November 9, 2010

Bountiful: Finding Pleasure in Local Foods

November naturally brings to mind Thanksgiving (if you live in the US). I know a lot of people first visualize a turkey when they think of Thanksgiving, I on the other hand picture a Cornucopia. I remember numerous coloring pages and craft projects that featured a Cornucopia as a child. They were always a bounty of beautiful colors found in so many fruits and vegetables. I was always a bit in awe at the idea of so many fruits and vegetables and that is exactly how I feel when I open my delivery from Door-to-Door Organics.


A sample of one delivery
If you live in Colorado, Kansas City, Chicago, Michigan, or certain areas on the East Coast you may already be familiar with Door-to-Door Organics (also known as Suburban Organics. This organization is similar to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in the sense you're buying produce from local farmers therefore eating local and minimizing the impact to the environment that comes with long-distance imports. However with many CSAs you buy your share and you get your box, not knowing what you'll get. With Door-to-Door Organics you get to choose the size of your box and whether you want it delivered weekly or every other week. You also can substitute items. As a terribly picky eater I love this. At the same time I rarely substitute items just because I don't know what they are or don't like them.

One of the great features of a delivery from Door-to-Door Organics or any CSA is it gives you a chance to break up your routine. For example, last week I got a Persimmon in my box. I had no clue what a Persimmon tasted like let alone how to eat it. I ended up researching recipes online and found a recipe for Persimmon Bread via Sunflower Market. Since they had Persimmons on sale I picked up two more needed for the recipe and gave it a try. It is delicious!  The best part is that is my usual response to cooking with something new from my delivery.


If you're not in Door-to-Door Organics delivery area, want to look at options for work trade shares of a CSA, or just want to learn more about eating local check out Local Harvest! They're a wealth of information.

3 comments:

Lynn said...

I have really enjoyed my Door to Door Organics box! I love getting my weekly email telling me what is going to show up at my door and finding new recipes. It has been fun to experiment with veggies that I would never have bought at the store.

Laurel Fan said...

I don't know how important local (vs. organic, or the convenience of getting produce delivered, or trying new things) is to you, but if you look closely most of what you might get from a produce delivery service is not necessarily local. So, not like a CSA, contrary to popular belief. For example, if you live in Colorado at least the citrus and avocado in your picture are from California or Mexico...

Tali said...

Yes, that is an excellent point Laurel. I know that not all the food from Door-to-Door Organics is local. When I make my substitutions I try to pick foods that I know are local to the area.

There is also the consideration of the type of farm the food is coming from. :)