February Bountiful Baskets 2013

 For fifteen dollars we received 2 yellow carrots, 3 purple carrots, 2 small eggplants, 3 grapefruit, 7 bananas, 6 Fuji apples, 8 oranges, 1 pineapple, 1 bag small golden potatoes plus two small loose golden potatoes, a bunch of broccoli, a red leaf lettuce, and a bunch of leeks.  (one of the purple carrots was an extra for volunteering)

We also bought a tropical pack for $10.50 with 3 Mexican limes, 1 Mexican pineapple, 2 USA lemons, a bunch of USA mint, a chunk of ginger from Thailand, 2 Peruvian mangos, 1 USA coconut, 2 USA kiwi, and 2 vanilla beans from Madagascar.

Bountiful Baskets January 2013

 Bountiful Baskets $15 for 8 oranges, 4 bananas, 1 asian pear, 1 avocado, 6 fuji apples, 4 multicolored carrots (one was rotten), 5 orblanco (one was an extra for Mica for volunteering with me), 1 box grape tomatoes (some not quite ripe), 1 box strawberries, a bag of Brussels sprouts (which we roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper-mmmmm.......), 2 bunches of celery (one was an extra for me for volunteering) and a whole bunch of mild small peppers.

 Lunch box pack for $10.50 with 3 asian pears, 3 granny smith apples, 5 fuji apples, 7 oranges, 2 pomegranates, and 5 red sensation pears.

12 pounds of raw, unpasteurized honey from Utah (and Idaho?) for $34 in a beautiful glass jar. That works out to about $2.83 a pound.  (One bottle was bought by friends-I just picked it up for them.)  We looked up the latest price on honey from the national honey board at: http://www.honey.com/honey-industry/honey-industry-statistics/unit-honey-prices-by-month-retail and the current national price per pound for pasteurized honey is $5.67 for January 2013.  Raw honey is usually more expensive than pasteurized honey and even a quick search shows that other Utah honeys are selling for about 4.45 a pound up to $8.00 and more a pound.  I'll have to post again when we try the honey.

Bountiful Baskets December 2012

Total of $15 and we received multicolored carrots, Fuji apples, a personal watermelon, a cantaloupe, bananas, Roma tomatoes, a papaya, broccoli, romaine lettuce, mushrooms and very, very ripe persimmons.

Bountiful Baskets September

Bountiful baskets share for $15: 4 corn, 2 heads green leaf lettuce, 5 lb. bag red potatoes, 4 tomatoes, 7 peppers, 3 grapefruit, 7 plums, 5 pears, 1 bag black seedless grapes, 2 avocados, 6 limes and we got an extra bag of potatoes for volunteering.

Fajita pack for $5: 3 green peppers, 3 red peppers, 2 yellow onions, 1 head garlic, about 1/2 dozen assorted dried hot peppers.    Tortilla pack for $10.50: 3 dozen large flour tortillas, 2 dozen small flour tortillas and 2 dozen small corn tortillas.

Orders are taken starting Monday at 10:00 a.m.  Go to www.bountifulbaskets.org for more information.

Bountiful Baskets July

 Plum variety pack-this was one box worth of plums for $13.50

 Rainier Cherries 18 lb box for $22.50!  (Just saw Rainier cherries at a grocery store for $6.99 a lb.)

Share for $15 with two summer squash, 6 plums, 1 box raspberries (I got an extra box for volunteering), 1 box strawberries, 2 pkg. carrots, 1 cucumber, 1 bag green grapes, 1 large bunch broccoli, 4 red corn, 1 cantaloupe, and 1 head of living butter lettuce

Order every Monday, pick up on Saturday.  www.bountifulbaskets.org

May Bountiful Basket

May Bountiful Basket $15 got us onions, cucumbers, corn, honeydew, cauliflower, carrots, apricots, green peppers, tomatoes, pears, lemons, bananas and blackberries.

Bountiful Baskets again in March

(This is a late post-we got this order over a month ago-I just haven't posted in awhile except for posts that were already scheduled.)  Bountiful Baskets $15 share with pears, asparagus, beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, green onions, Granny Smith apples, pineapple, bananas, romaine lettuce and a melon.

 Mexican pack $8.50 contained tomatillos, key limes, many peppers, onions, garlic, avocados, onions and cliantro.  (Made homemade guacamole with a recipe Hedgehog got from a school activity.)

Tortilla pack  $10.50 had 3 dozen of the 12-inch flour tortillas, 2 dozen of the 6-inch flour tortillas and 2 dozen of the 6-inch corn tortillas.  These were fantastic!  We went through the 2 dozen corn tortillas in a couple of days.  I did freeze some of the flour tortillas for future use.  They are cooked but only lightly so they warm up quickly-kind of like brown and serve rolls only with tortillas.

