In Her Chucks

Some of you may be wondering what this box of food is that I am always talking about.  Well, when my husband and I first moved to our new town over a year ago we caught wind of this awesome local organic produce delivery service.  I had never heard of such a thing before and I thought our new town was so special.  But after talking about it with other people who live elsewhere, they had similar services where they lived.

For someone who loves produce, this delivery service is a dream come true.  Not only are all the foods local and organic but they are all hand-picked and in season.  So you are getting the best of the best.  The journey has been quite an interesting one.  We have been introduced to so many new fruits and vegetables and as a result have picked up some new favorites.  Since I can’t stand to waste anything, the challenge to use up all the produce before it goes bad keeps me motivated to cook fresh, healthy and creative meals nightly.  My husband has been such a trooper.  He has definitely broadened his palate to include new tastes and textures.  I learned that he’s not a fan of cabbage rolls but loves beet fritters.  It’s all about experimentation!

One of the things I love about the produce box is that we get new things every week.  You don’t get to pick what gets delivered, they just bring you the produce that is at it’s best.  So the element of surprise is always exciting.  They recently started posting the items on their website on Saturdays, but they can never promise those items in your box, because it all depends on quantity and quality on the day they pick them up from the farms.  Every Wednesday turns into Christmas morning for me.  I wait patiently for them to deliver my box and then I start ripping through the paper to get to my prize.  As I come across each new item, recipes start whirling in my head.  And for those fruits or vegetables that I am unfamiliar with, comes the additional treasure hunt for yummy recipes.  It’s amazing how much pleasure I get out of fruits and vegetables.  So much so that Wednesday has officially become my favorite day of the week!

In an effort to share my love for all things produce, I have decided to make Wednesday’s “What’s in the Box?” day.  This way you can get a sneak peek at some of the produce that will appear in my weekly recipes.  Plus, you never know, you might just learn about a new fruit or vegetable that you never heard of before.

So, without further ado, I present the first What’s in the Box?…

This week I got some of my favorite fruits and vegetables.  I am familiar with all of them and have some great recipes for each.  Berries are always a score, especially strawberries because I eat them every morning for breakfast.  Freddie loves anything citrus so he was stoked about the mandarins.  Harper is enjoying eating (or sucking) on apple slices these days, and there is nothing better than a freshly picked organic Fuji apple.

I am excited about the green cabbage because Freddie has been begging me to make a cabbage gratin I made the last time we got cabbage (the time before that I made cabbage rolls, and Freddie politely told me I didn’t have to make those again…).  The purple spring onions will be delicious in Freddie’s morning eggs.  Every week I get a different head of lettuce, but red butter lettuce is one of the best.  Salads have never tasted so good.  Green Beans are a staple in my house.  I love to steam them and then sauté them with some butter and shallots (a trick I learned from my dad).  Sometimes I will even throw in some almond slices or bacon.  I used to be intimidated by kale but now I have a plethora of delicious recipes to choose from.  One of my newest favorites came from my sister-in-law Koko’s blog, Koko Likes.  Tomatoes are tough for me because Freddie and I aren’t the biggest tomato fans, but I always find a way to make them delicious (mostly because I make sauce or pies…and you can’t go wrong with those).  My mini-challenge this week will be the yellow bell peppers.  I have a yummy chicken recipe that calls for yellow bell peppers, so if I can’t find anything else, that serves as a good back up.

I hope you are inspired by all the fresh fruits and vegetables.  I am so grateful that my mom raised me to appreciate healthy foods.  No meal is complete without something green on my plate.  Fruit makes for a great snack or after dinner treat.  Please feel free to share some of your favorite fruits and veggies, or any recipes that you might have that would utilize some of my produce.  I love to try new things.

Stay tuned for next Wednesday’s What’s in the Box?.  I am already anticipating the excitement (I’m such a nerd!)