I'm feeling my German roots today

I haven't participated in Bountiful Baskets for six months or so.  Found out my regular location has been discontinued, so I found one near our church that is pretty convenient.  I also like the later pick up time, so even though I arrived the usual hour early to help unload boxes and distribute baskets, it was already light when I got there.

Look at what I got and see if you can tell why I'm feeling German today:

Lotsa root vegetables there: onions, potatoes, and beets, plus a cabbage for good measure.  I think I see a soup or stew coming next week.  Anyway, when I lived in Germany I was struck by how common cabbages and root vegetables were on restaurant plates.

It was fun to go back for more vegetables and I plan to not wait nearly as long next time.

Bountiful Baskets

It was a good basket today.  I volunteered as usual.  It's funny--this organization has no religious affiliation at all, but 65% of the regular volunteers at our location are LDS, including the two leaders.

Todays' basket included:

2 large packages of grapes (one was a gift for volunteering)
blueberries
strawberries
8 bananas
4 yellow bell peppers
6 Roma tomatoes
2 pounds of carrots
fennel bulb
Romaine lettuce
17 small sweet plums
2 butternut squash (one was a gift for volunteering)

Excluding the volunteering items, I think the basket value was about 50% more than I paid.

Pantry Challenge Week III

The Pantry Challenge is to use what is in our fridges, freezers, and pantries to feed our families.  It doesn't mean not going to the store; it means to think creatively and buy less.

Safeway:  peanut butter, milk $4

 

Fry's:  pasta, Swiss cheese $4

 



Bountiful Baskets:  6 kinds of fruit and 6 kinds of vegetables.  A bag of small, sweet peppers is missing, mostly eaten. :-)  $16.50

 

 

 

Week total:  $24.50

 

Linked up to Good Cheap Eats' Pantry Challenge

A funny on myself

This morning was the Bountiful Baskets fruit and vegetable co-op pick up.  Instead of just picking up my basket, I always help with the distribution (produce comes in farmers' boxes and we break them up into the baskets for each  participant).  After everything was distributed into the 56 baskets, I went to sign the list to get my basket and . . . my name was not there!

My first thought was that what happened a couple of years ago had happened again: between the time I selected my basket and I pushed the "order" button, the last basket was sold.  I wasn't charged, but I didn't get a confirmation slip either, and I didn't realize it until I was getting ready to go that morning.

But . . .

I had printed my confirmation slip this time.  I had left it at home on accident, but I *had* printed it.

I went racing home and got online to figure out what had happened.  I printed off the slip again and took a close look at it.

I had mistakenly selected a site 7 miles away!  There is only a 20 minute pick up window, it was 3 minutes until pick up time started, and I didn't know the area of town I was supposed to go to.  I jumped in the car and followed the basic direction on my confirmation slip and eventually found myself at a really pretty desert park in the south part of town.

I wasn't too late and I even still had a choice of pumpkins.

I'll be more careful with my mouse click next time.  LOL

Bountiful Baskets

Lately one of the blogs I read has been posting pictures of beautiful organic CSA produce and it got me to thinking about Bountiful Baskets again.  I missed most of the summer due to (my) lack of interest and by mixing up my weekends and looking for it on the wrong Saturdays.

This week I paid for a basket, then went an hour early as usual to help with the distribution.  Here is what I came home with:

4 Asian pears
5 plums
7 nectarines
6 bananas
lots of grapes
lots of Brussels sprouts
6 tomatoes
cauliflower
3 bunches of radishes
6 onions
lettuce
Tuscan kale

In addition I came home with a box for the chickens with lots of lettuce and kale leaves, along with some nectarines.

Not organic, $16.50.

Bountiful Baskets and my weird kids

Here is what I got from Bountiful Baskets today ($16.50):

Romaine lettuce
Brussels sprouts (in the paper bag)
Roma tomatoes
Onions
Zucchini
Yellow squash

Bananas
Grapefruit
Red Bosc pears
Lemons
Apples
Kiwis
Pineapples

The "my weird kids" part? I knew my girls would be delighted when they found out I had Brussels sprouts in my basket and they were. They love broccoli and cauliflower as well. Aren't I lucky?

