Bountiful Baskets

When it comes to food, I get excited very easily...so the new Bountiful Baskets co-op that has come to Gallup was a big highlight of last weekend for me!  I picked up my first basket of produce at the co-op on Friday and it kind of felt like Christmas morning all over again!  Let me explain...

 Bountiful Baskets is a produce (and more!) co-op where you can pay on a bi-weekly basis to pick up a big basket of half fruits/half veggies for a mere $15 ($25 for organic produce).  You can also purchase add-ons like granola, different kinds of bread, etc.  If you live in the Gallup are, here are four reasons why I recommend this co-op to everyone:

Reason #1: It saves you money!  We payed $15 for our basket, and here is what we got for our money (this week's Safeway prices are in parentheses, to compare the value):

• 5 apples ($2.25)
• 2 bunches of bananas ($2.50)
• 7 small oranges ($4.50)
• 4 kiwis ($1.30)
• 4 avocados ($4.00)
• 1 bunch celery ($1.30)
• 3 artichokes ($2.00?)
• 1 small bag potatoes ($2.00)
• 2 heads romaine lettuce ($2.50)
• 1 box cherry tomatoes ($3.00)
• 1 bag brussels sprouts ($1.50)
• 2 acorn squash ($3.00) 

So, for $15, we got about $30 worth of produce--a 1/2 price deal!  And everything we've eaten so far seems to be of a very good quality, too!

Some of the produce, like the squash, potatoes, and oranges, will last for a while so I think we will be able to use everything even though it's just the two of us at home.  This was one of my hesitations about the co-op but it's going well so far!

Reason #2:  It saves you time! It took us 5 min. maximum to pick up our produce at the pick-up site (Uplift Charter School on Boardman Ave.).  You are asked to volunteer occasionally on a pick-up day, but most weeks we will save a lot of time when I am usually wandering around the produce section of the grocery store comparing prices, etc.  Jonathan loves this time-saving aspect of the co-op experience :)

Reason #3:  It's healthy!  One of my New Year's Resolutions is to eat more vegetables.  My big basket of produce is inspiring me to fulfill this resolution!

 And speaking of inspiration...Reason #4:  It makes cooking an adventure!  I have never cooked a fresh artichoke before, so this presented a fun new challenge.  It turns out that artichokes are tricky little things, but in the end, we had some delicious spinach/artichoke dip to eat with our salad for lunch!  Next challenge: acorn squash!

If you would like to participate in the Bountiful Basket co-op, you can visit www.bountifulbaskets.org to get started!

Christmas Adventures

We have enjoyed two weeks' Christmas vacation back east with our family and friends!  Other than the trip back (weather-related travel craziness left us stranded at the airport--and caused us to miss the first day back to school...) it has been a fantastic trip!

We began on the farm with my family for Christmas Day and all of the events leading up to it, including a favorite family tradition: attending the Washington Chorus Concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.!

We enjoyed playing lots of games and spending time with Kelly and Amy Gough and Colin and Megan Kenny.  I also helped Mom create the annual gingerbread tree.

On Christmas Day, after opening gifts in the morning, we went to my Nana and Pop-Pop's house for lunch and my aunt and uncle's house for dinner.  It was great to see many family members that we had not seen in a long time!

After Christmas, we drove south to Greensboro to celebrate the holiday with Jonathan's immediate and extended family.

To ring in the New Year, we joined the "Newmillermans" up at the Millers' home in Blowing Rock, NC.  Here, games and hikes abounded!  We also enjoyed a Japanese steakhouse dinner on New Year's Eve and celebrated 2014 with fireworks and sparklers!

As our trip came to a close, we drove back up to MD to join Wade, Emily, Caroline, and Andrew on the farm for a few days.  It was awesome to spend some time getting baby advice from them and playing with the niece and nephew who we always miss so much!

As they prepared to drive back to Roanoke, Caroline asked hopefully, "Is Uncle Jonathan coming with us, too?"  We wish we could go home with Caroline, but for now, it's back to NM for a new semester!