My Öko-Kiste

It's kinda silly and maybe completely boring, but I thought it might be a wee bit interesting to showcase a fun thing we've got here in Germany: organic grocery delivery (ökö = organic, kiste = box). I know similar things are popping up all across the US, but as organic produce varies from region to region, I'll give you a peek at what's currently available here in Berlin.



I'll admit that I have a love/hate relationship with our organic delivery company, Märkische Kiste. I love them because, well, they're fantastic, well-priced, have a great selection, and great customer service when I harass them with phone calls. Hate comes in because, sadly, the time delivery time for my area just plain sucks. It's at 11:30am on Wednesday mornings -- we're on the stay-at-home mommy neighborhood route. It used to be at 9:30am and that was just barely doable, seeing as I have to be at work at the ripe old hour of 10am. But 11:30...sigh. No way. They have no problem leaving your box on your doorstep for you, which many people do. I, however, am skeptical of the trustworthiness of our neighbors and so have stopped ordering for the time being. We'll see how this irons out.

But enough with the babbling and on with the fun. Here are some pictures from my last delivery! I ordered the regional box (size medium), which offers a variety of fruits and vegetables from local farmers (in our case, from Brandenburg) and is a surprise to you (mostly) until you get your box! I LOVE surprises, so that plus the 14.99€ price tag are pretty much unbeatable.

Our most recent shipment consisted of a lovely mix of lettuce, carrots, parsnips, apples, chives, wild garlic (Bärlauch--that's the best translation I could find!), sprouts, and mushrooms (I totally forget which kind. They were delicious though, and I'm not usually a big mushroom fan!).

Bärlauch: does this stuff seriously not have a more real name in English than wild garlic??

No, you do not have an option as to what to make with your sprouts. They are for woks and woks only!

The mushrooms completely overwhelmed me when I first saw how many there were! But I made a delicious creamy pasta sauce out of them (okay okay, Micha helped. A LOT.) and so we became friends.

At first I was totally convinced I had orange and white carrots. Until I tried to peel those things and found them entirely too squishy. Man, I can be such a city girl some days...

So that is our lovely Öko-Kiste, which I highly recommend if you're living anywhere in Germany. Just go here to find your local one!