Beautiful fruits and vegetables

I haven't been to Bountiful Baskets in about two months because I've been so successful with Market on the Move (60 lbs for $10). However, I was wanting fruit and more vegetable variety, so I signed up for Bountiful Baskets this week. It was great to work in shirt-sleeve temperatures and morning light vs. the cold and dark of the winter, too. :-)

Nothing particularly exotic today, but everything is something someone in my family likes:

2 pineapples
3 grapefruits (to go with the 300 still left on the tree in the backyard)
6 Mineola oranges
9 Valencia oranges (fresh orange juice for breakfast today)
7 bananas
grape tomatoes
5 sweet potatoes
2 cauliflowers
4 broccoli crowns
1 Romaine lettuce
3 bundles of asparagus tips

Trash to treasure [Hmm . . . this was supposed to post yesterday . . . not sure what happened]

Yesterday was Bountiful Baskets day and as usual I volunteered to help with the distribution. If there is produce that is not good enough for distribution to the members, it is put into the "chicken food" box and I take it home for the feathered girls. Usually it is stray lettuce leaves and maybe a couple of items with some decay on them. Chickens don't eat decay, so I always cut off that part before I give it to them.

However, this time in addition to the lettuce and a couple of strawberries, there were about 7 big tomatoes that needed just a small part cut off. The chickens would have enjoyed them, but I knew my family would enjoy them more in the form of salsa. I cleaned the tomatoes up and diced them, along with some other tomatoes we had on hand, diced up a small onion that was also in the box, and added a measured amount of Ball salsa seasoning along with the requisite vinegar for acidity.

I got 8.5 pints (4 liters for the Aussies, Canuks, and Koreans). I processed 7 pints so the salsa is shelf-stable, and refridgerated the other 1.5 jars because my canner only holds 7 jars and I didn't want to run a second canner load for just the 2 jars.

All 9 jars of salsa cost me only about $2 total, which was the cost of the vinegar and the salsa mix. Oh, and a bit for the electricity for cooking/canning.

A little kitchen trick I use

On Bountiful Baskets Saturday it's common to come home with one or two heads of leaf lettuce that need to be washed. Sometimes I do it leaf by leaf, but other days I'm too lazy efficient with my time to do it that way, so I wash the whole thing at once. Then I have to dry the head so it doesn't leave a puddle of water in the salad bowl.

I take a rubber band and loop it behind several leaves at the base, then loop both ends of the rubber band over the handle of the cabinet over my sink. That way it can drip right into my sink. It helps to tap it now and then to shake drops loose as well.

Weekend pictures

Friday and Saturday my friend and I attended a Family History conference in the big city. We got new ideas from talented speakers, talked and talked to each other, stayed up late, and snacked for two days. It was great!

I left dh in charge at home and never had a moment's worry about the job he would do taking care of the family there. This picture tickles me pink:

Dh took the picture himself, without my asking him to. I ordered co-op produce before I remembered I wouldn't be there to pick it up. Dh offered to go get it and when I got home all the produce was put away and he told me he had taken a picture of it as well. Isn't my honey the sweetest?

Another highlight of the weekend was the visit of our old friend Wayne from Alberta. He brought the girls some goodies . . .

. . . and played games with us . . .

. . . until late in the night. It was great to see him again.

Bountiful Baskets again finally

Due to how Thanksgiving and Christmas fell this year, my bi-weekly produce co-op has been just once every four weeks for a couple of months. Lately the offerings have been a little slim, but considering it's winter, I thought the basket was indeed bountiful this time. I'll be back in two weeks!

The box contained:
Lettuce
Spinach
Radishes
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Avocados
Onions

Grapes
Bananas
Apples
Blackberries
Tangerines
Asian pears

The chickens are getting bigger and Bountiful Baskets came around this morning

I'm in love with this picture because it shows how beautiful my dd is. Cute bird too, huh? You can see by dd's clothes the weather is still really warm although I hear it is finally going to get only into the 70s for the highs late next week. I'm using the air cooler every day. The chickens are very cute. My favorite thing they do is to huddle together and give themselves dust baths. They scratch around, push each other around, and get very cozy together. Funny chicks!

As usual for every other Saturday, I got up early and was over at the local park to help with the Bountiful Baskets distribution. I was home again by 6:15 so that will give you a clue. :-) Today for my $16.50 I received:
1 cantaloupe
2 bags of green grapes--about 4-5 lbs, I'd say
3 lbs carrots
6 bananas
3 Mexican Grey squash
2 bunches Spring onions
1 bunch broccoli
4 tomatoes
2 cucumbers
3 pomegranites
9 apples
7 oranges
1 head Romaine lettuce, not pictured

I'm not really sure what to do with all the Spring onions, although I do have a delicious egg/cheese/green onion recipe that I'll definitely be making. I'll probably do some kind of saute with the squash, onions, and tomatoes. The oranges are Valencias so they aren't great eating out of hand, but will make nice juice. The apples are Galas, one of my favorites, so good eating there. I'm getting into the Fall thing and apples sure are a part of that.

Last night my girls had their very-first-in-their-entire-lives visit to Chuck E. Cheese's. Do you think they were happy about it?

