzled on it. Really rich, but very yummy. Kind of desserty.
I was happy and excited I received something I hadn’t had before, but I was stumped as to what to do with it/them. Even though I bragged about Farm Fresh To You having recipes on their site, I kept forgetting to look at it.
Do you like figs? How do you eat them? Do you know a savory dish that uses figs?
Posted in Food | Tagged: Farm Fresh to You, Farmers Market, Fig Newtons, fig recipe, fresh figs, goat cheese, Mission figs, organic fruit, organic produce, organic veggies, produce delivery, Shishito peppers, V for Vendetta | 10 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 23, 2012
S
o tomorrow marks our fourth box of produce delivered. Since I have been subbing Nia for a lot of other classes this month, I really appreciate not having to go to the store every other day. But it seems like two of the boxes I was too busy to cook/eat/deal with right away. But for the most part we go through the veggies and fruit rather quickly. I haven’t really received too much that is new to me. We received some tomatoes that were an odd color to me. They were red, but they were a very deep red. Except for the one that had a big moldy hole in it, they were very good. I realized a while ago when I started trying to eat tomatoes that I don’t like the jelly part with the seeds. I like the firm fleshy part. These tomatoes had more fleshy parts then “jelly” part. They were very good. So far, despite some quality that I would not have picked from the grocery store or a farmers market, I am really happy with the Farm Fresh To You deliver.
The two things I had a problem with was the moldy hole in the tomato and the lettuce that was already wilted and was so “on the verge” that it left a green ugly smudge of itself on the box that the produce comes in. Any fruit delivered is always finished first – YUM! I love the plums I get from my in-laws, I don’t know what kind they are, but they are dark and sweet. But I loved the ones I got in the second box too. They had a flavor that brought back childhood memories of summer fruit. The nectarines were good too. Aside from the wilted lettuce I love their lettuce. It is soft and not bitter. But I could use a lettuce delivery more than once a week, so once every other week is really not enough. I believe one week the list said we would get a lemon cucumber. I was looking forward to that, but I didn’t get it. I did get the broccoli rabe which I had never had before, but it didn’t any different that brocoli. A little more tender, I suppose.
The third box had pluots in it. They were good too. I even shared one with my husband. The pear you see was a substitute. We were supposed to get a lemon delivered and we did not because I asked not to received any lemons. We have a lemon tree and while the one they were going to send was a different kind I don’t use lemons as it is so I didn’t need another one. My husband likes pears so that works. The cucumbers were awesome. So crisp and flavorful. I really like their cucumbers. Unfortunately I forgot about the eggplants, so while we ate them we did not eat them at their peak and I did a little disguise technique on them, just in case. Now those peppers, Shishito peppers . I don’t even know what those are. I looked them up online to verify that they were not hot before I tried one. They information said “sweet” so I tasted one. That has got to be one of the most bitter things I have ever tasted. So they are still sitting on my counter. They will probably sit there until I have to throw them away because I don’t know what to do with them. I will keep an eye out for those on the list and if they pop up again say, “NO THANK YOU!!!!”
So that is my produce delivery update. I am a little bummed that I have not received anything out of the ordinary. I guess I could just got BUY something myself at a Farmer’s Market that is out of the ordinary, but I am really not included to do that. So I was hoping to get if “forced” on my. Anyway, every time I cook or make something and my husband says, “This is REALLY good.” I point out that it is most likely because of our yummy organic produce that we are having delivered. He had even suggested we get it delivered more often. I have been entertaining that idea. But there are a lot of options so I have to think about it. Could be awhile before I decide. I mean it took me years to get this far, but now that I did it I am glad I did.
How about you? Any exciting summer fruit or veggie make it to your table this season?
