Mail Order Organic Produce
Global Home Delivery of Fresh Farm Market Produce from Diamond Organics
Jul 26, 2006 Jacqueline Church
From France to China to Boston - in a box!
Mail order produce was new to me. I'm glad I took the plunge. It's not cheap, but it beats the cost of a plane ticket!
Charentais melon
First, opening the box let out the heady perfume of my very first Charentais melon. Fields of these melons grow in France. It is rumoured that people have seen tourists park their car on the side of the road, trying to sniff out where the delicious scent emanates from. This makes sense once you've tried one, or even been in its presence.
Charentais are similar to Cantaloupe. They're in the same family. Similar to the way that Catherine Deneuve and I are both women. Taking into account the small photo you may have seen of me, this may not quite do the trick. Allow me to clarify. I can't hold a candle to Catherine. Not even an itsy bitsy birthday cake sized candle. That's okay, I've got other things going for me.
Our dear Charentais, is a French native like our dear Catherine. Its skin is smoother and pale, its flesh is obscenely succulent, with softer, more yielding flesh than its more familiar cousin. It takes the whole melon-prosciutto thing from a fancy breakfast or appetizer to "is someone about to tell me I've got three weeks to live?" kind of moment. The deep, luscious flavor is worth sniffing out.
Off to China
From France let's go to China. Let's talk about organic mushrooms.The ones I ordered were called Bear's Head mushrooms! Lion's Mane is another name for them, or Monkey Brain. Oh my. They're also called Pom Pom mushrooms. This is the most apt descriptor that I can attest to, having not seen a monkey brain. Bears? Lions? My memories of zoo captives don't quite suggest these mushrooms' look.
These are huge, round fungus something near the size of an apple. Pale ivory in color, they are quite delicate and should only be purchased if pristinely white/ivory. It was a challenge to find information on these wild looking things, never mind a recipe.
Here's where choosing the right vendors or purveyors and building a relationship with them once again proves so valuable.
I wrote to several mushroom growers and to a couple that supply Diamond Organics. Ian Garrone of Far West Fungi got right back to me. He shared his favorite method of preparing them, too. When was the last time someone in your supermarket was that responsive or that excited for you to experience their produce?
Ian's favorite way to prepare these is to melt butter in a pan and sauté ¼ inch slices with onions and carrots. He and many others, compare the flavor and texture to crab or seafood. At once toothsome and delicate.
I sliced my Bear's Heads the same ¼". I sautéed them in a mix of butter and olive oil. The slices browned nicely, just golden. I added a bit of thinly sliced onion, cooked till transparent, but not too brown. Deglazed the pan with some sherry, sprinkled a bit of Wondra Sauce and Gravy Flour over the top. Added a bit of milk. Fresh thyme and parsley from the garden and voila! Lovely, lightly sauced mushrooms over toasted artisanal bakery bread.
This technique could be used on most any mushrooms as they have a natural affinity to sherry and thyme.
While ordering wonderful organic treats isn't cheap, when was the last time you could make it to China and France on an $80 ticket?
Other items ordered
- Blackberries - eaten as is, remainders went into the Layoff Pie.
- Figs grilled quickly and also eaten raw with prosciutto.
- Corn - this was a splurge, organic corn on the cob, early in our season, bursting with sweet corn flavor.
- Avocados - we can't get them here that taste the way they do in California. These were a close second.
- Red endive this was tiny and not so different from the more familiar endive I love.
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