Bountiful Baskets

Due to a snafu two weeks ago, this is my first fruit and veggie co-op basket in nearly a month. I actually had to buy produce at the store last week!

From back to front and left to right, this is what I got for $16.50:
5 lbs Idaho Russet Burbank potatoes
2 cantaloupes
2 1 lb boxes of strawberries
1 head of cauliflower
5 red peppers
3 artichokes
6 bananas
2.5 lbs of green grapes
5 tomatoes
8 Gala apples
7 plums
1 head of lettuce, not shown

I added up what these items would have cost had I bought them at the store this week, based on what I saw in the sale ads and in the produce department and the value of the fruits and veggies I picked up today would be about $44.35. Two items, one cantaloupe and one artichoke were extra because I helped with the distribution. See why I was a bit annoyed with myself last time when I missed the distribution?

Oh, and no offense to any Australian or Canadian readers ;-) but I'm delighted that with the exception of the bananas, every.single.item was grown in the United States of America!!! Just as an aside, did you know the USA has 5% of the world's population, but 20% of the arable land? No wonder we have such great food production and spend less on food as a percentage of our income as compared to citizens of almost every other country.

Bountiful Baskets

To escape the summer heat, my fruit and vegetable co-op moved its pick up time from 8:45 to 7:15 am! That means the volunteers need to be there by 6:00 am. So much for my day to sleep in, huh? :-) I'm not required to volunteer, but it's fun, it's exercise, C loves to go with me, the volunteers get a few extra pieces of fruit, and I get to choose the basket I like best and check out before the 80 people waiting in line. Good deal for me.

For my $16.50 I ended up with 39 pounds of produce.

Lunch was "ants on a log" (celery spread with peanut butter with raisins stuck into it), homemade German potato salad (I am 1/4 German, you know), cantaloupe chunks, and grapes. It was a nice meal for a hot spring day.

By the way, coconut is devilishly difficult to reduce to a nice pile of shredded coconut like you get at the store. I hope the macaroons I'm going to make are awesomely good.

Come see what my $16.50USD bought me this morning!

3 lbs apples
7 bananas
2 lb baby-cut carrots
2 mini watermelons
1 large leaf lettuce
6 ears of corn
5 tomatoes
2 butternut squash
10 limes (Key limes?)
7 mangoes
13 small peaches
15 Brussels spouts

Of the above, 1 watermelon and 2 mangoes were in return for helping with the distribution.

I haven't participated in the co-op for the past 2 times (every other Saturday) because of family travel. It's good to have lots of fruits and veggies in the house again.

I've never prepared Brussels sprouts before so I found this recipe that I think I'll try today:

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons butter 1/4 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
2 cups chicken stock

Directions

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, but not crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the skillet. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease and stir in the olive oil, butter, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the onion softens and the garlic lightly browns, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in the balsamic vinegar and bring to a simmer; cook until the liquid has reduced by 1/3. Add the reserved bacon, the halved Brussels sprouts, and the chicken stock. Stir, then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the Brussels sprouts are tender, yet still slightly firm, about 10 minutes.

Glory Shot #2

Today I jumped back into food co-ops with a vengeance. When we lived in New Mexico I participated regularly with one called Angel Food Ministries. A few months ago AFM arrived in my current city and a couple of weeks ago I decided to get started with them again. Today was the first pickup for me. You pay $30 each month and receive a box of food which contains 6-7 meat/dinner items, a couple of bags of frozen veggies, usually some grain products, a carton of UHT milk, a dozen medium eggs, and a dessert item. This menu (first section) shows what I picked up today.

I went from there to the regional park near my home to volunteer for Bountiful Baskets. I visited a friend two Saturdays ago and she had just picked up her food. It looked interesting and although the website has practically no helpful information regarding the food you get, I decided to try it anyway. The price, oops, "contribution" is $15 but you have to add $3 the first time and $1.50 every time, so today's basket was $19.50 and future ones will be $16.50.
Here is a list of what I got for my $19.50:
3 lbs Bosc pears
1 lb strawberries
11 tangelos
7 Braeburn apples
16 bananas (one bunch was in return for helping with the distribution)
5 grapefruit
8 red peppers
2 cucumbers
2 broccoli
1 bunch leaf lettuce
4 zucchini
9 tomatoes

I'll definitely be doing both of these regularly. The Bountiful Baskets come every two weeks so that will keep us in plenty of fresh produce.

Oh--the "baskets" part? Our site takes up to 96 orders and it was sold out today. There were four double rows of twenty-four baskets, each just like my basket in the picture, except narrower. One was for fruits and the other for vegetables. Each order was two baskets, to be emptied into your own brought from home.