This week’s farm share was a bit anticlimactic, I must admit. Over the last two weeks, we’ve had quite the assortment of random new meals, and this week, the lettuce, cabbage, kale, turnips, potatoes, and onions aren’t sparking any great inspiration. I just threw away part of my first onion from the first food box (I gave away the rest the past two weeks because onions and my 3rd trimester tummy don’t mix well), but I’m determined not to waste any more this week. Up on the menu: Runzas, Potato Soup with kale and ham (because we still have leftover ham from Easter, and I stupidly bought 6 lbs of potatoes last weekend that have barely been touched), French onion soup (Derek’s request–I’ll be eating leftovers that night), Golden Potato and Turnip Casserole (gotta love More With Less when you’re looking to use up potatoes…), Ham and Kale Quiche (see a trend?), and Pasties (to celebrate our Michigan heritage and hopefully use up the end of the onions, turnips, and potatoes before next week’s box). It’s quite the hearty meal/soup week, but the hope is that several of these things will freeze well for easy meals after the baby comes!
On a related note, I don’t see us saving much money yet with this farm share. I’m still having to buy milk, eggs, cheese, meat, and fruit, and we haven’t had any bean-based dishes since the veggies started coming. I feel like we’re eating more meals that are vegetable-heavier than normal, but it seems like I’m still spending as much as I did before on my weekly grocery trips. Probably this is because my normal meal repertoire consists of a lot of the same inexpensive ingredients (beans, chicken broth, pasta, diced tomatoes, chicken, etc) that I buy on sale or in bulk and always have on hand. This week, though, we’re having two meals that call for ground beef (used quite sparingly in my kitchen), and last week, I got several random extra items like sour cream and ricotta cheese that we don’t usually have sitting around in our fridge. We love the variety, but it’s not cheaper yet. I do think that as summer approaches and we start getting more items that we’re used to eating in-season (tomatoes, zucchini, and any fruit, for starters), I’ll find myself making more familiar meals again and shopping less frequently to round out our farm share delivery. Stay tuned as the 2009 Grocery Experiment continues!
Mashed Potatoes ‘n Parsnips