So, the emails back and forth between myself and Eat With The Seasons folks have been pretty cool. They are on a break and things don't technically start up again until next week, so I'm pestering them with questions.
When can I order my box? Which sign up form do I need to fill out? When will it be available? When is the first actual drop-off date in February?
Well, even though I've been emailing with multiple staff, the answers are always really nice and thought out. It's an actual person emailing me back, ya know? Well, I'm still a little argh-ed by the lack of stuff I can do yet. Maybe it'll all work out, but I get worried when I can't utilize the technology at hand (online sign-up form) to order my box of food!
My drop-off location is for Thursdays. On Mondays, I get a list of available foods on their website. I go to a specific Members Area and fill out the Thursday form. I can only do this online from Monday at noon until Tuesday at 5. Magically, my box of food appears at the drop-off location on Thursday and I have until some point on Thursday to pick it up. Generally, I should pick it up before 6 or 7pm. I'm sure they're OK with folks picking them up after work hours, since it is a Thursday!
So, I'm anxious. I have to wait until Monday. I hate waiting. I have no clue what foods will be available, but I imagine February will have some of the following foods available:
Fuji Apples -- Green Apples -- Red Beets -- Golden Beets -- Broccoli -- Cabbage -- Carrots -- Cilantro -- Collards -- Grapefruit -- Kale -- Kiwi -- Kohlrabi -- Leeks -- Lemons -- Lettuce -- Onions -- Oranges -- Parsley -- Parsnips -- Potatoes -- Radishes -- Rutabagas -- Shallots -- Winter Squash -- Tangerines -- Turnips
I know they might have some of these available because this is based on the harvest schedule they've put up on their website. I also know they have other products:
Eggs, Coffee, Tea, Nuts, Olive Oil, Pear and Apple Juices, Conserves, Dried Herbs, Local Honey, Grass Fed Beef, Granola and Granola Bars
All these things are extra, so I won't be buying them just yet. Although, getting new tea every now and then might be a nice bonus! I don't eat eggs, I don't drink coffee, I buy nuts and granola in bulk at either Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's. I don't eat much conserves or honey, and my beef intake is pretty low. Dried herbs might be nice, but I need a place to put the herbs in my kitchen first. I need a spice rack or basket to put that stuff in. (To-do list!)
In the meantime, the virtue of patience will have to just happen to me.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Eating with the Seasons
Current Resident
So, here I am, living in my own little one-bedroom in the middle of San Francisco. I have no car, although my boyfriend does. I have a kitchen and I like making food. But I often wonder why I eat out more than I cook at home. I should be able to set aside time to cook meals, right?
Yes, I'm a busy person. I'm on the board of a non-profit, a member of a worker-owned co-op, trying to start my own non-profit, working full-time during the days for a non-profit. Oh, yeah, and did I mention I have a boyfriend?
OK. So I can see why my time is limited. Or why when I have down time, I sometimes prefer to snack on yummy take-out Thai while thumbing through my BITCH magazine, rather than prepare my own meal. Except that my health isn't what it used to be.
Getting Old at 28...
My genetic history predisposes me to a plethora of not-nice digestional dilemmas, including colon cancer, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's. Generally, I'm a prime example of someone who will be receiving a colonoscopy before she's 32, which is in 3 years. Ick.
Add to that the increasing groundswell for local, organic, and/or slow food movements (especially in San Francisco!), and it's just a bombardment of information that I can't avoid. It's a movement. And I'm part of it. I like eating delicious food. And I prefer organic sometimes. But man, it's kicking my butt to try to find time to go shopping for food, think about what I want to cook, actually cook it, etc.
The Decision to Join
So, I made an executive decision. I'm going to become the non-dairy side of a vegan. I will not eat any dairy products, due to my system's general lack of excitement towards dairy products. No milk, no cheese (I'll miss you!), no sour cream, etc. I will however be keeping yogurt in my diet, because the bacteria are good, so I hear. But I'm not a vegan at heart, I'm not even a vegetarian. I like chicken. I like bacon. These things will remain in my diet. In moderation.
Anyway, I'm also going to have fresh fruits and veg forced upon me via membership to a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA is a way for me to give money into the hands of local farmers. So, that's my contribution to the local food movement. It's also a forced way for me to eat and use fresh fruits and vegetables in my diet. I mean, if I paid for a box full of fresh produce, I have to eat it quickly before it rots. This will hopefully lead my mind to think of fresh foods first, and preserved foods second.
