Saturday 9 April 2011

Adventure in a box.

Adventure in a box.
There are some other words I could have chosen instead of 'adventure'.




Excitement.
Joy.
Inspiration.
Wholesomeness.
Odd looking root vegetable.
All these things came in the CSA box I picked up yesterday.

I have had a few different kinds of food-box deliveries over the last few years.  This was the first 'delivery' I had to pick up myself though. And you know what? I didn't mind. This delivery was unique. Other deliveries have sometimes been organic, some times not. Sometimes they have been all fruit or all vegies or a mix of both. Sometimes the delivery has been meat. None of them have lasted long. Usually because after a little while I begin to wonder, is this really worth it? Am I paying all this money for something I can't get anywhere else? Can I really afford this? Usually we run out of fruit and we have to go shopping anyway to satiate the ravenous appetite my monkeys have for bananas. My eldest once ate four bananas in 10 minutes and still wanted his breakfast.

The reason I am so excited about this food delivery is that, compared to ones I've had in the past, it is CHEAP. Significantly cheaper. Another reason is that everything in the box was grown within the local radius of the city I live in. I am fortunate that Brisbane is in a subtropical area and our local farmers will continue to harvest fruit and vegetables in some form or another all year round. Everything in this box is either certified organic, grown organically or chemical-free. None of it was imported so it is all fresh. The snow-peas taste like the ones I used to pick and eat straight from my mum's garden when I was a girl and we were sent out to 'graze'. Green sugar.

CSA stands for Community Shared Agriculture. The farmers who grew my fruit and vegetables can do it because there is a growing community who WANT their veges chemical-free and local and are prepared to invest money to get it.  Sharing means sharing the abundance but also sharing the lack. Strawberries are out of season? So we wait until they're back in season and eat whatever else the farmer can provide in the meantime.

I am so excited to be a part of this community. By supporting these farmers I am keeping food on THEIR children's tables. This is real food, grown in a real way and sold for a real price. What we put on our table can change genuinely with the seasons. I can also, with a click of my mouse on the CSA's website, find out the names of the farmers who grew my food. There is even opportunity to go to the farms and visit my fruit and vegetables growing. Maybe I could take some herbs from my garden for a bit of a play-date with the vegies before they 'officially' meet each other in my kitchen.

Dragon Fruit
While I was rummaging through my box, digging amongst old favourites like zucchini and tomatoes, being surprised by other vegies like a strange albino carrot (young parsnip maybe?), I came across a pink artichoke-looking thing.

 It's called a dragon fruit. Luckily, my mother-in-law was here to identify it for me.  Wikipedia identified it as a Pitaya.












Cut Dragonfruit.
Have a look at what I found inside when I cut it open. I have to say, the taste was nothing special. It was kind of sweet and very slightly sour. A very subtle kiwi-fruit flavour. My eldest didn't like it and my middle boy wouldn't even taste it. It's the colours of this fruit that I find tantalising. My camera couldn't do it justice. Do you think that pink is bright? In my kitchen it is even brighter. I have never seen food without artificial additives that colour before. And then there's the contrast of the lovely black and white flesh inside. I'm speechless.










Left to myself I would never have bought a dragon fruit. This is the adventure in a box I was writing about. It's the joy of receiving a gift like this. A new experience or taste sensation that I would never have chosen for myself.  Something unusual to amaze me and remind me of God's wonder. Thank you.


After being asked which company supplied our food-box I decided to include their URL here:
http://brisbane.foodconnect.com.au/
I hope that helps.

4 comments:

  1. I have been getting deliverys from food connect. It is the same general idea. I would love to compare boxes.

    We got some loverly bright purple sweet potato and some greens I have had to call my mum to identify.

    -Rhia

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  2. What is the name of the company you get your box through... I am really interested. Stacey and I have been talking about sharing a farmers box of fruit and veg for awhile... This sounds like something I could really support. Seasonal eating is so healthy and cheap, and to know your money is going straight to the farmer, such a great idea!
    Anna

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  3. Hi Rhia, thanks for visiting me! yes, it is Foodconnect. Your box sounds really different to mine though - I'd love to compare. Maybe at a BBQ?

    Hi Anna, what a lovely surprise to see you here. The company is called Foodconnect. I'll add their URL to my post. There are a few groups that do food-boxes in Brisbane and the best thing to do is to look at your priorities and then do a price-comparison for yourselves. As far as I know the exact service that Foodconnect provide in Brisbane is pretty unique. And fun. So I do recommend it.

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  4. It's beautiful! What a lovely pink.

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