What's in my organic fruit & veg box today!

ET03

this could be handy as when my son isn't up to it I find it difficult to get out and shop

catznine

ET03 wrote:

this could be handy as when my son isn't up to it I find it difficult to get out and shop

It's also fun (a bit like Christmas or Birthday) as you are never quite sure what will be in the box!

r.mac_2

i have been thinking of supporting a local box scheme too. Originally I decided that it was too expensive, but seeing my neighbours on her doorstep every thursday makes me jealous.

Perhaps I should try getting a small one one a fortnight (there's just me to feed).

Does anyone have any recommendations for the Edinburgh area - the one I have details for is growwild - any feedback?

competitionscafe

r.mac wrote:

Does anyone have any recommendations for the Edinburgh area - the one I have details for is growwild - any feedback?

Hi, I am in Edinburgh too and interested in recommendations. Does your neighbours box come from Grow Wild? The only one I have tried is Damhead, but to be honest I found the produce disappointing - this was a while ago though and only used them once, so maybe they have improved. Otherwise I use Zonkers organic shop in Cumberland Street and Real Foods in Broughton Street for organic fruit and veg as these are both within walking distance from me. (There is also just me to feed so I would only need a small box).

The Edinburgh box schemes I know of are East Coast Organics; Damhead and Grow Wild, and I think Edinburgh Organics in Stockbridge [10 Deanhaugh Street]; Zonkers and Real Foods all do deliveries?

There is also a list of organic food stockists in Edinburgh here:
http://www.organicfood.co.uk/shopping/edinburgh.html

competitionscafe

Pal wrote:

Where did you find you box delivery scheme? I have had a dig around on the internet and come up blank.

Try entering your postcode at Big Barn and it should come up with a list:
http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/

You could also try this site:
http://www.organicfood.co.uk/shopping/index.html

Or the Soil Association:
http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/Living/wheretobuy.html

Or ask for recommendations on the River Cottage forum:
http://forum.rivercottage.net/index.php

Hope this helps,

Mark.

filigree_2

r.mac wrote:

i have been thinking of supporting a local box scheme too. Originally I decided that it was too expensive, but seeing my neighbours on her doorstep every thursday makes me jealous.

If you're friendly with your neighbour, could you share a box with her? It would be cheaper than two separate boxes.

flea72

ive kept every delivery sheet that has come with my boxes, so i tend to know roughly what is in season now

you get spuds every week, and other than that its pot luck - usually 4 veg and 3 fruits - veg is usually carrots, then a green of some sort (cauli, cabbage, broccoli), another vegi type thing, so either onions, mushrooms, peppers or leeks - as for fruit, its a choice of apples, oranges, kiwi, bananas or pears, although the dates the last few weeks, has been a really nice change

we love the fact you sometimes get strange things turn up, celeraic, khol rabi, turban squash

be prepared tho, for when stuff is in season, you may get alot of the same thing every week - chard is a real killer in the autumn, and its quite an acquired taste

in this weeks box we got 800g pots, a pointy cabbage, 500g carrots, 3 large leeks, 500g onions, 7 oranges, 5 apples, 6 satsumas - this weeks box seemed slighly less full than other weeks tho, but i suppose they fill it by cost, rather than weight, so at this time of year, i would say fruit/veg is more expensive, and they may have imported more due to the weather

catznine

Flea72 do you know what type of apples they are putting in at the moment IMO they are lovely! Have just made a cauliflower cheese tonight using the cauli from our box - had to use it up quickly as it was already discolouring and only delivered yesterday! Thank you for posting the contents of your box - as you say it is still quite a lot and should be enough for 2 of us so I will be changing down from the £14 box to the £9.50 box.

catznine

Now I know that summer is nearly here (despite the weather!) in my organic box today is:

1 punnet of cherries
1 punnet apricots
3 large pears
1 lettuce
500g tomatoes
Large baking potatoes
1 bunch of carrots with the tops on
mushrooms

Now what can I make with the apricots? Normally make apricot crumble in the winter but that is with the tinned ones.

spendaholic

I've been umming and ahhing about getting one of these boxes but was convinced there'd be nothing in that I'd like, apart from maybe potatoes and apples. So thanks catznine for sharing that. I'd probably find a use for all of those items ...