The CSA I went with is called Eat With The Seasons. They are based in San Juan Bautista, which is a hop, skip and a really short jump south of San Jose. Close to Gilroy (garlic capital of the world) and Watsonville (strawberry fields forever!).
Here's how the CSA works
I signed up for a 4-week trial membership for the month of February. It's costing me $72 for the month and I get a box full of fresh produce every week. Their website allows me to select which items I want in my box, or if I forget, they fill it up for me. I then have to pick my box up at a site close to where I live and I bring the goodness home to my kitchen. Then, the real magic starts!
Their produce is seasonal, of course, since it's all locally grown. So, right now, I could have beets, broccoli, apples, carrots, cabbage, kale, leeks, onions, potatoes, parsnips, spinach, squash, and turnips. I get to pick 6 items to put in the weekly box. Although, an item isn't always what you think. For apples, 1 item equals 4 apples. And sometimes, it's exactly what you think. One item of kale is one bunch of the stuff. Just as I would buy in the grocery store.
They also have other products, like conserves, tea, coffee, jerky, and eggs that are farmed locally, but you have to pay for each item on top of your monthly fee. And stuff sells out quickly! Must mean that it's good...
So, follow along as I journey through the CSA process!
So, here I am, living in my own little one-bedroom in the middle of San Francisco. I have no car, although my boyfriend does. I have a kitchen and I like making food. But I often wonder why I eat out more than I cook at home. I should be able to set aside time to cook meals, right?
Yes, I'm a busy person. I'm on the board of a non-profit, a member of a worker-owned co-op, trying to start my own non-profit, working full-time during the days for a non-profit. Oh, yeah, and did I mention I have a boyfriend?
OK. So I can see why my time is limited. Or why when I have down time, I sometimes prefer to snack on yummy take-out Thai while thumbing through my BITCH magazine, rather than prepare my own meal. Except that my health isn't what it used to be.
Getting Old at 28...
My genetic history predisposes me to a plethora of not-nice digestional dilemmas, including colon cancer, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's. Generally, I'm a prime example of someone who will be receiving a colonoscopy before she's 32, which is in 3 years. Ick.
Add to that the increasing groundswell for local, organic, and/or slow food movements (especially in San Francisco!), and it's just a bombardment of information that I can't avoid. It's a movement. And I'm part of it. I like eating delicious food. And I prefer organic sometimes. But man, it's kicking my butt to try to find time to go shopping for food, think about what I want to cook, actually cook it, etc.
The Decision to Join
So, I made an executive decision. I'm going to become the non-dairy side of a vegan. I will not eat any dairy products, due to my system's general lack of excitement towards dairy products. No milk, no cheese (I'll miss you!), no sour cream, etc. I will however be keeping yogurt in my diet, because the bacteria are good, so I hear. But I'm not a vegan at heart, I'm not even a vegetarian. I like chicken. I like bacon. These things will remain in my diet. In moderation.
Anyway, I'm also going to have fresh fruits and veg forced upon me via membership to a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA is a way for me to give money into the hands of local farmers. So, that's my contribution to the local food movement. It's also a forced way for me to eat and use fresh fruits and vegetables in my diet. I mean, if I paid for a box full of fresh produce, I have to eat it quickly before it rots. This will hopefully lead my mind to think of fresh foods first, and preserved foods second.
The CSA I went with is called Eat With The Seasons. They are based in San Juan Bautista, which is a hop, skip and a really short jump south of San Jose. Close to Gilroy (garlic capital of the world) and Watsonville (strawberry fields forever!).
Here's how the CSA works
I signed up for a 4-week trial membership for the month of February. It's costing me $72 for the month and I get a box full of fresh produce every week. Their website allows me to select which items I want in my box, or if I forget, they fill it up for me. I then have to pick my box up at a site close to where I live and I bring the goodness home to my kitchen. Then, the real magic starts!
Their produce is seasonal, of course, since it's all locally grown. So, right now, I could have beets, broccoli, apples, carrots, cabbage, kale, leeks, onions, potatoes, parsnips, spinach, squash, and turnips. I get to pick 6 items to put in the weekly box. Although, an item isn't always what you think. For apples, 1 item equals 4 apples. And sometimes, it's exactly what you think. One item of kale is one bunch of the stuff. Just as I would buy in the grocery store.
They also have other products, like conserves, tea, coffee, jerky, and eggs that are farmed locally, but you have to pay for each item on top of your monthly fee. And stuff sells out quickly! Must mean that it's good...
So, follow along as I journey through the CSA process!
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