What’s in the Box?
Only Girl in the World pounds out as we cruise down the suburban avenue. I’m excited and I know why. I wonder if little J is excited for the same reason. Unlikely. His giddiness is probably due to the passing of a stop sign, one of his favorite items to identify as we drive along. A two year old just doesn’t get pumped up about one’s first organic produce box the way his food-loving mother does.
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that box. Not even the realization that my pick-up point was a sweat-soaked men’s weight-lifting room managed to make me frown. I’d been expecting a room full of chatty gals oohh-ing and aaahhh-ing over a lush assortment of organics. But this squat man grunting “here you go” and passing me a 40 lb box would have to do. (His offer to help me by holding J’s hand as we crossed the parking lot was much appreciated. I nearly dropped the box twice but at least J was securely attached to the hand of a bodybuilder.)
Back in the car, big box of produce on the back seat, J asks if we can listen to Barney. This would make our ride slightly less fun (for me) than the outbound journey. But thoughts of getting that box home and of opening it up are still making me smile. I decide I can handle a little singing about colors and numbers. Just a little.
We took the box into the kitchen, I drum-rolled on the table and then flipped up the cardboard flaps. J started grabbing at things, “Mommy, I don’t like that cabbage! Mommy, I don’t like that spinach. Mommy, can I have a lemon? Or a cookie?” *sigh*. He got an orange instead and I plopped him in front of Dora so that I could enjoy my discoveries in peace (peace except for that enthusiastically repetitive refrain “I’m the map, I’m the map, I’m the map, I’m the map, I’m the map!“)
My discoveries:
one large green cabbage
- one massive bunch of curly kale (not spinach as J thought)
- three babyish bok choys
- a tumble of sugar snap peas
- a small bunch of brocollini
- five hard avocados
- one toddler-head-sized acorn squash
- fifteen garnet sweet potatoes
a pint of tiny red and orange heirloom tomatoes
- six oranges (to go with the treeful outside that we keep forgetting to eat)
- five lemons “the same radiant hue as the yolk of an egg from a very happy chicken” (description taken from Five and Spice. Isn’t it brilliant?)
- nine (yes, NINE) bananas
- two pints of local strawberries
- one mostly green rock-of-a-mango
I pace around the kitchen shooting glares at the box. Oh my god. What have I done? Where am I going to put all this food? We cannot eat all of this. I’ll have to give some to the neighbors. Liz has three boys at home. They can eat it. Well, they probably won’t like the spinachy-kale but maybe she can hide it in a lasagna. Maybe.
No, don’t worry. I didn’t give it to Liz. I didn’t give it to anybody else either. I glared at the box for a little longer then grabbed for the tomatoes. Sooooo good. I spent a few minutes eating crisp globes while doing some pranayama. Then I sorted through the box and came up with a plan.
Find out where I put it all and how we managed to eat it up in the new Cook the Story series: What’s in the Box? Tips and Tricks for Dealing with Your Weekly Organic Produce.
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See the other post in this series:
- O.K., So You’ve Opened the Box. Now What?
- The Weekly Organics Box Stir Fry
- Thinking Inside the Box: Sweet Potato Flapjack Tuesday
- Lasagna: Layer on the Veggies
- Vegging it Up
- It’s Springtime: How do You Use Up Lettuce and Herbs?
- Wrapping Up the Box: Empty the Fridge Soup and Frozen Fruit Smash
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Find out about Cook the Story series past, present and future.
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I have the same panic every time my CSA is delivered. What will I do with all of this? Then, it turns into a fun game of figuring how to use it all. Looking forward to seeing how you did it.
I have the same panic every time my CSA is delivered. What will I do with all of this? Then, it turns into a fun game of figuring how to use it all. Looking forward to seeing how you did it.
Happy to know that I’m not alone feeling overwhelmed by it. But you’re right: it does end up being fun!
I know exactly what you mean about being excited to see what’s in the box. I feel like I am on Chopped. The box always inspires some new recipes and definitely some better eats. Can’t wait to see what you do with yours. Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting today. It’s so nice to meet new bloggers—Geni
I LOVE Chopped! And you’re right, that is exactly how it feels. Imagining myself as a contestant is going to make opening that box even more exciting next time! Thanks for stopping by.
