Co-op time?

[ahem.]

Weren't there some people on here doing the Bountiful Baskets co-op? What kind of produce have y'all been getting lately?

I've been feeling like we don't have enough fresh fruits and veggies around lately, so I might start doing that again. But I don't want tons of swiss chard or sweet potatoes.

Hm. Advice?

[Tao]

Smoothies?

I've looked into Bountiful Baskets while down here, and may again now that I'm back and cooking. Smoothies tended to be the default for anything that didn't lend itself to any sort of cohesive dish.

[Dragon Lady]

I got one on Saturday.
Fruits: oranges, apples, lemons, strawberries, cantaloupe, bananas, pears
Veggies: spinach, lettuce, orange peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots

I think that's all, but it's past my bedtime so my brain is broken.

Other things we've been getting commonly lately include asparagus and pineapple. Pears have been gotten a LOT. Turns out, though, pear pie is delicious.

[Marduk]

I like to cook a diversity of things, so if you've got something that you're not really sure how to prepare, let me know and I'll probably have suggestions.

[Dragon Lady]

I've branched out several times in cooking thanks to BB. A few weeks ago they had Salad Savoy, which I had never heard of nor seen since. But a little bit of googling found me an asian salad that was fantastic. And I don't even really like salad all that much. I also learned that I love Oro Blanco grapefruits, even though I don't like regular grapefruit. This BB was the first one in awhile (that I got. I don't get them every week) that didn't have at least one… odd thing in it.

I'm really excited. They're offering a citrus pack this week that they're hoping to get Oro Blancos in. Which means there'll probably be at least one or two in the regular baskets. I really hope. I haven't seen them at the regular grocery store. (Not that I've looked hard, either.)

[ahem.]

Okay, well, I bought a basket... andalsoeightpoundsofstrawberries.

We'll see how I feel about it this time around.

Also, I think I've seen oro blancos at Costco fairly recently.

[thebigcheese]

We somehow got into the bad habit of doing our meal planning without considering the fruits/veggies in the basket...so it all just went to waste. Uh, that was retarded. But if they're giving out citrus fruits, I am ALL OVER THAT. I've already made two pitchers of fresh limeade this week, and it's been AMAZING!

[ahem.]

I've already made two pitchers of fresh limeade this week, and it's been AMAZING!

I don't think I've ever had fresh limeade. What is your recipe?

[thebigcheese]

1 cup lime juice, 1 cup sugar, 5 cups water...comes out great every time!

(It usually takes about 8-10 limes to get 1 cup of juice, but you can easily reduce the recipe if you don't have that many)

[Unit of Energy]

Sounds similar to my lemonade recipe, 1 part lemon juice, 1 part sugar, 6-7 parts water.

[thebigcheese]

Yeah. I've never actually made fresh lemonade, but my all-knowing recipe card says you can use the same recipe for lemonade/limeade.

[Dragon Lady]

Here's a recipe we got from one of Yellow's coworkers:

Limeaid (typos not mine):
1 Lime ( cut it in 8 pieces)
3 tablespoons of condense milk
1/2 cup of sugar
3 1/2 cups of warter
don't peel the lime(just cut the ruff ends of it)
and blend all toguether for a few seconds, make sure to strain it.


It's really good.

[Dragon Lady]

We somehow got into the bad habit of doing our meal planning without considering the fruits/veggies in the basket...so it all just went to waste. Uh, that was retarded.

Yeah. Been there, done that. A lot. I've been getting into the habit lately of doing lots of smoothies and veggie casseroles. It helps a lot. The worst, though, is that you get the food on Saturday, then you have to order again on Monday, when you've barely put a dent in it. So you have to make the decision, "Can I eat this all in one week and be ready for more? Or will I be overwhelmed by the piles of rotting produce on my counter that another batch of produce will make me cry?" It's a tough decision.

[thebigcheese]

Here's a recipe we got from one of Yellow's coworkers:

Limeaid (typos not mine):
1 Lime ( cut it in 8 pieces)
3 tablespoons of condense milk
1/2 cup of sugar
3 1/2 cups of warter
don't peel the lime(just cut the ruff ends of it)
and blend all toguether for a few seconds, make sure to strain it.


It's really good.

Is that the Brazilian style limeade? My husband tried to make it once, before we had a strainer to sift the rind out. It was...interesting.

