Last Wednesday night I hustled from a meeting near the Mississippi to Cooks of Crocus Hill in Edina before their 9 o’clock closure, refusing the freeway. Our tropical jewel fruit share had arrived. I had called the shop earlier to find out exactly how long I had to drop in and pick up the fruit and after explaining their lack of refrigeration, etc. etc. it became apparent I really ought to come that night, so I made it work. From the original agreement from Cooks:

Nature can be fickle. We have tried to be as precise as possible when listing delivery dates of our crop shares to you [ours was advertised as mid-January, so these will definitely wobble a bit]. We will be notifying you as soon as possible regarding your pick up date and time. Please make arrangements to stop by for your share no later than 24 hours after the confirmed delivery time.

This all seemed like a bit of a pain until I arrived at Cooks to find my glorious, giant box of fruit. All is forgiven. “This is all for us?!” I blathered. I smiled! I was the only one picking up at the Edina location, so yes, it was all ours. This was no small box—it’s a good thing I had found a nearby parking spot.

I arrived at home still grinning from ear to ear with our little bounty from the non-frozen world. Thus began the bigger question: what are we going to do with all of these lemons and limes? So far they’ve brought a great deal of inspiration and cheer to this Minnesota-kitchen-in-February. Naturally, our plans around them are fueled by a lurking anxiety that we’ll fail to use our new citrus friends until they’re past their prime.

Lemon curd, tacos with lime, lime sorbet, lemon vinaigrettes, lemon chicken, limeade, pies, cakes, lemon-in-your-tea (or water!). It’s all on the table. The best part? You’re all invited over for cocktails.

Cooks of Crocus Hill offers crop shares (some of which are fruit shares) throughout the year. Unlike a traditional risk-oriented CSA, they promise refunds on deposits in the event that shares aren’t delivered. Find out what’s available now: http://www.cooksofcrocushill.com/cropshare/shares

For our fruit share, Cooks worked with the always certified organic FruitShare. We’re thinking of ordering directly from fruitshare in the future. Here’s what’s in season at the moment: http://www.fruitshare.com/Featured-Product

Around 10 boxes formerly part-filled with tea are now flattened and in the recycling thanks to this handy yellow file drawer. Originally purchased for our wedding in September, this box from Hindsvik‘s shop has been sitting around my office with nothing in it ever since it arrived as a part of a package from Michigan back in October. Not sure what I would do with it in the apartment, I brought it home on Friday to see if it might be of some use. Less than 24-hours later, this old file box has a new calling.

Tom and I have been dreaming of a tea box for a while now, since it always seems like we have at least one million boxes of tea each with 2 tea bags inside, all of which tend to topple to the floor every time we open the tea cupboard’s door.

Online searches for a tea box turned up a few, but most of them (according to reviews) don’t actually fit the average teabag inside. After coming up dry on the web, I considered making a teabox myself from wood. That thought didn’t last long due to my wood working experience and lack of equipment.

Zero effort required, not only does this box fit perfectly in our tea cupboard, it is also—unlike the aforementioned actual tea storage boxes—the exact right height for tea bags:

If you’re interested in a box of your own, Hindsvik still has a few metal numbered drawers available.

Le Petit Dej Breakfast Tray by Peter White, $92 at A+R Store

image: A+R Store

What’s small, bright, and makes all of our picnic dreams come true? Indeed, a tiny grill from Bodum. We’ve been hunting a round, portable, lidded grill for a while now and this just might be the one. Tom and I have narrowed it down to yellow, but the FYRKAT Picnic Charcoal Grill also comes in green, blue, orange, white, and black.

via grassrootsmodern.com

As January comes to a close, it’s really starting to feel like 2010. This weekend, while less activity filled than, say, our cross country ski marathon, was well enjoyed. On Saturday morning I was inspired by Bon Appétite to prepare crêpes for breakfast. With only one so bad it had to go straight to the trash (that was #3, one and two came out just fine), I am no longer afraid of this thin egg pancake with a French accent. Bon Appétite may be right, “crêpes are a cinch, with no special… pan required.” We enjoyed ours with a mix of cheeses inside (gruyère was the clear favorite) along with chopped cilantro and green onions and the occasional splash of chipotle Tabasco. If you’d like to try your hand at the recipe, hop over to Bon Appétite’s website. Don’t worry if you don’t have buckwheat at home; not about to run out on a Saturday morning, I used a mix of rye and whole wheat flours instead.

Martha: café con leche, largo de leche (left). Tom: tinto (right).

See you in February!