Have you thanked a farmer today?

I did not post about week 3-4-5 of our weekly Harvest Share Food Box! I totally could! The boxes were awesome! They were FULL to the max of fresh and very varied produce. We tried new recipes and discovered new vegetables. 

I really wanted to put up a picture every week, but I was not there when the box arrived. I forgot to ask my mom to take a picture...

But it doesn't matter, I am sure by now, you get the idea ;-)

There is however something I would like to share! Something VERY special that happened in my household! Something that just 2 months ago, would have been thought IMPOSSIBLE! (I hope my husband will forgive me for telling this story...)

My husband is Chinese. My husband LOVES chicken and rice... My husband is POWERED by rice... breakfast, lunch, dinner. My husband also happens to not really like vegetable. Except for a few select greens (asparagus and zucchinis). We've been together for 9 years and it has always been a recurring subject of argumentation! We now have a lovely daughter who needs good role model into building good eating habits. So my husband stepped up to the plate and 1 months ago decided that from now on, he would eat ANY vegetables I put on his plate! (As long as they are cooked). Well it has been a month and he is still sticking to his words!!! Not once has he complained! 

Buying into the weekly box was also part of the plan in making sure we were eating MORE vegetable, while supporting our local economy. I have to admit, everything we get in the box taste BETTER than the same product at the grocery... is it because of the freshness??? 

And this week, a miracle happened. Hudson was having a bad day and I ran short of idea for lunch. I ended up serving some chicken with broccoli, peas, beans, and snow peas (all from the box). My husband asked where the rice was.... OUPS!!! So he sad down with a grumpy face and he started eating. Half way through the meal, he said to me "Look at my plate!!!!!! I ate all the vegetables and I still have some chicken left." I think he surprised himself! He loved the beans, he loved the broccoli, he loved the peas and the snow peas... and did not even miss his rice!!! This was such a GREAT day for us!

Harvest Share Food Box week 2

So we just picked up our second box...

I wished the picture would tell how yummy it looked!

This week the featured item is Kale.

There is also Garlic Scapes! I had never heard of it before getting some in the box. I already used some to add to one of my smoke salmon-radish dip!

The featured recipe is Kale Chips! Although I have eaten kale before I had never tried to have it that way. (I know, I know... somany people on my friend's list swear by it!) So we baked some... not only did it look and smell yummy.... it tasted great! A perfect by the pool snack!

An added bonus... Hudson LOVED it.

Buying local... 20 weeks of summer

So a few weeks ago, we received a pamphlet in our mail box about a Harvest Food Share Program. 20 boxes full of locally grown fruits and vegetables for 20 weeks. We do have access to a farmer's market near by, but in the last few years, I was something surprise to find out that what we were buying was not always local... (Happened with corn, more than once...) I researched the program a bit more and read lot's of positive reviews... we decided to give it a try. There were two different size boxes available. We took the biggest one (28$ a week) and decided to share it between two family (so 14$ each family a week). With the weekly box, we receive a feature item and a recipe to go with it. We are also provided with information about each product (which farm it comes from). 

This week we went a head and picked up our first box. I will be honest, it was a lot smaller than we expected... and a lot smaller than the pictures I had seen from last year. We were explained that the season was a bit delayed because of the weather and that they would make up for it in the next few weeks. (Fair enough!) That being said, I quickly did the math and we really were getting our money's worth. 

I decided for the next 20 weeks (as much as possible) to post a picture of the box. We will also attempt to make every recipe provided. If you would like more information, you can visit the facebook group. All the recipe can be found there in their "Note" section.

So this week's feature item is Rhubarb! The recipe is a rhubarb custard pie! Mom and I with Hudson's help got it ready in no time! It looked delicious and tasted amazing! Definitively a recipe we will make again!

For dinner tonight, we also had some of the pepper, mushroom, zucchinis and spinach. Now everything was good, but let's talk about spinach!!! Seriously... I didn't even know spinach could look as leafy and full of life as the one we received. It really did not look like what we buy at the grocery!! And let me tell you, they were GOOD!!! At this point, I have to say we are really excited about the box and can't wait for the next one!