Posted in Food | Tagged: Farm Fresh to You, Farmers Market, lemon cucumer eggplant, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, organic fruit, Organic produce delivery, organic vegetables, pluots, Shishito peppers, substitute Nia | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 23, 2012
I don’t think I really knew that the zucchini is a hybrid of the cucumber. I do sometimes have trouble telling them apart when they are cut up in a salad, but I never really thought about their relation. I guess I figured they were related somehow. Since zucchini and cucumbers are related that makes zucchini a fruit. Geez louise. I would be in so much trouble if my life depended upon knowing the difference between what actually is a fruit and what isn’t. Most of the vegetables I think of as vegetables are actually fruits. The culinary world and the world of botany doesn’t always match up. Wiki describes the zucchini in the following appetizing way: “swollen ovary of the zucchini flower”. Yeah thanks, I want to eat swollen ovaries. 🙂 I am mostly familiar with the green zucchini, however, it is called a summer squash. I call yellow zucchini squash, not zucchini.
You might see recipes calling for courgettes . . . that is zucchini.
In regards to nutrition, zucchini are low in calories. They are a great source of antioxidants. In about 100 grams of zucchini there is 17 mg of vitamin C. It seems the best way to get the most antioxidants out of the fruit is to steam them. I am not sure I’ve tried them that way. I like to roast them, but the time involved to get them the way I like them usually keeps me from making them that way. As I mentioned in my Grated Zhuccini is GREAT post I actually like to grate them and mix them into other foods. I think they go great with linguine and rice. Not linquine and rice together, but one or the other. A comment made on that post was asking if they are stringing when they are grated, but they are not, after it is cooked it has the consistency of cheese. My last mix was turkey . . . . which is yummy too. I also like them raw, sliced paper-thin, in green salads.
My mom makes them into cheese boats. That’s a great way to cook them too. Kind of like the eggplant I did, but she takes a little out from the middle and then puts cheese in them. I only did that once. That was really good.
Zucchini has a few of the B vitamins, as you can see below.
Also since the seeds contain Omega 3, zucchini might be one of those anti-inflammatory foods that can help with the inflammation of the body. So many other foods (sugar, dairy, foods with transfat, refined grains) ADD to chronic inflammation it is always nice to get the foods into our diet that help combat it. I say “might” because the information I read had said that studies have yet to prove . . . but if the seeds have Omega 3 the might help in the battle.
According to WHFoods, 1 cup (113 grams) of raw zucchini contains:
vitamin C 32%
molybdenum 18%
vitamin B6 12.5%
manganese 10%
vitamin B2 9.4%
potassium 8.4%
folate 8.1%
fiber 4.9%
magnesium 4.8%
vitamin A 4.5%
phosphorus 4.2%
vitamin K 4.2%
vitamin B1 3.3%
tryptophan3.1%
copper 3%
vitamin B 32.7%
protein 2.7%
omega-3 fats 2.5%
Calories (18) 1%
Since is it summer time here and they call zucchini a summer squash, it’s a good time to post about it. Especially since I received some in my organic produce box.
How do you prepare zucchini? Which color do you use? Which is your favorite?
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, chronic inflammation, courgettes, cucumber, low in calories, Magnesium, Omega 3, summer squash, vitamin B6, vitamin C, WHFoods, zucchini | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 21, 2012
As a Nia teacher, my schedule changes a bit sometimes. I had recently added an evening Nia Class to my Nia Class Schedule that just wasn’t getting the attendance I needed in order to keep it going. So sadly there is no longer Nia in Campbell on Monday evenings. The end came rather quickly so the announcement time was short, but sometimes it is better to just rip the bandage off and move on. The opportunity given to cancel the class was wonderfully kind so I took it. You know how I have to cook on Sunday to be ready for Monday. Well, that Sunday’s cooking plan got de-railed because of a party so at the party in my head I was planning on spending my Monday afternoon cooking, but in the wee hours on Monday morning the opportunity arrived to cancel the class. So I actually was able to cook Monday’s dinner on Monday evening. Thankfully there were leftovers, because I was asked to sub for a class on Tuesday. I was still working through my vegetables that I had received. I had received two zucchini. Since I have been out of cucumber I have been putting the zucchini in our salads. I like raw zucchini in salads, but I like it sliced REALLY thin. I had used a half of zucchini for salads. I don’t often buy zucchini because the only way I know how to cook it is to roast it or cook it in a pan where you lay the rounds out in the pan. Then you have to flip each little round to make certain they get brown and yummy on each side. That is a bit too time-consuming for me sometimes. That is how I usually cook it, because I forget about grating it. When I remember I am so happy. Grated zucchini is GREAT!
