We shall surely reproduce!

(I suppose I should say re-produce. My oven? It is bunless. My countertop? It is full. Of produce.)

Because I’m trying my best to be one of those stinky hippies who eat only from the ground (also trees and bushes!), I decided to sign The Puddings up at our community produce co-op. $21.50 for a big basket/box/bag of fruits and vegetables that will feed a family of four for two weeks? Count me in! (Please know that I know that my kids will probably refuse to touch roughly 73.4% of the score. This means that every two weeks I’ll be picking up enough fruits and vegetables to feed MY family for three point two weeks! If I had the patience to do the math and I could somehow figure in the fact that both kids will probably move away for college, it means this: If I buy in to the co-op every two weeks for approximately seven point eight years, I think Jeff and I will have enough fruits and vegetables to feed us until we’re ready for assisted living! I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO CAN AND/OR DEHYDRATE!!!)

When I paid for the first installment last week, I was sent an e-mail that held a short list of what may or may not be included in the next delivery, along with the address of the home where the truck drops everything off (or: …along with the address of the home off which the truck drops! Everything!).

“Please pick up your produce between 5:30 and 6:00.”

Because the girls and I are nothing if not punctual, we left our house at 5:10 and arrived at the delivery location at around 5:20. We were told that this week was a bit weird because the truck normally arrives at 5:00, which gives everyone time to unload and sort before people start arriving at 5:30. Personally, I was thrilled with the delay, because helping unload the truck and divide the gazillions of zucchinis and cabbages was possibly the most thrilling thing I’ve done in months! (Someday I’ll attach a cord to my torso and jump off of a bridge. In the meantime, I shall sort produce!)

At the end of the day, we ended up with a huge pile of food.

Community Helpings Produce Co-Op, 3/13/12

6 bananas
5 apples
1 bag green beans
2 eggplants
1 pineapple
1 container of strawberries
1 container of baby bella mushrooms
1 bunch of green onions
1 puppy forehead
4 zucchini
1 cabbage
1 Bibb lettuce
1 head of broccoli
2 bunches of cilantro
6 kiwi
1 puppy nose

The girls will enjoy the bananas, the strawberries, the apples (they’re already gone), and the pineapple. The green beans are questionable because they don’t come in a can. I’ll be “forcing” five bites of the eggplant. This evening for dinner I’ll be grilling zucchini. Tomorrow for lunch I’ll be roasting broccoli. The kiwi will all go to Jeff, as kiwi makes my tongue go numb, and Meredith and Harper have complained that they suffer the same effects.

I’ll be making baby bella lettuce wraps with the mushrooms and Bibb lettuce.

I’ll be removing my Birkenstocks from their box in just a few hours.

Harper owns a broom skirt.

I haven’t shaved my left leg in nearly two months.

It’s happening.
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24 thoughts on “We shall surely reproduce!”

  1. Man, that is a ton of stuff for just over $20! We paid about 1.5 times that for about half the amount of food back in the day. Plus our co-op thingie only has locally grown produce, and sadly, pineapples and bananas do not grow in Texas. (Puppy noses do, but I never got A SINGLE ONE in my crate o’ produce! WTF? I feel EXTRA ripped-off now.) Also, I shaved my legs two days ago! And I bought non-organic limes the other day. I am a terrible hippie.

  2. I want to do those produce baskets. I love eggplant and this is one of my favorite recipes

    http://health.discovery.com/fansites/sam-zien/recipes/eggplant.html

    We have been enjoying weeks and weeks of fresh Florida strawberries.. I was just thinking today that I will be sad when they are not available anymore.

    Think green beans, several slices of bacon and a a heavy dose of Lawry’s Season Salt. Even my 10 year old vegetable hating boy will eat them!

    BTW, my Bella (doberman) loves produce, so what your puppy nose doesn’t eat… can you send here?

