Co-op

I have loved being apart of our food co-op. We get a wide variety of fresh, organic, locally grown produce delivered to our town weekly. It keeps me focused on trying new ingredients and recipes, and our meals are more diverse.

That's not to say that it's easy doing a co-op. Menu planning has changed since I get the produce on Wednesday: instead of planning on Sunday (after I've had a chance to research this week's circulars/coupons), I'm trying to plan a bit on Sunday and a bit on Wednesday. It's not the most efficient use of my time, but it's working- I think. And, you need to be flexible with what you get. Lucky for me, Matt eats ANYTHING. So, I know that whatever we get will likely be eaten if I take the time to prepare it. We've also had to be a bit understanding of how many crops the farm is yielding. Like most of the East Coast, Long Island has had a crummy summer. That translated to lots of lettuce in June (more than 2 people can eat) and no tomatoes, yet. But overall, we're happy with it- it's been the right decision for us!

This week we got:

3 red onions

3 green peppers

2 zucchinis

1 bunch of parsley

1 bunch of carrots

2 lbs of purple potatoes

1 bag of mixed lettuce

1 eggplant

1 bag of UFO peaches

We usually get more fruit, but we have tons of these cute, little peaches to help us get through the week! Not quite sure how I'm going to use all of this throughout the week, but I'll let you know!!