[thebigcheese]

We somehow got into the bad habit of doing our meal planning without considering the fruits/veggies in the basket...so it all just went to waste. Uh, that was retarded.

Yeah. Been there, done that. A lot. I've been getting into the habit lately of doing lots of smoothies and veggie casseroles. It helps a lot. The worst, though, is that you get the food on Saturday, then you have to order again on Monday, when you've barely put a dent in it. So you have to make the decision, "Can I eat this all in one week and be ready for more? Or will I be overwhelmed by the piles of rotting produce on my counter that another batch of produce will make me cry?" It's a tough decision.

We get baskets every two weeks. Seems to help with that, especially the kinds of things that don't go bad...like apples. Oh man, apples. We usually have at least 10 or 20 of those things kicking around.

[Marduk]

So anyway, how exactly does someone sign up for these?

[thebigcheese]

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

A couple things...

"Register" is obviously where you go to register yourself. "Participate Now" is where you go to sign up for a basket each week. Each basket purchase is called a contribution. You also have the option of purchasing extras, which are usually bulk items. Sign-ups go online on Mondays at noon, and you ought to be quick about it because they tend to go fast. Pickup is on Saturday mornings, usually pretty early like 8 AM. If you don't show up on time, they give your basket away to charity. Also, you need to bring your own basket or box to put all the fruits and veggies in. It's enough food to fill a small laundry basket, so that's what we usually bring. Half of it will be fruits, and half will be veggies. You don't get to choose which fruits and veggies you get, but it's generally whatever is in season at the moment. I think that covers most of the bases...

They have pickup locations all over, so sign up for the one that's closest to you. FYI, the Provo Center Street location is super hard to find with their directions. Go inside the building on the NW corner of Center and University. Follow the hallway to the middle of the building. There's a fun statue made out of scrap metal in the lobby area. By that point, you'll probably see a huge line of people waiting for their baskets (my husband likes to call it the "communist food line"). I don't know why they don't give better directions...

[Katya]

By that point, you'll probably see a huge line of people waiting for their baskets (my husband likes to call it the "communist food line").

[Dragon Lady]

Here's a recipe we got from one of Yellow's coworkers:

Limeaid (typos not mine):
1 Lime ( cut it in 8 pieces)
3 tablespoons of condense milk
1/2 cup of sugar
3 1/2 cups of warter
don't peel the lime(just cut the ruff ends of it)
and blend all toguether for a few seconds, make sure to strain it.


It's really good.

Is that the Brazilian style limeade? My husband tried to make it once, before we had a strainer to sift the rind out. It was...interesting.

Yes, yes it is. And I would never try it without a good strainer.

[Dragon Lady]

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

A couple things...

"Register" is obviously where you go to register yourself. "Participate Now" is where you go to sign up for a basket each week. Each basket purchase is called a contribution. You also have the option of purchasing extras, which are usually bulk items. Sign-ups go online on Mondays at noon, and you ought to be quick about it because they tend to go fast. Pickup is on Saturday mornings, usually pretty early like 8 AM. If you don't show up on time, they give your basket away to charity. Also, you need to bring your own basket or box to put all the fruits and veggies in. It's enough food to fill a small laundry basket, so that's what we usually bring. Half of it will be fruits, and half will be veggies. You don't get to choose which fruits and veggies you get, but it's generally whatever is in season at the moment. I think that covers most of the bases...

They have pickup locations all over, so sign up for the one that's closest to you. FYI, the Provo Center Street location is super hard to find with their directions. Go inside the building on the NW corner of Center and University. Follow the hallway to the middle of the building. There's a fun statue made out of scrap metal in the lobby area. By that point, you'll probably see a huge line of people waiting for their baskets (my husband likes to call it the "communist food line"). I don't know why they don't give better directions...

Also, you have to sign up between Monday at noon and Tuesday at noon (I think). But in Provo/Orem, the spots are usually filled by Monday evening. So I'd suggest setting an alarm or something to remind you to sign up as close after noon as you can. If a site is filled, it will just disappear from the list.

And all the Orem sites have a pick up at 7 am right now. :S It was later during the summer, though, so I'm hoping it goes back to that.

And they ask you to volunteer every 4-5 baskets you get. You just go earlier and help them get all the boxes out of the truck, then split them out into baskets.

Also, if you don't want to take a laundry basket, I usually take two reusable grocery bags. One for fruit, one for veggies. It works great. And I like handles a whole lot more than an awkward basket.