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

Loadsabob

And Delia online.

If you just type in "Kale recipes" or something, you'll end up with too many recipes, I'm sure!

I found this was one benefit of getting the box, that it made me try new recipes, and try vegetables I hadn't already tried (Oca, kale, mooli) - it's exciting! I enjoy cooking, but I get so stuck in the rut of cooking the same meals over and over sometimes...I'm hoping the box will liven my culinary skills up again!

Of course, sometimes the boxes get stuck in a rut...only SO much cauliflower cheese you can eat! I'm sure I'll be looking for cauli recipes again this Winter!

competitionscafe

Loadsabob wrote:

Of course, sometimes the boxes get stuck in a rut...only SO much cauliflower cheese you can eat! I'm sure I'll be looking for cauli recipes again this Winter!

Me too, lol! Cauli goes very well in a veggie curry and I have a really nice cauli soup recipe somewhere that i must dig out. It can also be pickled if you get desperate!

greenlogo

Cauli's really nice raw with Hummus or Salsa as well; slightly peppery. I know that raw veg isn't the most obvious winter food in the world but snuggled up in a warm room in front of a movie with some cauli, carrot sticks and salsa is rather a nice way to spend an evening

elisebutt65

Yeay, finally found somewhere that does a box scheme round here(L/Spa), used to get a box every week in exeter, so have missed it. Farmers Market is only here every 4th week for a few hours on the morning so not much good for e either.

Talked to lady on the phone and I'm going to pop down down later and see what sort of stuff she has - £8.50 to pick up myself or £10 delivered. Seeing as the point is to save on miles - I'll pick it up myself - LOL.

Yoga_Girl

This week I got:
Beetroot, onions, greens, potatoes, carrots, broad beans, courgettes, cucumber.
Plums, apples, pears, grapefruit, bananas.

Unfortunately the fruit never lasts long as my son dives into the veg box when it arrives and starts eating as much as he can! The plums are all gone already!

greenlogo

my box (well net, actually ) arrived at 9 tonight and I got:

1 Girnormous Carrot and one large carrot
2 onions (large)
2 nice looking leeks
1 possible Turnip (well, I think it's a Swede, but I know in England that'd be a Turnip... it's also quite BIG. Either way it's a root so I'll either soup it or roast it depending on the weather )
Oodles of Potatoes (including the first ones of the season that'd be big enough to bake...)
A large brown bag of Kale
1 box of eggs

So I guess the Tomatoes are done for the year ... ah well... the news letter is telling me all about lots of broccoli which I love and it'll be coming soon and the farm's now expanded to do mail order meat, which I'll need to look into once the freezer's run down a bit (maybe I'll share with my parents...)

Off to check out the kale recipies (the leaflet came with a recipie for Kale and potato soup that sounds nice too)

competitionscafe

Today's box:

2lb potatoes
onions
carrots
green stuff (chard??)
green salad leaves (with yellow flower)
lollo rosso lettuce
bag of tomatoes
red pepper
broad beans
bag of beetroot
bag of apples
bag of pears
small melon
bunch of bananas
bag of plums

This is the £15 box (£10 veg box + £5 fruit box)
+fresh herbs [£1 extra](large bag of mixed and bag of coriander)
+bread (extra)
They also do eggs, cheese, milk, etc

Done from memory, so i think that's everything?

By the way - went to Tesco at 7pm tonight for the first time in 2 months (all the local shops had closed and I forgot to defrost some chicken thighs) and it reminded me why I have stayed away from that hellhole for so long! All I wanted was a basic cheese and tomato (margarita) pizza for a quick dinner - frozen section none left, fresh section none left (neither were on offer), thought I would get a pack of mint (needed for tommorrow night's salad) - also all sold out, needed some freezer bags - they have moved them to a different section (why!?), spent ages looking for them (without success), no staff to ask - all busy on the tills. Got some cheddar cheese and wine so I could have cheese omelette and salad instead of pizza, soo busy, queues were a mile long, *&^% self service till would not accept my £1 off coupon for the wine, paid and then remembered that I forgot the eggs so left without them (had 2 left in fridge luckily!). By the time I got home it was to late to eat before going out so ended up having my dinner at 11:30 pm when i got back. Now I know why I started getting most of my food shopping delivered and using local shops - much better for the stress levels!

competitionscafe

greenlogo wrote:

the news letter is telling me all about lots of broccoli which I love

If you love broccoli, you must try this Gordon Ramsay recipe - amazing how something so simple can taste so good! :

BROCCOLI SOUP
serves 4

1kg broccoli
Sea salt and pepper
4 slices soft goat’s cheese, or 4 baby chèvres
50g flaked almonds or walnuts, lightly toasted
Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

1 Cut the broccoli into florets. Bring 800ml salted water to the boil in a pan, add the broccoli and simmer for about 4 minutes until tender but still bright green. Drain, reserving the liquid.

2 Whiz the broccoli in a blender with enough of the liquid to half-fill the goblet, to give a velvety texture.

3 Reheat the soup in the pan; adjust the seasoning. Put the goat’s cheese slices into warm soup bowls and pour in the soup, to one side. Top with the nuts, grind over some pepper and drizzle with olive oil to serve.
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,4382-1589335_3,00.html

greenlogo

that sounds delish! thanks - I've added it to my "recipie" file on the puter and when I get some brocolli from teh organic box I shall make it.

bluemoon_3

I haven't posted in this thread before, but I've been getting a mixed box from Abel and Cole for a few weeks now, so thought I'd join in.

It doesn't seem as good value compared to some of the boxes posted on here, but unfortunately I'm in an area that seems to be just outside most local box scheme circuits, so I have to go for a nationwide delivery. The quality is exceptional though, and I can't believe the taste difference compared to supermarket veg. If anyone else has trouble finding a local supplier, I would thoroughly recommend Abel and Cole.

So, this week's box, for £16.40, has:

potatoes
green lettuce
2 x ramiro peppers (had one of these in sandwiches for lunch and it was lovely - sweet and spicy!)
8 x apples (don't know what sort - small, pink skinned, with pale pink flesh. Lots of flavour)
4 x pears
6 x kiwi fruit
2 x big courgettes
2 x good size brocolli
brown bag mushrooms
onions (5, I think)

For recipes, the Abel and Cole website is also good - click on the 'this week's boxes' link and try the info button next to each fruit or vegetable name - it brings up a list of recipes using that ingredient.