Urban Acres Share Pick Up November 6

I was again super excited to go pick up our share from Urban Acres. This time my son went with me. He was very helpful, holding doors open for me when I was carrying what felt like a ton of produce.

We've got some great fruit for the coming two weeks: bananas, two different kinds of red apples, pears and oranges.

The vegetables are diverse: butternut squash, eggplant, red onions, potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, carrots, collard greens, broccoli, green and red bell peppers and lettuce. We've also got squash and fresh dill.

I'm still trying to figure out what some of it is (green leafy things that came in its own plastic bag), determine what should be eaten first and researching recipes for things I've never eaten before (um, collard greens).

My head is swirling with ideas for things to make. The apples are already in the crockpot for another batch of Homemade Apple Sauce and I've already baked a batch of Apple Oat Squares (recipe and pictures to follow).

I'm so happy we discovered Urban Acres!

The Co-Op

I've been doing quite a bit of research on how we can feed our family organic produce without forking over a premium for it at our local Whole Foods. I have been reading about CSAs (community supported agriculture) on blogs like 30 Bucks a Week and Local Harvest.

I began searching for CSAs in the DFW area and settled instead on a co-op. It's called Urban Acres. I liked it for several reasons: First, I only have to pick up once every two weeks. Second, there is a conveniently located pick-up location. Third, they have a variety of produce and deliver year round. Fourth, you can buy a whole or a half share.

I decided to go with the whole share first which will cost $50 every other week. If we find that it's too much for us to eat, we can switch to the half-share which is $30 every other week. I did pay a $50 membership fee, $14 for the bins the produce will be provided to us in, and we pay for our produce in advance. So, I've already paid for tomorrow's produce and will take a check for $50 for the next delivery. It's kind of like Christmas: you don't know what you're going to get until you open the package.

Tomorrow morning is my first scheduled pick-up day. They sent me two email reminders this week, which I appreciated. I'm so excited, though, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have forgotten.