All posts filed under: Fruit and Vege / CSA box

Foodbox Menu 3

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Winter is coming. Over the last week, The Koala and I have hunkered down and watched three seasons of Game of Thrones. According to story, since we had a long and hot summer we will have a particularly long and cold winter. Joy. The Koala’s job requires him to be on the road all day so he doesn’t have the luxury of a microwave or fridge. Last summer, I bought a nifty warmer/refrigerator to take with him on the road. Because of this, I have been able to send him to work with hot lunches. It’s getting chilly now and leftovers have become a welcome part of our work day. I can tick off one of my bucket list items. Woo! I used to buy my lunch but now I bring leftovers and we have so many leftovers I can barely keep up. Not a bad problem to have. I’ve had to put more than one meal in the freezer to enjoy another time. One day I’ll remember there’s a couple of roast drumsticks and baby potatoes that need …

Foodbox 3

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First impression Red and purple are my two favourite colours. Maybe not together all the time as they can be quite grabby intense, but certainly on their own. So it was a delight to unpack our Foodbox this week and see lots of red and purple. We got heaps of apples this week. I specifically requested more apples apples so it was cool to have 2 kinds of apples this week. Vegetables Red cabbage half Red capsicum x 1 Red kumara x 2 Baby red potatoes x 25 (1.6kg) Tomatoes x 2 Broccoli x 1 Button mushrooms x 250g Fruit Apples – Envy x 6 Apples – Lemonade x 5 Mandarins x 3 Lime x 1 Kiwifruit x 3 Banana x 3  Add ons 1 dozen free range eggs The most interesting thing in the box 25 baby red potatoes. They’re like a little army. They look so lovely I have to resist biting into them like I would an apple. CSA Link Party If you are interested in CSA and what see what other …

Foodbox Menu 2

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A delivery once a fortnight is perfect for our two person (plus one bunny) household. I’m glad we’re not getting these once a week. Possibly if we ate only fruit and vegetables, but we’re omnivores so the Tuesday box of goodies is only part of what we eat. I wouldn’t mind a little more fruit to get us through, but other than that, the vegetables are spot on. Because we only get the $33 Appetiser box, that makes it great value at $16.50 a week. Vegetable garden I’ve been slacking off in my vegetable garden lately due to the rain. I think my radishes, carrots and beetroot are suffering. Would it be considered crazy to poke clear umbrellas into the soil to shield them from the weather? Planning I’m getting the hang of planning for the two weeks at a time. The bonus is that we shop less than so I can spend more time cooking, writing, photographing, and dreaming up new projects (also eating, being wrapped in blankets, drinking wine, playing with a fat …

Foodbox 2

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Our second Foodbox arrived yesterday afternoon and though we had a dinner date, I couldn’t help but sample one of the lovely ambrosia apples before we left. Easily the best apple I have eaten. Ever. I made the amateur mistake of putting the apple core in my office bin instead of the heavy, lidded kitchen bin. When we got home from dinner, the rubbish was knocked over, the apple core missing, scattered seeds in the hallway and one nonchalant rabbit. I guess we’ll never know who did it. First impression Good. Seemed just as heavy as the last box though I couldn’t be bothered weighing everything this time. Some exotic things to our regular shopping list. A good thing as it’s a chance to experiment a bit with cooking and eating unfamiliar things. Vegetables Kale (cavalo nero) x 1 Mini white cabbage x 1 Sweet stem broccoli x 1 medium bag Spinach leaves x 1 large bag Mung bean sprouts x 1 medium bag Potatoes x 8 Carrots x3 Swede (rutabaga) Italiano Cherry heritage tomatoes x 1 …

Foodbox Menu 1

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This the first week of our Foodbox deliveries. If I didn’t plan out a menu, we wouldn’t have a hope of finishing all the produce. I have decided to receive a Foodbox once a fortnight instead of once a week. I rediscovered a jar of laksa paste in our fridge so features heavily on this week’s menu. I got personal with the paste and a free range chicken at the start of the week and a spatchcock chicken led to dinner for two and 2 lunches. Foodbox Menu 1 Items in bold are from our Foodbox. Hash brown, garlic butter mushrooms, free range bacon and fried egg. (pictured) Scrambled eggs with parmesan and onion on Vogels toast. Avocado and parmesan on Vogels toast. Chicken salad with lettuce, tomato, boiled eggs, broccoli florets, dressing. Roast chicken sandwiches: lettuce, edam, mayo, mustard, pickles, tomato. Spatchcock chicken, smeared with laksa paste, roasted with potatoes, kumara, courgettes, onions, carrots and garlic Laksa with fat noodles, prawns, lime, mushrooms, broccoli and onions. Pan fried salmon with butter lime sauce. Served with sweet corn, courgette and millet. Courgette pasta …

