I was reading Tigers & Strawberries the other day and noticed Vegetable Adventures post for The Spice is Right. Wanting to see what other Israeli's have to say, I peeked in and had a look-see. Inside was a link to Chubeza, an organic CSA that delivers in the Tel Aviv area.

"Hmmm", I said to myself, "too much for me… I am only one lonely little soul in my teeny tiny mouse house". Besides, I am not too fussed whether things are organic or not, rather the opposite really, as my pocketbook doesn't stretch too far and things organic (in Israel anyways) are usually at least 3 times the price of regular locally grown produce. Besides, organics are not easily found here, and when you do find them they are sad, mangy, manky looking things.

But then I thought of my upstairs neighbour, (who shall be known in all further posts as SisteR) and how she tries very hard to do the right thing for her family, which often includes me.

When I asked if she might be interested in the caring-sharing CSA thing, not only did SisteR jump at the idea, but she made me turn my computer on right then and there and signed us up for a 4 week trial period.

That was on Friday, and yesterday there was a knock at SisteR's door and she was hand delivered a huge carton of stuff. Practically jumping up and down with excitement she called me at work to tell me about all of the goodies we had just received. She unpacked the box over the phone, exclaiming all the while at the quality and quantity. Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, oriental long beans, cherry and regular tomatoes, baby green onions, basil that scented the whole thing, carrots, butternut squash, eggplant, summer squash, potatoes, a melon and some grapes.

When she got to the grapes SisteR sounded very unenthusiastic, and when I finally got to her place in the evening, I could understand why. Tiny, soft, neither red nor green little balls tightly packed onto twiglets, they were not at all like the showpiece grapes that flaunt themselves from every neighbourhood fruit & veg stall at this time of year, and which practically fall over themselves trying to climb into your basket at the Carmel market. But when I put one in my mouth and the grapey flavour flooded over my tongue, I didn't mind that they had seeds, I didn't mind that they weren't pretty enough to be on the cover of a magazine, I didn't mind that their lack of sex-appeal meant they would never sell cars. These were grapes, not sugar packaged in neutered grape form.

So thank you Vegetable Adventures, Halleluiah, I have seen the light!