week 13: taters and maters

i was excited to see sweet potatoes in a box this week and that led us to choose box "c" ("for adventurous cooks").  and, yes, there were a lot of taters and maters when the box arrived.

clockwise from top left: personal watermelon, spaghetti squash, pickled squash, blueberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes

chopsticks the baker vs. spoon

this isn't really a fair fight here.  chopsticks is, hands down, the baker in the house.  


meanwhile, we have a wealth of blueberries waiting to be used. chopsticks is going for the blueberry pie.  i'm attempting an olive oil cake with blueberries (ojp stops, "dad, you're going to cook with me?!"  no, ojp... olive oil, not olive) with a blueberry topping.

 chopsticks' blueberry pie

 olive oil cake with blueberry topping

the winner, in a close decision..... chopsticks.  i want to think i put up a fair fight on this one, but have to hand it to chopsticks, she can definitely bake.  

week 12: mmmmm... po-ta-toes....

we're obsessed.  the mention of potatoes in the box pretty much assured that what box we were choosing.  labeled as containing "cucumbers and a canary melon" we chose box "c" this week.


we were also slightly intrigued by the canary melon.  we'll be sure to follow up on that one this week.

clockwise from top left: personal watermelon, cucumbers, canary melon, squash, corn, tomatoes, blueberries, green and red bell pepper, potatoes

(and, yes, a bit behind this week.  we'll do our best to catch up :) )

week 11 comes to a close

somewhere along the way, i blinked, finding myself celebrating the 4th of july and realizing we were half-way through the year.  another blink and i find myself on another wednesday in anticipation of our weekly box (week 12), realizing we fell just short of the "use it all up and let us know what you did with it" challenge that was ahead of us last week.  


the "still to be used" culprits:

• blueberries - which i have a plan for, just didn't get the chance to make it yet
• few ears of corn - which will most definitely be used
• eggplant - ah, thinking you were a sprite melon completely threw me off this week

maybe if i blink again the blueberries will turn into a delicious pie.

chopsticks gets creative

you can't just open the watermelon and eat it!  well, i guess you could, but chopsticks had way more fun this way.

week 11: what chopsticks wants.... and a contest to boot

it was a tough choice on the boxes this week, but chopsticks saw the personal watermelon included in one of the choices this week and suggested we should get that one.  who am i to argue.


so, box "c" this week (labeled as the "hot peppers" box).

clockwise from top left: eggplant (asian variety), white eggplant (edit), corn, blueberries, personal watermelon, cherry tomatoes, jalapenos

this week also came with a challenge:  the third annual (first for us) "what i did with my box this week."   as stated, "with all the veggies and fruit coming hard and fast off the fields, it may be a challenge [to say the least] using up the entire contents of the boxes each week."  premise is to help everyone out by submitting a brief summary of how you used up your whole box this week.  top three will be picked. 

so, we'll see how well we do this week.

week 10: summer bounty and a sprite melon

the heat is definitely here this week and we've been warned to get the boxes inside (or provide a cooler).  no wonder after having seen the amount of produce in this week's box.


went back to box "c" this week (marked as the "hot pepper" box).  we still can't get over the amount of produce in this one.  beyond that, the sprite melon is the most intriguing this week.  

clockwise from top left: corn, chef bobby's espresso rub (sample), peaches, blueberries, mix of peppers, tomatoes, squash, cherry tomatoes, sprite melon, zucchini

week 8: chopsticks starts singing... american idol next?

"movin' to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches
i'm movin' to the country i'm gonna eat me a lot of peaches..."


think we have our next star... comedian, photographer, singer


standard box "a" this week.  but it was well worth it with quite a few good surprises and the first sight of corn.  no doubt one of the best parts of summer.

clockwise from top left: peaches, kirby cucumbers, squash (different varieties), corn, zucchini, ginny o's cheese straws (sample), blueberries, red skinned potatoes, tomatoes

a "promise" update

promises, promises... they're made to be broken, right?!  

• blueberries:  most are still frozen for later use.  chopsticks enjoyed a few in a smoothie, however
• spring onions:  used some for the herbed summer squash and potato torte, but not all of them.  really need to come up with some other uses for these things if they continue to come in our boxes
• strawberry cider:  this keeps.  so we're keeping it
• zucchini:  first attempt at some zucchini fries.  we'll definitely be revisiting these in some fashion.  lots of potential
• squash:  see spring onions
• cucumbers:  still waiting to be used
• tomato:  chopsticks has grabbed the cavender's and devoured another tomato
• potatoes:  more "chips" for chopsticks.  these were a big hit with the neighbors
• beans:  poor beans.  i really thought i was going to saute these up in a bit of butter and just keep them simple to make sure i ate them.  they are still lounging in the fridge and not sure i'm going to get to them this week.  you've beat me again, mr. bean.

week 7: attempting not to let a thing die this week

wait... it's monday already?!!  long weekend threw us off so we forgot to put in our weekly box order.  the saving grace was the auto-order feature the produce box has in place that automatically sends the weekly "box a" box if you forget.  while it marks the end of a surprise box run, at least we know exactly what we are getting this week.


and a promise... so the first few weeks have been a little hit and miss as we've attempted to use everything in the box and come up with some new ideas along the way.  in the process, we (chopsticks is yelling "we?!") have not used a few things and watched a few more die.  this week, we're (yes, chopsticks, we) committed to using everything in the box.

clockwise from top left: pole beans, blueberries, tomato, spring onion, cottle farms strawberry cider, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, red skinned potatoes

week 6: excited about beets

first sign of beets in this week's box and i'm excited.  chopsticks on the other hand?  not so much.  however, she can relish in her new job as household photographer.

another surprise box, you say?  well, i'll be, it is.

clockwise from top left: beets, texas "sweet" onion, zucchini, summer squash, tomato, cucumber, red skinned potatoes, blueberries, snow peas

week 5: i've been fired

donald trump may have made it famous, but chopsticks can certainly hand over the words with a certain gusto.  turns out, i'm not that good at the photo taking... or at least not up to chopsticks' standards (looks like she's earned herself a new job!)

keeping with the surprise boxes as they are giving us some great variety and introducing us (or challenging us depending on how you look at it) to some new things.

clockwise from top left: snow peas, new potatoes, broccoli, turnips, spring onions, lots of space showing the box, cucumber, blueberries, maple butter (add on), summer squash