Love this. I have very fond memories of my first season with my CSA farm, when I figured out how to deal with everything. This will be our sixth year, and I’ve learned so much. Also, I am terribly jealous of all that green produce. And I hate The Map. :)
The Map is totally my nemesis. J always asks to watch it over and over on the computer ,in addition to seeing it on Dora episodes. *sigh*.
Six years? Wow! You must have a lot of great advice. I’m taking the newbie approach here. While the hurdles and difficulties are fresh in mind, I’m writing about it. But my tips will probably be nowhere near as useful as yours would be. Any advice you’d like to share would be appreciated.
You have me thinking of what I do with my greens… Another little trick is that I add greens (chard, kale, spinach) to smoothies. My “Go To” smoothie is a frozen banana (I always throw ripe bananas cut into three in little baggies into the freezer – Nigella Lawson tip); 1/2 c. each of frozen raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and cranberries; 1 tbsp of honey, 1 c. of yogurt and 1 c. of milk or O.J.; and a big handful of greens. You can’t even taste them, but you’ve just upped the nutritional value of a really yummy smoothie. (Again, my two-and-a-half-year-old asks for seconds!)
Awesome idea! Does it turn the smoothies green? Not that that matters. I bet my toddler would love a green “milkshake”.
Nope. It’s still nice and pink from all the fruit. (There are teeny weeny green flecks, but ya gotta look for ‘em to see ‘em.)
Thanks! I’ll try it soon!
Two words: Kale Chips.
Really? My kale got hidden in a lasagna. J still refused to eat it. Kale chips might have gone down better. Do you have a recipe?
As a matter of fact, I do: Kale Chips at the Stimpson Soup Kitchen
Kale and chard used to present problems around here too when they were in my organic produce box. And I found myself trying all sorts of things with them. (The kale chips were a BIG fail around here.) But here’s a couple of ways I’ve found to deal with chard and kale… use chard in place of cabbage in borscht. Or sauté some sliced onions and garlic in olive oil, them add either chard or kale to the pan, cover and wilt for a couple of minutes, and finish with a little salt and pepper and fresh parm. Both are delicious, and both my meat-loving husband and two-and-a-half-year-old gobble them up.
I really love the idea of using chard in borscht. Brilliant! The garlicky wilted greens topped with parm also sound really delicious. I will definitely give that a try. As far as I can tell, my next box will probably have kale and chard in it. Should be interesting! (They give a list of what they expect to have in the boxes but it’s never for certain until you pick up).
A great chard recipe that goes over well even with non chard eaters is this gratin:
http://whipstone.com/blog/2009/bright-lights-chard-gratin/
Also, another two words aside from kale chips, which we love, are: kale pizza. I don’t know if your son will eat it, but it’s sooo good. This recipe is similar to how I do it: http://whenharrymetsalad.wordpress.com/2009/01/04/not-easy-being-green/
You’re too modest, handing out someone else’s chard gratin recipe when your kale and cabbage gratin is so gorgeous:
http://www.moderateoven.com/?p=804
Kale pizza? Interesting! At this point J just picks the toppings off pizza and eats what he likes (just the sausage and the olives). Everything else gets thrown overboard. I have a feeling that kale would go in the same direction but it’s worth a try.
Aw, thanks. The kale and cabbage gratin is hearty and definitely good, but more of an every day kind of dish (that is, healthy enough to eat every day) whereas that chard gratin I Iinked is just decadent. It has a roux, and more cheese, and butter, and just… yum.
I think I might try them both! I have a feeling that there’s chard AND kale in my next box (that’s what they’re expecting but they never guarantee anything). Can’t wait.
You so inspired me to want to get my own box. I really want to see what you do with all that. I’ve been scared to join a food coop in my area because I was truly afraid of wasting what I bought. Can’t wait for the series!
Thanks Kimberly! I’m really excited about this series too.
One of the things I love about my coop is that we’re allowed to opt out whenever we want. We’re not committed to buying a box every week. I knew I could try it once or twice and see how it went. If a commitment had been required, I probably wouldn’t have signed up.
I’ve heard from friends that even some coops that require a commitment will let you try it out once or twice first. Worth calling and asking if you’re worried about it.