I don’t remember where I first learned about grating it. But I know the first thing I did with it was mix it with pasta. I am not a big tomato fan. I have never liked tomato based pasta sauces. When I cook pasta it is usually dressed with a little butter and cheese or olive oil and garlic, but not tomato sauce. So one time I grated some zucchini then sautéed it. I tossed it with the cooked pasta and VOILA my husband actually liked it. He is not a big pasta fan so to have him like it was great. As I said I don’t remember when I learned about grating zucchini but it was a long time ago. And I haven’t done it that often since.
Recently I was visiting my mom and she puts slices of zucchini in her salad. So I came home and bought some to put in our salads, which I did, but then I remembered about grating it and I added it to rice. Again, I was reminded of how good that is.
As I was wondering what to cook for dinner Monday night, I was thinking I would use my baby bok choy with the ground turkey I had taken out to defrost on Sunday. But when I took the lone bunch out of the fridge it just seem too lonely to mix with all that turkey. So I decided to use the zucchinis that I had left. As usual, as I was cooking I thought I should take a picture because I will probably post about it, but then I thought, “No, I won’t post about it.” But here I am posting about it because I think that grated zucchini is GREAT (Ok, I like saying that!) and I want to share. I don’t know many people who grate zucchini and add it to things.
So while I was not really that impressed with the entrée overall, I did love the turkey and zucchini. I grilled some corn tortillas and lined a 9X13 baking dish with them. My plan was to cook the turkey and zucchini with my “normal” mix of onions and garlic. I had forgotten until after that I had originally planned to add a bit of Nutritional Yeast for an extra “cheesy” flavor. Half way through cooking I decided to see if we had and taco seasoning. I decided NOT to look at the ingredients on that package and I dumped it in the meat. Then I added the zucchini. Then I thought, “Well this is going to be weird.” Well, I might have ended up being weird, but I liked it. I put the meat on top of the tortillas then put some cheese on top. Part way through I remembered the green onions and the Nutritional Yeast so I threw them on top.
I use my blog as a bit of a recipe book and to remind me of things. With this post about how much I enjoy grated zucchini I am sure that I will remember to use it more often. I might not mix it with taco flavoring but I do love it with pasta and rice. Since it is is so good I am going to experiment with it an other things.
Do you ever grate zucchini? How do you cook it? What do you add it to?
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: grated vegetables, ground turkey, Nia, Nia Campbell, Nia class, Nia Class Schedule, Nia Teacher, roasted vegetables, sauteed vegetables, taco flavor, taco seasoning, tomato sauce, zucchini | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 19, 2012
In my last post I shared that I finally went ahead and ordered delivery of organic produce. I have always thought about doing it but had decided against it, allowing myself to stick to buying, preparing, and eating the same vegetables over and over. I was excited to see via an internet search a farm (Capay) I am familiar with actually delivers. The farm offers a variety of types of boxes, sizes, and frequency of delivery. I decided to go with the small mix to be delivered every other week. I was sooooo excited to get the first delivery. Look at all the beautiful produce that came in our first box:
1 avocado, 2 pluots, 1/2 lb of cherries, 1/2 lb. of sweet peppers, 1 lb of baby bok choy, bunch of carrots, 1 lb of zucchini, 1 bunch of lettuce, and 1/4 lb of garlic
My poor hubby never even saw the cherries. 🙂 They were gone immediately after I took the picture. The night we received the box I made a salad and I don’t know if it is just because I KNOW everything was organic, but it was the best salad I have had in a long time. I used the garlic in that night’s dinner too and I really think it is stronger than the store garlic I have been buying. I haven’t tried the peppers yet because I have some that I need to use up first. But I have to say, so far I am loving this. Well, I can see me wanting to have delivery every week. I was wondering if they would deliver a fruit box one week and the mixed the next?
