Apple on the balcony

My first bin arrived last night from Green BEAN delivery.  I was very excited.  My friend, over at my house for our traditional Friday night movies-and-wine evening, was, I think, a little amused at my delight.  But then, she eats fruits and vegetables routinely.

Everything looked so neat, packed into its little brown paper bags.  I was surprised at how small the apples and pears were, compared to the ones at the grocery store.  Maybe it's the grocery store fruits that are unnaturally huge.

I unpacked the bin, and we immediately washed and ate some of the strawberries.  Fruit doesn't normally delight me, although I don't dislike it in the way I dislike vegetables.  But ever since I started bicycling more often, my body's been sending odd, barely comprehensible signals that it would like some more natural food.  Last night I gave it strawberries, and my body immediately responded positively.  "Yes!"  was the signal I got from myself.  "Like this!  Send more like this!"


So, yes, the strawberries were just lovely.  This morning, rather than my usual rice-with-soy-sauce breakfast, I took one of the little Empire apples out on the balcony, to enjoy the September sunshine with a good book.  It was a tasty little apple, and a very pleasant start to the day.

Green BEAN Delivery

Step one to learning to appreciate vegetables would seem to be obtaining vegetables.  So I've subscribed to Green BEAN Delivery, which promises to deliver organic, locally-grown fruits and vegetables to my home regularly.  I chose the every-other-week delivery, and today, I got my first list of things to be delivered next Friday.

I actually do care about the organic, locally-grown bit.  I know that one person doesn't make much difference, but then again, my choices influence the choices of the people around me, and from what I've read from Michael Pollan, the world really would be a better place if more people did what I'm trying to do, and ate food that came from the ground nearby, rather than food that comes in heavily processed forms from halfway across the world.

Here's the list: I'm just starting to work on a menu based on incorporating these into my food in ways I'm willing to try.

1 bunch carrots
4 Empire apples
1 leaf lettuce
1 pound of green beans
3 red Bartlett pears
24 ounces of fingerling potatoes
16 ounces of strawberries
16-20 ounces of yellow slicer tomatoes