Hello, again! As usual, it’s been a while. The summer was a busy one, and it kind of extended into the beginning of fall. Work picked up after a slow(er) few months, and it’s just now getting to a place where I’m not staring at a to-do list that’s magically expanding every time I look away. So with the start of fall, I’ve decided it’s time to get back into the habit of posting something on this little site every now and then.
Months and months ago, I signed up for a farmshare at work. Macmillan orders bi-weekly shares from a local-ish farm for a small group of participants. They’re huge, so I signed up to split one with a friend—my “work wife” who has since, very sadly, left the company. From June to October, the farm has stopped by our office in a giant truck to unload bags of fresh vegetables (and occasionally fruit). Then we pick them up from the freight space and have produce to last almost two weeks until the next share!
Picking up my veggies has definitely been a highlight of the summer / early fall. I try to keep my bought lunches to once a week and I almost never buy dinner, which means that I’m cooking meals for myself most of the time. The farmshare expanded my vegetable vocabulary and got me out of the routine of stir fries, vegetarian protein plus broccoli, soup plus broccoli. Come to think of it, I’ve only cooked broccoli a few times since starting the farmshare and (as you can see) it’s usually my vegetable of choice!
There have been some constant items—things that pop up in the share for more than just one week. At the beginning, we got a lot of cucumbers and lettuce, so I made several salads. Sweet corn popped up two or three times and though I only ever eat corn boiled (still a rarity), I learned that it’s delicious raw! We’ve had squash and eggplant multiple times, tomatoes a few, and peppers of varying colors.
There have also been some specialty items. One week, we got tomatillos, and I’d never handled those in person before! I Googled “what to do with tomatillos” and ended up roasting them whole, then kind of chop-crushing them into a sauté with onions and garlic. I then used the resulting mash in a burrito bowl. It was something I never would’ve thought to make if I hadn’t found myself with tomatillos on hand. I did the same when we got fava beans one week. I’d hardly even seen those before.
Some of the shares have come with fruit. According to the sustainability manager, it was something Macmillan pushed for. The main farm doesn’t grow the fruit itself—they actually outsource from another farm in order to provide it for us, and maybe a few other customers. I don’t know the details, but I’m thankful for the arrangement! We’ve gotten fresh peaches, pints of plums and apricots, blueberries one week. Recently we received a giant bag of apples—my partner, Kelly, and I each got ten! I was eating sweet, crispy apples for weeks.
My farmshare has really been something to look forward to. It’s been my main source of produce and it’s encouraged me to try a few new things for my dinners and lunches. The last delivery is this week, and while I’m sad it’s coming to an end, I’m optimistic that my grocery lists won’t look the same every week anymore. What’s to stop me from buying tomatillos or corn at Whole Foods?
~ Natalie
Natalie (T)Says 
Good article. Love it.
Thank you! ❤