While only the pluots were new to me I am sure I will get stuff in the future that is new. Pluots are later-generation hybrids between a plum parent and an apricot. Since you know I LOVE (love, love, love) baby bok choy you know I was excited about having some delivered in my first box. There is only one bunch left and that is only because the temperatures right now (weather-wise) make it too hot to turn on the stove and/or oven to actually cook.
I am happy that I decided to do this. I am looking forward to my future boxes. I hope they continue to be just as great as this first box. I hope to receive some items that will allow me to learn about new-to-me fruits and vegetables. I will learn WHAT it is and how to cook it and eat it. You know that as I get new stuff I will be sharing with you!
The week before the box gets delivered the farm posts a list of what will be in the box. On the site they also have links to recipes to help you with how to prepare it. I will be able to use the recipes they have or find something else.
I will probably end up preparing things the same way I always do. But that is ok at least we will be eating new veggies even if they are prepared that same ol’ way. 🙂
I had to look up pluot. Did you know what it is? Are you looking forward to this journey with me? Wanna learn some new things?
Posted in Food, Fruit, Vegetables | Tagged: Capay Farm, Farm Fresh to You, orgainic produce, orgainic vegetables, organic fruit | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 16, 2012
A couple of weeks ago I decided to have home delivery of produce. I had to wait until I was home to get it. Remember that “stuff” I had posted about before? The stuff had me traveling out of town that is why I had to move my Nia classes for two weeks. I scheduled delivery for when I would be home AND I knew that I would have an empty/veggie-less fridge. I have often thought of having home deliver, but I just couldn’t justify it. I finally decided to do it with the following as justification:
1) I would have fresh organic produce.
In the grocery store I don’t always by the organic stuff because it is not what I want. I think I might be 40%/60%. With the organic fruit and veggies being delivered to me it will probably switch those numbers to 60%/40%. This will be better for us.
2) It would be delivered to my door.
I figured with gas prices as expensive as they are having something delivered to my door is very economical. If they are bringing produce to me, it is keeping me out of the store at least one time a week. Plus, when I am at the store I sometimes end up spending money on things we might not need to be eating. I run in to get veggies then I think, “Hmmm? What else do we ‘need’?” And most often we don’t “need” anything but the produce I went into buy.
3) I would get “stuck” with new things.
I am in the habit of buying the same vegetables over and over. I do the same thing with fruit. We have a farmers market fairly close to us, but they don’t have a lot of fruit. The one that is really nice is a bit further and we don’t always get to it. I have seen questions posted on FB about how to cook what was received in this week’s “box” so I thought that if I ordered produce I would end up with things new to me. I was thinking that I would get a better variety of veggies if I just took what they were selling. AND I would learn new stuff along the way. What do I do with some of the things they send? I am looking forward to finding out.
I did a search on the internet and “Farm Fresh To You” came up. It is always kind of a risk doing stuff like this because you just don’t know. But I was really happy when I saw a picture on the website that said, “Capay” because they are a farm that sells at one of the farmers markets I go to. AND they are one of the vendors I frequent because they are all organic. I like their produce. So I was happy that I was familiar with the main farm that delivers.
It is cool they way they do it too. I was talking to a friend who said that she just decided to do something similar, but with the farm she is working with you have to pick up your box and you subscribe for the whole summer. I think her subscription is more of what you might be familiar with called a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). With the service I went through I just pay per box. I can start and stop anytime. There are different types and sizes too. They have all veggies, all fruit, all “no-cook”, mostly veggies, etc. It is pretty amazing – to me – what they offer. They deliver in areas on certain days and the day they deliver in our area works out PERFECT for me.
I know a lot of people who subscribe to a CSA. Do you? Don’t you think having produce delivered to you is helpful?
Posted in Food, Fruit, Vegetables | Tagged: Capay Farm, Community Supported Agriculture, CSA, Delivered Goodness, delivery service, economical, Farm Fresh To Me, Farmers Market, home delivery of produce, Nia, Nia Classes, organic produce, variety of veggies, Vegetables, www.farmfreshtoyou.com | 4 Comments »
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