We’re not saving any money by joining a produce delivery service. Buying local and organic is hella expensive, and it’s even more expensive to have a Fresh Picks Double Box delivered to our door farm-fresh (or damn near it) every other week. That said, signing up for deliveries from Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks is one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. We worried we’d feel that we were wasting money, but so far it’s been worth every penny.

Why’d we do it?
For a couple reasons, really. Sure, we can get produce for much less from our local grocery store, but I love the idea of buying local and supporting local farmers. But that’s not the main reason we do this.

A Nudge in the Right Direction
The most common argument we hear from people considering joining a CSA or service like Fresh Picks, is that they’re afraid the produce will go to waste. But that’s the beauty of this, for us at least.

• The produce is SO much fresher than in the grocery stores it seems to have a never-ending shelf-life. Since we started we haven’t thrown a bit of produce away. We’ve easily been able to cook everything before it goes even a little bad; plus it lasts us the full two weeks between deliveries.
• We’re making TONS of veg for every meal now, and getting creative!! We’ve both lost weight and are feeling loads better since making this change to our diet. Having the piles of veg encourages us to (a) cook at home more and (b) cook with more veg, which necessarily makes everything healthier.
• We’re trying new things? Who knew rainbow chard would become a new favorite? When would I have ever bought fennel, or mizuna?  Probably never, but I’m having so many cooking adventures!

We’ve thought about joining a cropshare program, but the annual commitment scares me a bit. For now, we’re loving Fresh Picks and can’t say enough good things about them! We’re looking forward to a year full of new adventures in cooking with these interesting ingredients!

(Note: I found the photo all over the internets. I’d be happy to credit it to someone if I learn who the photographer is)

The rubber stoppers seal the wine, and the vacuum pump easily pumps out excess air. It’s always fun to punk out the air and then tap the little valve just to hear the “Pssssssst” of the seal releasing (even though it means we have to just seal it up again).

The vacuum sealer allows me to use a bottle of wine over a course of a couple meals without destroying its integrity, and best of all it encourages me to buy and try more wine because I know the leftover won’t go to waste. I think ours is a slightly different (more deluxe) model than the one at Target, but it’s a great buy for everyone who likes wine and hates to see it go to waste.

About twice a year our favorite local grocer goes nuts and cuts meat prices down to ridiculous levels. A pork tenderloin for $2, boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1 a pound. Before the FoodSaver, we cursed our inability to stock up on such deals because everything would just freezerburn. Now, however, we’ll invest nearly 2 hours of prep work, bagging and cleanup every few months to save some big money.

This time we bought a ton of chicken breasts, grinding up over 4 lb with our KitchenAid Meat Grinder attachment; ground chicken is expensive in the stores, but it’s a great low-fat substitute for ground beef. We also coarsely ground a chuck roast (under $2 a pound) for delicious chili meat.

QUICK TIP: Slice up chicken and beef for fajitas and stir fries, adding the marinades to the bags before vacuum sealing them. This is the best time saver in the world for nights when I work late. The meat has plenty of time to marinate while thawing in the fridge throughout the day, I can open the bag, cut up some veggies and immediately start cooking.

And then there’s the cheese. The awesome $20/lb Spanish Manchego that we’ll treat ourselves to now and again, or the Queso Chihuahua in bulk from the Mexican grocer ($3/lb versus $7+/lb to buy it a hunk at a time!), Foodsaver’d cheese lasts for what seems like forever, and buying in bulk lets us have our favorites while saving a ton of money.

My dear FoodSaver Vac 300 has served me well over the last 3 years, and remains the best $30-on-ebay I’ve spent for my kitchen. As far as I’m concerned, for Shortcut Chefs a FoodSaver or other vacuum sealer is a must-have.

When America’s Test Kitchen recommends a product, I tend to listen. So when I was trying to decide whether to spend a great deal of money on an olive oil or to go with a basic one, I turned to them for help. And hallelujah, did they deliver.

I’ve tried a number of “whatever’s on sale” brands of Extra-Virgin Olive Oils with results ranging from complete indifference to utter disappointment. Nothing ever blew me away until I followed the Test Kitchen’s recommendation of a mid-range EVOO as their top pick. A mid-range olive oil? I was shocked that the winner was not the high-end variety. But lo and behold, with my first bottle of DaVinci Extra Virgin Olive Oil I was totally hooked.

The flavor is rich but not too strong and just perfect for everything I use it for. Now that I’ve been using this for a year or so, I simply cannot go back. There are very few products to which I’m brand-loyal. DaVinci Olive Oil is definitely one of them.

You need a garlic press. You do. Polaner Garlic (or any jarred minced garlic) is great in a pinch, so be sure to keep a jar on hand, but there’s nothing quite like the real thing. And please please please, stop trying to flavor everything with garlic powder and garlic salt. It has its place, for sure, but it’s just not the same. Most premade sauces have more than enough salt and sodium, so stick with the fresh stuff to maximize flavor.

I know, I know, crushing your own garlic is too big a pain in the ass. What if you didn’t have to peel it first? That’s where freshly peeled garlic in the produce department comes in. It’s easy to get at Asian and Italian markets, and they probably have some at a store near you.

Without peeled garlic, I’m not sure I’d make the effort all the time, but the cloves are generally all large, making it quicker to crush (as opposed to a bunch of teensy tiny cloves).

Seriously, check your produce department and if they don’t have it, demand it.