Foodbox 1

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“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing that a tomato doesn’t belong in a fruit salad.” Miles Kington It is Autumn and daylight savings means I wanna cut corners. I don’t want walk to the market after work in the rain and dark, so I get stuff delivered. It’s convenient, not lazy. Lazy would be ordering takeout because there’s no food in the house. Last winter, we ate through 3 months of Ooooby deliveries. I loved receiving a weekly delivery of produce and extra tasty add ons. I am trialling FoodBox for a month or two, to compare the experience. First impression Our first Foodbox arrived this week and we received the Appetiser which is $33 per week including delivery. A major difference for us this time round is that we now have a vegetable garden so I’ve put a few things on the “do not want list”. No point in eating home grown lettuce and store bought lettuce each week. The box weighs over 7kg and I’m a seriously …

OOOOBY 11

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This week our CSA box included: Vegetable 1/2 a Squash 21 Dwarf Carrots 4 Celery Sticks 1 Fancy Lettuce 4 Spring Onion 1 Avocado Fruit 7 Gold Kiwifruit 7 Fuji Apples 6 Navel Oranges Add Ons Wild Wheat Ciabatta Apple Juice 2L The most interesting thing in the box: Nothing was particularly exotic this week, but the nubbly carrots are pretty delightful. Menu 11 There might be some erratic eating this week so I’ve kept my menu plan pretty open in case I spontaneously need to binge on something. Trucker’s meal: Steak, fried eggs, chips and salad with beetroot, lettuce*, spring onion* and carrot* Avocado and cream cheese on ciabatta toast Pan Fried Halloumi with Squash* Spring Salad with carrot*, orange* and spring onion* Minestrone with celery*, carrots*, onion, beans and orzo, served with ciabatta* toast French toast with brown sugar stewed apples* * CSA from this week or previous week CSA Link Party I regularly join a CSA box link party. A link party is a weekly or monthly round up of relevant blog links in …

OOOOBY Box 10 and our “Old Girl”

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We bought our Frigidaire when we first moved from an inner city apartment to the ‘burbs. I got her off Trademe for a song, second, maybe even third or fourth hand and we immediately had her resealed by a pro. This fridge-freezer has moved house with us four times and we reckon she could be from the 1970s, making her older than me. Our old girl had a freak out over the weekend. I wish I had before and after photos to show you, as the stalactites were amazing. We shifted her a few inches to the right and I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but the top third of the freezer turned into an ice cube with icicles as thick as my wrist. Ice expands and within hours it got so bad that we couldn’t close the freezer door. The Koala came to the rescue, carefully using a hammer as an ice pick and excavated the ice from the top shelf and around the seals. I’m now trying to use up everything in …

OOOOBY Box 9

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OOOOBY now offer an organic only box, so this week we’re giving it a test drive. The original box that we usually get is 100% local but not 100% organic. This week our CSA box included: Vegetable Half a Crown Pumpkin 1 Broccoli 1 bunch of Silverbeet 4 Carrots 1 Avocado 1 Fancy Lettuce Fruit 8 Gold Kiwifruit 7 Fuji Apples 4 Navel Oranges 1 Lime Add Ons Apple Juice 2L Wild Wheat Ciabatta The most interesting thing in the box: Colourful carrots. Menu 9 Pumpkin* soup with bacon bits and garlic parmesan croutons (made with ciabatta*) Cheeseburgers with lime* guacamole*, egg, fancy lettuce* and onion served with oven baked fries Salad with yellow and purple carrot*, fancy lettuce, boiled egg, olives, ham, chick peas Parmesan bagels with avocado* and cream cheese Buttery Golden Pan-Fried Flounder with sauteed silverbeet* and mashed potatoes Steak stir fry with broccoli*, onion, garlic and carrots*. Served on noodles Mini quiche with egg, broccoli*, silverbeet* and ham Roast chicken with pumpkin*, potatoes, onion and garlic. Served with rainbow carrot* salad. …

OOOOBY Box 8

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Yesterday I came home to not one but two boxes from OOOOBY. I guess our three add ons this week meant that 1 box wasn’t quite enough for everything. Good thing I returned 3 boxes today. To send your delivery boxes back, all you have to do is leave your empty boxes out. When your box is delivered, they will take back any empty boxes to be reused. I have a bunch of fruit and one kumara left over from last week. Our lemon tree is in full fruit and I made a yummy lemonade over the weekend. Might have to make another batch this week. This week our CSA box included: Vegetable 1 Broccoli 20 Mushrooms A huge bunch of Spinach 4 Spring Onion A bunch of Coriander Fruit 5 Pink Lady Apples 9 Green Kiwifruit 2 Grapefruit Add Ons All Good Bananas Apple Juice 2L Wild Wheat Ciabatta The most interesting thing in the box: Grapefruit. The Koala isn’t keen. What am I going to do with it? Welcome to ideas! Coriander. I …