Bountiful Baskets March 2012

We participated in Bountiful Baskets yesterday and for $15 dollars received the above batch containing: 2 pineapples (one was an extra for being a volunteer), 1 bunch asparagus,1 2 lb. bag carrots, 9 chili peppers, 7 apples, 1 bunch green onion, 1 bunch kale, 1 bunch Romaine, 20 little sweet peppers, 1 container blueberries, 8 oranges, 8 bananas, and 2 cucumbers.

For $8.50 we included the Asian themed pack with 1 bunch bok choy, 1 head napa cabbage, 1 bunch green onion, 1 bunch celery, 1 bunch fresh Basil, 2 yellow onions, 1 head of garlic, 1 pkg fresh snow peas, 1 small piece ginger root, and 10 fresh water chestnuts.

Finally, especially for Hedgehog, we bought the fruit pack with a citrus theme for $14 and received 2 grapefruit, 23 oranges (regular and caracara), 6 minneola tangelos, 16 small lemons and 25 clementines. The lemons are small but much more flavorful and juicy than the larger grocery store counterparts.

Bountiful Baskets in December of 2011

For $15 we received 2 heads of butter lettuce, 2 orange carrots, 3 yellow carrots, 3 oroblanco grapefruit hybrids, 1 personal size watermelon, 6 corn, 1 bag red seedless grapes, 1 5-lb. bag butter gold potatoes, 1 bunch celery, 3 avocados, 5 small pears, and 6 bananas. We got an extra carrot and an extra lettuce (included in the picture and the count) for being volunteers and helping to unload the truck and sort the food into baskets.
We also bought the hostess pack for an additional $15 which contained 1 10-lb bag russet potatoes, 3 lemons, 1 bunch rosemary, 1 bunch cilantro, 2 parsnips, some chestnuts, 1 bunch romaine lettuce, 1 small pineapple, 2 yellow onions, 11 tangelos, 6 small sweet potatoes, and 1 bunch sage. In addition, we also paid $10 for a winter squash pack (not pictured) with 3 butternut, a turban, 2 acorn and 1 spaghetti squash.

Once every month or two seems to be good spacing between orders and gives us adequate time to consume most of the items we've received in our basket. I have to say, I was quite pleased and surprised with the variety in the hostess pack-that's one we'll look for in the future.

$15 Bountiful Baskets v. $10 Food Co-op = Tie!

Well, I finally got around to trying Bountiful Baskets-a western state food co-op where one literally needs to sign up within in the first few minutes to get the prime pick-up locations! They charge $15 for their weekly allotment (you just sign up on the weeks you are interested.) There's an additional $1.50 charge for running your payment through the system. (Bottom line: $16.50 total)

We received 12 Roma tomatoes, 6 ears of corn, 4 artichokes, 3 cucumbers, 3 mangoes, 2 yellow onions, 2 green peppers, 1 3-lb. bag pink lady apples, 1 pkg. blackberries, 1 head of romaine lettuce, 1 pineapple and 1 cantaloupe. The cucumbers and green peppers had to be eaten within the first five days but the rest stayed fresh for at least a couple of weeks and longer (except the blackberries which lasted about 30 minutes. We can never test the freshness of berries because they never last long in our household!)

The people were friendly and helpful. Food Good.


And then there's the long time competitor that we've patronized for years now-the community food co-op where a share is only $10 [no payment charge (ding!) point in their favor!]

We received 1 bunch of 6 bananas, 5 pink lady apples, 4 regular tomatoes, 4 green peppers, 2 cucumbers, 1 bunch of broccoli, 1 bag of coleslaw, and 1 personal sized watermelon. The green peppers, tomatoes, bananas, and coleslaw needed to be used within the first five days. The rest lasted a bit longer.

The people here are also friendly and helpful. Food Good.


Results: A Tie. There was a total of 8 varieties and 19 items from the local co-op for $10.
The newcomer? There was a total of 12 varieties and 37 items from the BB co-op for $16.50.


Checks and balances: about 1/3 of the Bountiful baskets was the 12 Roma tomatoes. Hmmmm....were the tomatoes hogging the item count? But their food lasted longer that the food we usually get from the other co-op. The other co-op seems more and more to be getting food that needs to be used within a week. I have to admit that it was nice to have food that lasted longer from Bountiful baskets but the price is a bit more than the community food co-op.


Verdict: I think we'll actually continue to get food from both and see how it continues to measure up. I am looking to see if the local food co-op will bring back the farmer's market share...that was always tasty and worthwhile because of the two main selling points: a) local and b) organic.