For ages the Phantomette and I have been saying “we really ought to eat more vegetables”, looking at each other, and then going and opening a tin of beans. (Or Farrows Marrowfat Peas, one of my childhood comfort foods, green (too green) , plump and floury.)
Our vegetable consumption declined still further when our local greengrocer closed after a period of decline involving increasingly manky vegetables and decreasing customers.
A few months ago we decided that the best way of eating more vegetables was by having the veg delivered to us. We had seen Abel and Cole vans around our area quite frequently, butI didn’t fancy going with them. They looked quite pricy. Also I had heard that they air-freight quite a bit of foreign produce, and they also have a liking for plastic packaging.
Fate is a strange thing though. The good lady Phantom has a sister living down in Devon. When we were down there last we discovered an organic food shop attached to Riverford Farm, just down the road from where we were staying. A few months later we were checking them out on the web when we saw that the same family also ran a veg box delivery scheme.
At the time Riverford weren’t delivering in Sunny Islington. They did put us on a waiting list though. By September we got the good news that deliveries were starting in our area. We haven’t looked back!
There is a real sense of anticipation on Thursday night, wondering what new and interesting produce will be delivered the next day. I love discovering the different flavours and textures. The veg box also helps keep us in touch with the seasons, the golden sweetcorn of late summer giving way to the rich reds of the autumn squashes.
We are certainly eating more vegetables. Tomorrow I will tell of what Mrs P described as “A Green, Spiky Thing”. And no, it wasn’t a globe artichoke. Or even a kohl rabi!
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3 comments:
I have a friend who has an organic box delivered weekly. I think it's a great idea but a tad expensive especially as you may have a surfeit of one vegetable in particular and then none of the essential ones such as onions - that would be disastrous! We went to the friend's house for dinner one evening and as he had too many carrots, we had carrot soup which was nice but I wouldn't want that every week throughout the winter.
We've only had the boxes for a couple of months if that.. So far, the fun of trying out new stuff hascarried us along. We still buy onions, anyone who cooks tends to get through huge numbers! (We have a friend who buys two onions a week. Period. How can they survive on only two onions?
We did get a glut of sweetcorn though; somehow I can't think of anything better than boiled sweetcorn, and that can only really be a starter, never a main.
I could never survive on two onions a week, we use an onion most days.
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