Using the Bountiful Basket produce

I mentioned a couple of times that I have been buying the Bountiful Basket co-op basket of produce. It is a huge bunch of quality produce, half veggies and half fruit. The price has gone up from $15.50 to $20.50 but it is still a good deal.

You pay online and show up every other Saturday to pick up whatever the co-op folks have found for quality veggies and fruits. Last time we got two bunches celery, green beans, English cuke, cauliflower, pack of mushrooms, a pineapple, huge bunch bananas, Hatch chiles, two yellow squash, and a head of Romaine lettuce. The quality is outstanding.

I am a vegetarian so I love pretty much everything that comes in the basket. See, you don't pick what you want. You don't know what you get until you pick it up. It just comes and whatever is in the basket, you eat.

I grilled the chiles on my George Foreman grill, and then popped them into a plastic bag to seat them. This helps separate the skin from the flesh, and I scraped it off. Cut open and scrape out seeds. They are mild and sweet. I used them in a black bean soup into which I put potato, a roasted on on the cob corn, onion. And also this way: flour tortillas, whipped cream cheese, and Hatch chile, roll up for pinwheels or fold into sandwich. Yum!

The mushrooms and squash (plus a zucchini from last Basket) became ratatouille, along with a tomato. Into this I put black olives and feta cheese. Also can put quinoa, or spaghetti, or just eat plain.

The celery became cream of celery soup.

The pears we got two weeks ago we were told were pears but looked in the shape of an apple. I found them to be hard and sour. They've been sitting in the fridge. Today I peeled and chopped them, and baked them with a bit of butter and brown sugar. Pear crumble.

My approach to groceries and food is: I eat whatever is on sale at the grocery store. Now that I do the basket I am making a commitment to whatever is in there. I always use it in some way and eat it all within the two weeks before the next Basket comes around.

I encourage you, if you live in an area that has Bountiful Baskets, to try it. Committing to the Basket means you take a different approach to groceries. You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit, lol. It does take time and commitment t make sure you use the food in a way that means it will be eaten, and sometimes searching the internet for recipes, but it is worth it. I especially love not eating any processed foods.