Veg box wrap-up (the very first!)

One week ago today, Mariusz from Abel & Cole brought me my first ever veg box. I’ve considered getting a weekly veg box many times over the past few years, but somehow it never came to it. Either this kind of arrangement didn’t exist where I lived, or the local markets or Turkish grocers were just too good, or, since I simply can’t eat quite a few things that tend to inhabit veg boxes (such as the number one contributor to discomfort and misery otherwise known as the Onion), I was afraid I’d end up throwing things away, which I can stand even less than said onions. But this summer I was finally seduced by the promise of local and organic delicacies of nature, produced on a small scale and by happy cows and plants. (It definitely helped that Abel & Cole allow “skipping” certain vegetables and fruits, so that throwing things away – or a weekly attempt to offload spare onions and cabbage to office mates and general colleagues – wasn’t a worry.)

Of course, even with the skipping option it takes a bit of an open attitude to have all your veg for the week pre-picked for you. You’re probably going to end up with stuff you’d never buy for yourself. But actually, I’m particularly excited about that aspect. I do like to try new flavours and cook with different ingredients, but to be honest, when I’m on my weekly shop I tend to put the same foods in my basket every time, especially when I’m busy (which, as Alain Badiou would say, is always). Case in point: this first box (including the garden peas that I had ordered with it) contained no fewer than three kinds of vegetables that I had never prepared fresh before, plus at least one that I hardly ever eat. This promises to be an interesting experience.

So it suggested itself, really, to share that experience here, where, after all, things are all about our adventures big and small with all things food. So for the next four weeks, I will be writing about how I used up the contents of my weekly veg box. There will be lots of “recipes”, and although some will surely be dead simple, I hope they will offer plenty of inspiration. Oh, and have a look at the new veg box for this week. Ideas most welcome!

Last week’s box: broad beans, a bunch of young carrots, cauliflower, courgettes, fennel, cocktail vine tomatoes, salad pack, beetroot, sweet potatoes.

This week’s box: broccoli, watercress, cherry tomatoes, bunched Chioggia beetroot, courgettes, English green lettuce, red pepper, rocket, coriander. Tips welcome!


- Naomi