OOOOBY Box 7 and an Asian influenced menu

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Last week’s cafe menu with burgers, pasta, french toast, burritos, fish and chips and pizza exploded in The Koala’s comfort zone, but I prefer to eat more asian influenced meals. This week we received bok choy and lime which will be great for an asian inspired menu. As a good Chinese girl, even living in New Zealand, I grew up eating rice once, even twice a day. This week our CSA box included: Vegetables 3 Red Kumara (Certified Organic) 1 Baby Cos (Self Certified Organic) 2 Bok Choy (Self Certified Organic) 1 Cauliflower (Conventional Sprays) 4 Carrots (Conventional Sprays) Fruit 9 Gold Kiwifruit (Certified Organic) 2 Limes (Self Certified Organic) 3 Navel Oranges (Self Certified Organic) 2 Apples Newstead Gold (Conventional Sprays) Add Ons 1 loaf Wild Wheat Ciabatta 2 litres pure Apple juice The most interesting thing in the box: Bok choy and limes. Menu 7 Asian style chicken broth with carrots*, onion, ginger and rice Korean BBQ Beef (Bulgogi) with baby cos*, korean noodle salad (japchae), kimchi and rice Wonton soup (pork mince, chives and scallops) with bok choy* Honey lime* chicken and cauliflower with toasted …

OOOOBY Box Week 6. Cafe Menu

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Cafes can be found all over New Zealand and they all serve similar menus with their own twist. New Zealand cafe culture is HUGE. We take our coffee espresso very seriously and while restaurants are reserved for special occasions, people go to cafes for no real reason but to eat. The casual, informal style of dining appeals to our kiwi mentality. This week, cooking at home with our CSA box, we’re having grilled haloumi, french toast, salad, burgers, quesadillas a pasta dish, a soup and even a smoothie. Very much inspired by a stock standard cafe board. This week our CSA box included: Vegetable Garlic  (Self Certified Organic) Pumpkin (Certified Organic) Avocado (Certified Organic) Fancy Lettuce  (Self Certified Organic) Fennel (Certified Organic) Broccoli (Conventional Sprays) Fruit Pink Lady Apples (Conventional Sprays) Green Kiwifruit (Certified Organic) Mandarins (Conventional Sprays) Add Ons 1 loaf Wild Wheat Ciabatta 2 litres pure Apple juice All Good Fair Trade Bananas The most interesting thing in the box: Fennel. I’ve cooked it a couple times and while I don’t usually like aniseed, I do like fennel. I like the idea of …

OOOOBY Box Week 5

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We are now in week 5 of our weekly CSA deliveries from local company OOOOBY. All three of us look forward to OOOOBY Tuesdays and the cute name probably doesn’t hurt. This week included lemons and potatoes which are on our “do not want” list so we didn’t receive them. We don’t want potatoes and lemons not because we don’t like them, but because we do. Rather than praying for potatoes each week, we buy them in bulk so that there is always a sack to be used. Our lemon tree is giving us delicious, juicy lemons this winter so no need to have those delivered either. This week our CSA box included: Vegetable 8 Mushrooms (Conventional Sprays) 1 giant bunch of Spinach (Self Certified Organic) 6 Carrots (Conventional Sprays) 1/2 a head of Cauliflower (Conventional Sprays) 1 Broccoli Fruit 7 Newstead Gold Apples (Conventional Sprays) 11 Gold Kiwifruit (Certified Organic) 6 Winter Nelis Pears (Certified Organic) 6 Mandarins The most interesting thing in the box: Mushrooms. Not that they are strange, but because this is the first time we’ve seen mushrooms …

Meal Plan Week 4

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I never was a weekly meal planner, but I guess it was only a matter of time. I am a obsessive list maker. I bet there is loads of psychology on list makers. I’m sure they have merit. I feel a kindred spirit in other obsessive list makers. Over the last month of CSA boxes, meal plans have helped us get through our produce. Without a plan, every meal would feel like a quickfire challenge from Top Chef. This is my fourth meal plan and serves mostly as a guide. Meal plan week 4 Honey-soy-lemon roast chicken drums, kumara and potatoes* with garlicky* pan-fried silverbeet* and buttered peas Stir fry beef with cabbage*, garlic*, broccoli*, onion and udon noodles Lamb sausages with cabbage* and mandarin* slaw, baked potatoes with sour cream Deviled pork sausages with and pink lady apple* on kumara* mash, served with a side of steamed broccoli “Whatever is left” vegetable soup with toasted cheese ciabatta Bacon and avocado* pasta topped with shaved vintage cheddar Avocado* on toasted ciabatta* Fruit and yoghurt Banana*, …