  3. Do they like X parmesan? Do you eat cheese? Try this:
    Roasted Eggplant Parmesan

    1 eggplant, ends trimmed
    Kosher salt
    Black pepper
    3/4 cup marinara sauce
    3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
    2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
    Dried oregano
    Crushed red pepper

    Preheat the oven to 400°. Liberally coat a baking sheet with oil spray.
    Slice the eggplant into rounds (about 10 slices). Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Mist the tops of the eggplant slices liberally with oil spray, and lightly sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper (omit the salt if you have high blood pressure). Bake for 20 minutes, or until eggplant is soft and golden brown.
    Top each slice with about 1 tablespoon marinara sauce and 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the slices with the grated cheese, as well as oregano and crushed red pepper to taste. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and bubbly.

    recipe from Joy Bauer & my half-Italian husband really enjoyed it!

  4. I’m jealous! All the CSA’s here cost way more than that and so I decided to buy a membership to our favorite farm (since we were going there once a week anyway) and we got 10% off.

  5. I read somewhere that puppy noses are high in antioxidants–you know, good for reducing free radicals. They may also be high in fiber, but I think it depends on the breed. ;-)

  8. I love the co-op idea, but is everything organic?

    I had big plans for a garden this year, but we just moved and apparently the soil here isn’t good for growing. And the neighbors tell me if I can get anything to grow the deer and other animals will just eat it. I need a Produce Plan before I go broke!

  9. Do the girls like Indian food? You can make some yummy Indian dishes out of the eggplant and say it is chicken? That way you can eat it also. I know lying=bad but if they eat it? Or perhaps baked eggplant sticks dipped in some tomato sauce? Good luck!

  10. I always have a hard time using things up in the right order so that nothing goes bad. But, my one trick I found last summer was that when green beans are no longer at their very best (though obviously not gone) roasting them is perfect. With garlic and ginger. Delicious. Maybe I need to find a chart with how long each thing lasts. It looks like they gave you a decent assortment of short and long window of freshness veggies. And it is a lot for the money! Happy Veggie Season!

    Maybe a container garden is that answer for Charisa? If you can have it somewhere “protected” from deer etc., like a screened in porch? I’ve seen kale and herbs in window boxes too.

  11. Hi! I live in the St. Louis area, too, and have been looking for a co-op. Can you link to the one you’re using? I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!!

  14. About thirty years ago my late father-in-law gave me the best tip ever about eggplant. I was complaining that my garden was overflowing with good things but HIS son just would not under any circumstances eat eggplant in any form whatsoever. The old guy was a physician, and used to tricking kids about a lot of things. He said to dice it up, cook some hamburger (cheaper the better, because you want the fat) in a skillet, add the eggplant and keep cooking. Then make spaghetti sauce with it. The eggplant is unrecognizeable to the picky eaters and if you never tell them they’ll eat it all.

    It worked. My mistake was about five years later I informed my husband that he’d been eating eggplant in the spaghetti sauce for five years, figuring this would help him realize that it was good. All it did was make him dislike spaghetti sauce.

  15. If you don’t like tricking your kids (and if you don’t, what’s wrong with you?) here’s my favorite eggplant recipe:
    Slice eggplant pretty thick (about half inch)
    Slice onion (thick if you’re roasting it, thinner if not)
    Slice tomato whatever thickness suits you
    Using a small amount of olive oil or cooking spray, slightly brown the eggplant on each side. Stack a slice of onion on each slice of eggplant, put a slice of tomato on top of each onion, cover each of them with whatever kind of cheese you like. Put under the broiler till the cheese bubbles.
    Eat as much as you like.

  18. Dude, I haven’t shaved my legs since New Years Eve and I’m not a hippie. Well, I mean I do save worms from the sidewalk and grow my own veggies and herbs on my condo deck…but still! Shaving in the winter sucks.

  19. Ani, I’m so sorry. I meant to be funny and not rude. I’m really sorry if it didn’t come across the way I intended.

  20. That is CRAZY. WHAT $21 for THAT?

    OMG why do they not have this where I live.

    What the heck??? I would never shave my legs again for that food except for the fact that I already don’t shave my legs. There’s not much hair on my legs for some reason–if there was, maybe things would be different.

    But I EAT eggplant. And I’m the only one who does no matter what I do.

  24. It was nice to meet you. ;)
    For St. Louisians, the co-op link is http://www.communityhelpingscoop.com/
    There are tons of pick up locations :)
    AND the best part? You don’t have to pay to belong or order each time!!! :)
    And everyone is wonderful about trading and sharing recipes! :)

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