Organic Produce

I lived in beach cities for several years before returning to the desert town of Palmdale, California. The best thing, absolute best thing, was not the ocean being so close, but the availability of quality organic produce. Especially in Santa Barbara! Every day of the week there were farmer's markets held all around the city. On any given day, I could purchase, for a great price, all the fruits and veggies I wanted, all organic, locally grown, and just plain delicious! (Click here to check out the Santa Barbara Farmer's Market website) (side note: Yay! I figured out the link thing). My favorite was always the peaches - so big, sweet, juicy! I usually purchased enough for the week and ended up eating at least 2 the day I bought them.

So, when I returned to the desert, and found the selection of organic produce seriously lacking, I was bummed. Super bummed. Call me crazy, but I swear the organic stuff just tastes better. Eventually I got used to the limited and inconsistant offerings at my local supermarket and Trader Joe's, but always longed for something more.

Then, I found out about a service that we have in our town called Abundant Harvest Organics. In a nutshell, I subscribe to recieve a box of produce once a week and I can add on other items that are also available, such as milk or eggs or meat. ALL ORGANIC! The meat is grass-fed and hormone free, the eggs are truly free range and laid in mobile henhouses where the hens can come and go as they please and get to graze with the cows in the pasture. Nuts, seasonings, even candies are available for purchase, and all for a price that is really not that much more than what I would spend on similar items at the grocery store (except the whole chicken for roasting, but I bet it will be soooooooppper good!).

In all honesty it took me a while to get up the nerve to subscribe to the service because I don't have control over what I get every week. Last week I got beets and I just didn't know what to do with them and they went bad. I'm getting better though and finding recipes for what I will be expecting, and shopping accordingly. Every week I feel better and better about the things that I am feeding my family because we are phasing out all of the hormones and chemicals that are poisoning our foods.

And one thing that is so cool about the produce is the imperfections. I have a ton of oranges and tangeloes that look lumpy and strange - not the perfect little spheres you see in the grocery store. And, since they are all organic, and not prettied up for sale on the store shelves, there is no wax on them, so they are not shiny! And, then there is the smell! My kitchen smells like citrus and veggies straight out of the garden - I LOVE IT!