OOOOBY Box Week 4

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After a break, this week we are going back to OOOOBY’s original box. After reviewing OOOOBY’s service last week with all prices and produce calculated up, the Original Box is great value for money. This week our CSA box included: Vegetable 5 Kumara (Certified Organic) 2 Garlic (Certified Organic) 1 bunch Silverbeet (Certified Organic) 1 Avocado (Certified Organic) 1/2 Cabbage (Conventional Sprays) 1 Broccoli (Conventional Sprays) Fruit 7 Pink Lady Apples (Conventional Sprays) 10 Green Kiwifruit (Certified Organic) 10 Mandarins (Conventional Sprays) The weirdest thing in the box is: Nothing in the CSA was weird this week, but we did receive three small snails. A fair reminder that the produce is fresh and organic. Add Ons This week we added on a few extras such as pure apple juice, ciabatta and a bunch of fair trade bananas. Recipes This week there are 3 recipes included by OOOOBY and they were two salads and a frittata. CSA Link Party I am part of a CSA box link party. A link party is a weekly or monthly …

Meal Plan Week 3

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Eat your vegetables I’m an omnivore and while I adore meat, I know we eat too much of it. The Koala doesn’t like vegetarian food. He doesn’t say so, but you can tell by the way someone eats if they love it or not. There is a loop hole. He adores soup. A meat-free soup isn’t considered a vegetarian meal around here. So, this winter, I’m adding meat-free soups to our menu. It’s cheap, filling and a great way to enjoy the stunning bread that we’ve been getting. We are at Week 3 of our CSA subscription and I’m writing a meal plan each week  to help get through all this produce. This week our CSA box included: Vegetables only 2 bulbs of garlic (self certified organic) 4 kaffir lime leaves (self certified organic) Half a crown pumpkin (certified organic) 1 cabbage (conventional sprays) 7 carrots (conventional sprays) 2 broccoli (certified organic) 2 silverbeet (certified organic) 1 stick of rosemary Meal plan week 3: Mince and cheese pie with mash and creamy garlic* silverbeet* Pumpkin soup: Spiced pumpkin* kaffir lime leaf* and …

OOOOBY BOX WEEK 3

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To get more efficient in our grocery shopping this winter, we are replacing the 2 to 3 trips per week to the market, with a weekly CSA delivery. I plan on topping this up with a fortnightly trip to (or maybe even delivery from) traditional supermarket and a fortnightly trip to Nosh (a local gourmet food store). Local CSA project OOOOBY has a great concept and ethic and we are in week 3 of our subscription. This week our CSA box included: Vegetables only 2 bulbs of garlic (self certified organic) 4 kaffir lime leaves (self certified organic) Half a crown pumpkin (certified organic) 1 cabbage (conventional sprays) 7 carrots (conventional sprays) 2 broccoli (certified organic) 2 silverbeet (certified organic) 1 stick of rosemary Fruit and sweet vegetables There is no fruit this week as we’re trying out OOOOBY’s vegetable only box. We still have kiwifruit left over from last week so we aren’t entirely fruitless. I got an Add On of kumara sourdough instead of ciabatta this week for a change. For those not in kiwi-land, kumara is the Maori word …

Kale chips and a CSA box review for Week 2

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The Koala: “What are you making?” Me: “I’ve already eaten them. They were kale chips.” The Koala: “Kale?…Chips?!? What were they like?” Me: “Like dry, crunchy leaves. I ate the whole bowl.” The Koala was unconvinced and secretly glad there were no kale chips left. Even I’m not convinced, but I did eat all of them before I realised what was happening. A good way to get rid of an abundance of kale I guess. This recipe is easy and you might as well give it a try if you have kale. Maybe you’ll like it. Or maybe you’ll find that you ate the lot before you could decide if you liked kale chips or not. Just make sure you keep a close eye on these suckers in the oven because they can burn in a heartbeat. Kale Chips Makes a bowl enough for 1 or 2 as a snack Ingredients 1 bunch of kale 1 tablespoon olive oil A sprinkle of salt, paprika, and/or garlic salt Preparation Pre-heat oven to 170°C/340°F. Pick the leaves from …

Beetroot

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I loved the 7 baby beetroot we received last week in our CSA box. The colour was glorious and the flavour intensely sweet after cooking. I grated a couple of beetroot with carrot for a balsamic vinegar salad and roasted them chicken and again for a roast vegetable pasta. Roasted beetroot is by far my favourite way of eating beetroot but I almost had kittens the next day! Consider this a public health warning.