organicexpress.com
I never found just the right
CSA or other farm subscription for me—they tend to be too expensive or the shares too large for just little ol' me (don't want to
waste food), or the pick up day/time/location didn't work, and so on. Additionally, I can never remember when and where all the various farmers' markets are held, and when I do remember, it's usually after I just picked up my groceries for the week and thus don't need anything. In other words, I'm lazy and disorganized but well-meaning.
Everything changed when I got an
organicexpress.com flyer in my mail. The company is a cross between a CSA, a farmer's market, and the now-defunct Webvan (or any other grocery delivery service) in that they have small or large boxes for delivery on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, the boxes are all fruit, all veggie, or a mix, you can add all sorts of other organic groceries to the box (cans of beans, things of pasta, cartons of soymilk, etc. It's a very long list of extras), and they deliver to your door (on Wednesdays).
You can also customize your box by indicating the stuff you
don't want. For instance, I checked off "eggplant" because I never want eggplant in my box (I like eggplant, I just can't work with it). Although they have a "this week's produce" list at their site, I thoroughly enjoyed the suprise when I opened my box—it was like fruit and veggie christmas! The box contained three valencia oranges, a big bunch of grapes, eight tree-ripened plums, and four nectarines—the nectarines were a substitute for canataloupe (I love it but I don't like to mess with it). On the veggie side, the box contained a pound of green beans, a big bunch of carrots, a head of cauliflower, and two pounds of gold potatoes. Now I can pick things to cook based on what I have here, versus what I have to go purchase elsewhere. Since I also bought a box of groceries (many cans of beans, some soymilk, veggie broth, some polenta, some cereal, etc), the only things I would have to get at the "real" grocery store are miscellaneous paper items or meats (if so inclined).
If you're in Northern or Southern California and any of this process sounds appealing to you,
check them out. They're a totally low-key but completely repsonsive company (I've asked a few questions) and I really think this delivery process (plus the whole cooking-at-home thing I've finally implemented on a consistent basis) will be life-altering for me. Hooray!
Labels: food
