Surprisingly, while there was a still a price gap between what I paid and what I got, it was a smaller gap in several ways. First off, I got several things that my grocery store doesn’t actually carry IN-STORE. The easiest way to price these more random items was to find the closest equivalent on the “To Go” portion of their web site, which allows me to see a vastly larger array of produce than what’s available in the store. For example, the spinach (on the stems) and the shell peas were only available on the web site; in store, you can have bagged spinach leaves and bagged (shelled) peas. I used Baby Bok Choi as the closest equivalent for tatsoi on pricing, since it looked just similar enough for these purposes. I’m still in a net negative position, financially, BUT I’m getting things that are harder to find than what I normally come across, and that’s worth something that you can’t really put as much of a price on.

As of Saturday, when I went grocery shopping, we had yet to really dig into this box, since we’re still finishing off LAST week’s box, but I’ve already got my schemes in mind. One suggestion (thanks, Tammy!) was to put a bunch of the items from the box (including the blueberries) into a blender and make a smoothie out of them. I don’t see this as any kind of a cop-out: it’s a great use for fresh fruits and veggies! I have to admit, coming into the grocery store yesterday and filling my cart first with produce, I felt pretty happy about what I was pushing around, seeing how my cart was packed to the gills with all kind of fresh fruits and veggies. Of course, that didn’t completely cancel out the turkey pepperoni and Gatorade I put in the cart right after that…but, oh, don’t judge.

I have to remember not to call this veggie Tetsuo. He was a character from “Akira”. Tatsoi looks a bit like a baby bok choi, although it’s supposed to be something akin to the love child of bok choi and spinach. THAT ALL WORKS FOR ME.

It’s week 2, and we’ve made it through much of what was in our week 1 box. What didn’t go into the stir-fry typically went as a side-dish for dinners, except for the strawberries – which disappeared in near-record time. This week’s box is a mostly green box, accentuated with some interesting splashes of orange, blue and yellow. Man, oh, man…do I ever love seeing all that luscious color splayed out on my counter like a splatter of Pantone chips.

At this point, I don’t yet have an opinion on the value of the box. It weighed more than last week’s box (good!), and it includes something obscure enough that I’m nearly 100% sure I’ll have to check Whole Foods to get a price for it. Some of the items, like green beans and carrots, are fairly cheap, so those always weigh down the value. Still, I’m not in this solely for the financial gain. With the deadline looming for the sign-up for the veggie box program through work, we need to figure out whether we want to stick with what we have now (through our local farm) or if we want to revert back to the prior deal. Decisions, decisions. Well, in the meantime…

Here’s what was in this week’s box:

• Shell peas
• Tatsoi
• Green beans
• Summer squash (both yellow and green)
• Carrots
• Blueberries
• Spinach
• Pickling cucumbers

Such lovely colors…

I’m scheming on something that may or may not involve the tatsoi, carrots, and summer squash. I’m still thinking on it. The tatsoi is too small to make decent Bok-os with (unless making them appetizer-sized), but that’s okay…it lets me branch out and forces me to be a bit more creative. I like that. Half of the fun of getting a new box every week is in the challenge: “What will I make with THIS stuff?” I prefer not to make the same thing over and over again, since repetition can breed boredom, but certainly I do like to repeat some dishes that have enjoyed good traction with the kids.

Never having pickled, but knowing several people who have, I figure we can come up with a decent solution for the cukes. The blueberries are likely to disappear in dh’s morning cereal, as well as straight from the hand into the bellies of at least several members of the household. And who doesn’t like peas? The peas and green beans are perfect for us, since those are staple veggies in our family. And the summer squash…well, I believe I have a friend they should meet. His name is Ka-Bob.

I can’t say for sure all of what I’ll make with this box, but I’m definitely looking forward to checking out this Tets…tatsoi and seeing just how tasty it can be. Preferably without the futuristic, post-apocalyptic Tokyo setting.