Fresh Veggies in November

One of what I consider a major benefit of living in China is access to fresh vegetables. Yes, you read right. Access to fresh vegetables. We eat a large variety of veggies here than we did in the U.S. Eggplant, full size carrots (when is the last time you ate a non "baby" carrot???), bok choy, daikon, sweet potatoes (best on the street!), green beans as long as my leg, and all sorts of yummy greens.  I have been buying most of my veggies from the Vizcaya Market each Wednesday, or a small local grocery a block away. And I buy organic about half the time. Not so much that I am a "green" freak, but because a lot of the organic items are really fresh or seem to be anyway. This week I decided to order some items from an organic place here in Shanghai, Fields. You have been able to buy their items in a few places in town. They have been pusing their online ordering, so thought I would give it a try.

The ordering process was simple once I had registered. And I find the prices for most items about the same as the organics I buy elsewhere. And maybe a bit cheaper than City Shop for some items. I ordered the kinds of stuff I usually buy each week. Thought I would order, cook, eat, assess.  Here was my order.

IELDS Order

Item No. Name(EN) Name(CH) Price Qty Total V-001-0062 Baby Swiss Chard CNY15 1 CNY15 V-001-0034 Organic Avocados 牛油果 CNY36 1 CNY36 V-001-0036 Broccoli 西兰花 CNY15 1 CNY15 V-001-0013 Large Carrot 大胡萝卜 CNY18 2 CNY36 V-001-0043 Shiitake Mushrooms 香菇 CNY12 1 CNY12 V-002-0002 Cilantro (Coriander) 香菜 CNY10 1 CNY10 F-021-0007 Lemons 柠檬 CNY10 1 CNY10 F-022-0011 Australian Mango 芒果 CNY50 1 CNY50 F-021-0027 Limes 绿柠檬 CNY15 1 CNY15 F-021-0030 Clementines 砂糖桔 CNY10 1 CNY10 D-062-0002 Free Range Eggs 鸡蛋 CNY25 1 CNY25       Shipping and Handling Fee : CNY0    Cash On Delivery Total: CNY234

Not sure why I ordered an Australian Mango for 50RMB. Who pays $8 for a single piece of fruit? So the total was about $36. Not bad, not great. By the way, the quantities are not necessarily individual items, meaning the order was not 2 carrots, it was 2 500 gram units. About 4 big carrots. Placed the order for a scheduled time. Received confirmation. So, now wait...

The order arrived right on time in a cool cardboard box (we get excited like children with good boxes!).

All of the food was individually wrapped and clearly identified. Some were in pre-measured containers, but most were individually measured, probably right before they went into the box.

Below is the picture of all my stuff out of the box. Does it look like 234RMB of stuff???

Now came the fun part. Unwrapping. Smelling. Tasting. Clocwise from noon position, oranges, broccoli, lemons, limes, Australian Mango, avacodos, baby Swiss Chard, eggs, carrots, mushrooms, cilantro. All 11 items accounted for!

First taste was the Clementine orange. They promised seedless. And they were!!! Next, I snipped a bite of cilantro. Wow, tasted like cilantro. And the bunch was big, not the limp stuff we have been getting at other markets. Ok, now a nibble of carrot. Yum. And let;s try the baby Swiss Chard. Wow. This might be the best green I have eaten in a long time. Hard to explain the taste, but maybe a bit nutty? Definitely not going to cook them like I thought I would. This is going into a salad tomorrow! 

So, I give Fields a great big A. Convenient, good, not too badly priced. And I can make out a menu the night before and have the delivery the afternoon I want to cook.  Now I gotta check go check out the pine sprouts (what the ...?) and fresh spinach!