A WEEK OF HOMEMADE MEALS MADE WITH FARM BOX BY 409 + CO
We love going to the Farmer’s Market. There is an abundance of fresh, local seasonal fruits and veggies and it’s just fun to be out in the community. You also get access to produce that you won’t find at your local grocery store; like passion fruit and English peas. It’s always nice to know the farm that your produce came from. Farm Box by 409 + Co helps bring the Farmer’s Market to your front door with seasonal produce in a curated box. They curate from local, small family-run farms. Flexible options include a weekly subscription or you can get a one-time box if you want to just check it out.
Farm Box by 409 + Co curates weekly boxes from local farms. Sourced directly from farmers and delivered right to your door. Diving into this week’s box, we’re dishing on the fresh produce we got and what we cooked with them.
UNBOXING THIS WEEK’S DELIVERY
Unboxing this week’s delivery was a lot of fun. Lots of fresh and bold green vegetables and vibrant colorful strawberries and blueberries. Here's what came in our box: fennel, strawberries, blueberries, potatoes, Haas avocados, asparagus, collard greens, gem lettuce, English peas, carrots, broccoli, Portobello mushrooms, spring garlic, fresh gnocchi, and flowers.
WHAT WE MADE THIS WEEK
MONDAY | ACAI BOWL
Our box came with fresh berries sourced from the following local farms:
Strawberries from Yerena Farms in Watsonville, CA.
Blueberries from Triple Delight Blueberries in Fresno, CA.
On Monday, we decided to kick off our week by making an acai bowl with the strawberries and blueberries from our farm box. We used an acai superfruit pack from Sambazon and maple pecan granola from Bear Naked to make the bowl – not included in the box. The acai bowl was fun to put together and was such a light and refreshing lunch. We definitely wouldn’t mind having this every day!
TUESDAY | GNOCCHI WITH RED SAUCE AND ITALIAN SAUSAGES
On Tuesday, we made gnocchi with red sauce and Italian sausages. The gnocchi were pretty easy to cook. Once the water boiled, we threw in the gnocchi one at a time. After they floated to the top, we let them cook for another 1-2 minutes. The red sauce we used was Rao’s Homemade All-Natural Marinara Pasta Sauce and we used Italian sausages from Whole Foods (not included in the box).
WEDNESDAY | APPLE FENNEL SALAD WITH PINE NUTS
On Wednesday, we made a salad with the fennel from Green Thumb Organics in San Juan Bautista, CA. Fennel is fun to try. It pairs well with apple and tastes a bit like licorice. We also used the gem lettuce from Star Route Farms in Bolinas, CA. The feathery part of the fennel is edible but we only used the bulb for this salad. For this salad, we made it with fennel bulb, sliced apples, gem lettuce and topped off with pine nuts. For the dressing, we used a white balsamic vinegar.
THURSDAY | GRILLED STEAK WITH GRILLED ASPARAGUS
On Thursday, we hooked up asparagus from Zuckerman Family Farms in Stockton, CA. We seasoned the steak and asparagus on both sides with salt and pepper. We used a smokeless indoor grill to grill both the steak and the asparagus. The asparagus makes for a delicious side to the steak.
FRIDAY | GRILLED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM BRUSCHETTA
On Friday, we made a savory appetizer with the Portobello mushrooms from Far West Fungi in San Francisco, CA. Bruschetta is a lovely appetizer, and for this version, we used the Portobello mushrooms in place of bread. First, we grilled the mushrooms. Then we diced tomatoes and mixed them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. We put the tomato mix onto the mushrooms and finished it off with chopped basil to put it all together. A lovely treat using the Portobello mushrooms!
SATURDAY | SEA SCALLOPS WITH ENGLISH PEAS
On Saturday, we hooked up dinner with English peas from Iacopi Farms in Half Moon Bay, CA. We love scallops and these were delicious with the English peas. English peas are a little bit different from snow peas as you’ll want to discard the pods and only eat the peas.
SUNDAY | AVOCADO TOAST
No Sunday scaries here because we’ve got avocado toast! The avocadoes were from Brokaw Ranch Company in Saticoy, CA. For this avocado toast, we used a slice of sourdough bread. We topped it off with the everything but the bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s and chili flakes. A delicious way to wrap up the week.
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It was a fun week cooking with the fresh produce that came in our farm box. It does take a little bit of planning and grocery shopping for additional ingredients for each meal, but it’s totally doable. It was nice to work with fresh, local ingredients to make healthy, delicious meals.
