MY BOUNTIFUL BASKET, AND THE REAL COST OF FOOD

I was out of town on the last two Bountiful Sprout pick-up days -- first in San Antonio, then at Art Camp -- and the period before that was one of those awkward in-between times, when the farmers  had finished up with their spring/summer gardens, but the fall/winter gardens weren't really producing yet. So, perhaps I went a little overboard when I placed this week's order.

How could I resist a bouquet of fresh flowers, something we don't usually see being offered, and which came in a cute little pumpkin can? 

And then there was this new offering, from a vendor in Fredericksburg -- a little one-layer, gluten free almond cake! I don't usually buy gluten free, but I adore anything almond flavored, so how could I resist? I thought a little sliver in the evenings, with a cup of hot tea, would be just thing. Besides, it's almost my birthday, right?

For those of you who are new to the blog, The Bountiful Sprout is an organization that I had the great good fortune to help create when I first moved to Wimberley full-time, five or six years ago. We went out searching for local growers, raisers, makers and producers, who were using sustainable practices, then set up a website where they could list the products they had available every two weeks, set their own prices, and keep 92% of what they make. It is member owned and operated, mostly run by volunteers. Our only paid employees are the three site managers (now in Wimberley, Austin and Fredericksburg) who keep a small percentage of their sales in exchange for being there all day every other Wednesday to receive the products from the vendors in the morning, sort it into the members' baskets, send off items that need to be driven to the other pick-up sites, and take payment from the members when they stop by to pick their baskets in the afternoons. Anyhoo, back to this week's bountiful basket!

We have several egg vendors, but I almost always order mine from my friend at MV farm, since she is the only one who sells six packs. Her's was one of the first farms I ever went to inspect, and she ended up inviting us in to try one of her goose eggs, since we had never had them. Deee-lish! Today she threw in a couple of duck eggs for me to try. I've heard lots of people who are sensitive to chicken eggs, can still tolerate duck eggs. Plus, Deb says they are excellent for baking.

Apparently, she wasn't the only vendor who was in a generous mood this week.

In addition to the cucumbers, arugula, cherry tomatoes and green beans that I ordered, I had tried to order some beets. Unfortunately, they were sold out by the time my order went through. Well, someone underestimated how much they would be able to harvest, or miscounted, or something, and there ended up being four or five left over after the baskets were all sorted. So guess who got a couple of free ones?

I usually order two or three of Simple Pleasure's peanut butter protein bars every order cycle, but this time I also got a free sample of granola from one of our new gluten free vendors.

In the meat department (all from pastured animals, of course) I ordered some nice pork cutlets from Richardsons Farms, and a package of the cutest little lamb rib chops from Agarita Creek Farms, which we will marinate, thread onto skewers, and grill. Well, low and behold, they threw in that little bonus mini pack of chops as well!  I guess you have to have a generous heart to be a farmer, no?

Last, but not least, I ordered two six packs of live kale plants -- half Lacinato and half Dwarf Blue. Only, when I pulled them out of the bag, I realized that quite a few of them had already been potted up to 4-inch containers, which means they probably have better root systems, and will grow a bit faster. Which means I'll be eating some more of that Crack Kale I told you about all that much sooner!

So you're probably wondering how much all that locally raised deliciousness (most raised organically, even if it's not "certified" organic) set me back. Well, I'll tell you. It cost me eighty nine bucks -- which may seem like a lot if you are used to buying your food at Wally World. But after working with these farmers and producers, and getting to know them and the loving care they give to their animals, and all the hardships that Mother Nature throws at them on a regular basis? Well, to me it's worth every last penny, for I've finally come to understand the real cost of real food. As my cheese-making instructor Lisa Seger explained to us at camp last week, "We small farmers are just like everyone else. We'd like to be able to afford a movie ticket once in a blue moon too!" Now if only we could convince the government to shift some of those subsidies away from big agribusiness and all that corn, over to these hard-working people? Well then, the costs might come down a bit, and we'd all be a whole lot healthier, huh?