June 18, 2015

Embarrassingly rotten and under ripe strawberries.

Today we picked up our week #2 box. This time we picked up early at 11:30, just after the boxes had been delivered to the store. Our vegetable share was correct this time. In it were two large heads of lettuce, a ¾ lb. bag of spinach, a ¾  lb. bunch of swiss chard, and a handful of dill which was simply thrown in the box, once again it was wilted and not too appealing.  There was also a bunch of garlic scapes and a quart of strawberries. Unfortunately, half the strawberries were rotten and some were not ripe, as a farmer and business person I would not have dared put these in someone’s box of produce.  Much to my disappointment, the two loaves of bread we received were the same as last week, one being sesame, and the other aromatic, which contains some spices. While the breads were good last week, by the time we got to the end of the loaves I was glad to see the last of them. I will have to get creative.

Weirdly spiced bread, that I'm hoping we don't get again.

We received three more 6 oz. blocks of cheddar cheese because I didn't tell the store what we wanted for dairy. If you don't let them know they give you the same as you had the week before. That would be fine, except last week the store told me to inform the farm of my choices, not the store, so I informed the farm and this week the store told me I need to inform them. This was, needless to say, irritating.

“Ok, there you go,” the women at the store said.

“ Nooo!" I replied. "No. What about our meat, eggs and flour?’’

“Huh?” she asked, looking confused.

“We get a full diet share,’’ my husband said. He could see I was getting pissy, and was trying to head me off. I let him take over.

“We should have a 3 lb. bag of flour, actually two because we didn't get any last week, and a dozen eggs and this is a meat week so we should get some meat,” he said firmly.

Wow, he’d been on the website, I was impressed.

“Ohhhh," said the chick.“Ohhhh, you have a full diet share!”

She was getting it now.

“Yes,” he said, with only the faintest hint of impatience.

Of course by this time I was starting to loose my shit. He shot me a significant look to keep me in line.

“ Maybe you have a list to check to see what we get this week?” he asked gently.

“No, they just give us a list at the beginning with your name on it so we know you're getting a box.”

“Right, ok, then what did they send, did they send meat and eggs, maybe flour?" he asked, kindness oozing from his voice.

I could tell he didn't want to scare her, it’s the same way he talks to small animals.

“They did send eggs, and some meat, but no flour, definitely no flour!”

She was on a roll now.

“We should have some meat then, and a dozen eggs, and I will call them myself about the flour,” said my husband, knowing when he was beat.

She smiled, clearly relieved she was not going to get yelled at, at least by him. She gave me a wary look and proceeded to pack up the eggs and some beef, about 3 lbs. There was a nice rib steak, a package of hamburger and a very small flat steak.  Better, I thought. Not great, but better. I had my jaw clamped shut so I wouldn’t say anything. After all it really wasn't her fault. I guess.

“That’s all, and I gave you one of the cheeses someone else should get," she said. "They shorted us on cheese. The guy who dropped the stuff off was new and he didn't know anything.”

He’s not the only one, I thought.

So at this point we had everything we were most likely going to get. Later Rob called the farm in an attempt to find out what was going on. He left a message. We might get a call back, but I’m not holding my breath on that one.

After that adventure, we went into Laconia to get our fish http://www.nhcommunityseafood.com/ which you pick up outside a local restaurant. They leave the fish very well packed on ice, in coolers. You just stop by and make sure you get your correct bag, because there are different sizes of shares. The fish is always delivered on time, it is always fresh and tasty. This week they sent Hake, which is a great chowder fish. I put some in the freezer for later.

I have more to work with this week. We are also picking plenty of asparagus and strawberries. I have a ton of fresh herbs. We have basil, parsley, dill, oregano, tarragon, thyme, chives, mint, and rosemary so we are good on that front. I am going to try to go to the farmers’ market in Gilford this week to see about goat cheese. Supposedly they have someone selling it there. It’s Tristan’s favorite cheese . At this point I wish I could just go buy what I want from the farmers’ market or a farmstand, which of course I can, but I don’t want to waste what we have in the share. I know if I buy what we really want we won’t eat what we are paying more than half of our grocery bill for -- stuff that is just ok, and what I would never normally buy. We are out of our comfort zone. We have not been to the grocery store in two weeks.

Our meat share..