Comments (9)

By Mom Unplugged, July 24, 2007 9:02 pm

I got the call…the day before I left on my trip…it was the CSA…I am in!!!! A half share! The fall harvest! First shipment the day I get back! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!

This came as a shock. I had been under the impression that not only was I not A-List Material at the present time, but I was on the W-List (as in the “What-Were-You-Thinking-Not-In-This-Lifetime-List;” or was that the “Wait-For-At-Least-Another-Year-Or-Two-Or-Maybe-When-Hell-Freezes-Over-List”).

No, I have not been conducting a systematic extermination of all those before me on the W-List. Nor have I been passing out bribes for volunteering to leave the list (although I did entertain that idea for a while). Apparently there is a teensy weensy chance that the CSA people might possibly have learned about my pathetic “A-List For Vegetables” post from a certain “Other A-Lister” (you know who you are) and either: 1) Felt very sorry for me, or 2) Become extremely concerned about my mental health, and bumped me up. I vote for the mental health issue. Or, maybe I was just higher on the list than I thought. Whatever the cause of my rapid rise to A-List Stardom, I am eternally grateful and soooo excited!

No more flaccid celery, puckered tomatoes, spongy zucchini, or dubious daikon. Apples will not be so shiny that I can use them to check for the remains of slimy lettuce between my teeth, and perhaps the apples might even have (gasp!!!)…AN IMPERFECTION.

On August 8th, 2007 a box of freshly picked produce will be lovingly delivered to my door and placed in my eager hands by the farmer himself. With bated breath I shall open the box to reveal all of Earth’s pristine bounty laid out before my eyes, the warm Arizona soil still clinging to crevices in the delicate pure and unadulterated flesh. I shall behold flawless treasures begging to be transformed into fresh and healthy gourmet meals for my little ones and me.

Of course my angels will love savoring exotic dishes of kohlrabi and endive. They will beg for seconds and thirds of swiss chard and turnips. I can hear it now: “Mama, Mama, PLEASE don’t make us eat that awful frozen pizza that we used to like so much!!! Can’t we have Bok Choi and Beetroot Goulash tonight instead?? Pleeeeeese!!!! Pretty pleeeeese????” Instead of Chicken Fingers and 7-Up, they will demand Okra Twizzles accompanied by Brussel Sprout Smoothies.

Well, maybe not. A bit of encouragement might be necessary. A Kids Cook Night Bok Choi and Beetroot Goulash perhaps? Recipe to follow shortly.

Comments (7)

By Mom Unplugged, May 9, 2007 9:40 pm

My best friend was just “accepted” by the local coop (the ONLY coop in our tiny, food-challenged community). She is on the A-List. I am on the W-List (as in the Wait-For-At-Least-Another-Year-Or-Two-Or-Maybe-When-Hell-Freezes-Over-List).

She will have fresh, locally grown vegetables, fruits, and herbs, even goat cheeses and salsas DELIVERED TO HER DOOR all summer long.

Meanwhile, I will be found scavenging the produce section at Safeway, digging through the bins in search of a flaccid celery, or wrestling fellow desperate Mom-shoppers for the only remaining semi-spongy zucchini or half-rotten avocado.

If I am not there, perhaps I am in a flirty sort of mood, and you might find me in the fruit aisle putting on my lipstick using a shinier-than-nature-ever-intended apple as a mirror. Ha!! I bet you can’t do that trick with your fancy COOP apples!

My “friend” called to inform me that tomorrow she will be receiving some freshly-picked organic Japanese Mustard Greens, lovingly hand-delivered by the farmer.

Well la-di-da! Who wants nasty old Japanese Mustard Greens anyway!! Give me pesticide and botulism-laden Iceberg Lettuce, or give me death. That is my motto!

(By the way…if you have any of those mustard greens left over that you are just going to compost anyway…could I have them…please???? …PRETTY PLEASE ?)Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer Scott Liddell (

www.scott.liddell.com) for this A-list quality photo!