I have a bad history with Groupons. I love a good deal, but somehow, almost every time I’ve bought one, something has gone wrong. There was the time I bought one for my brother and me to go trampolining one weekend, but I didn’t read the fine print that said it was only valid on three day of the week….none of which I’d be at home. There have been A LOT of close calls where I realize the Groupon was going to expire in a couple of days and I scrambled to use it in time. I take full responsibility for all of those instances, just for the record (although I’m convinced that the businesses make a killing from all of the people who forget to redeem their Groupons in time, but that’s besides the point).
Let’s back up to yesterday morning. My friend, Riley, and I were finishing our morning run and I mentioned I’d gotten an email notification that I had a package waiting for me. The email was strange because it wasn’t from the campus package center, like usual. It was from the Center for the Study of the American South, which was bizarre. I hadn’t ordered anything (or so I thought) and I had no idea where that building was located.
Riley was intrigued by the mystery package, so we extended our run a little bit and ran to the center. I told the receptionist about the email I’d gotten, so she disappeared into an office and returned carrying a pretty hefty box. When Riley and I walked outside, we realized it was a giant box of produce and both started laughing because we had no idea why I’d had a package of produce shipped to me.
When I got back to my room, I started putting the pieces together of what happened. Remember how I’m not so great at using Groupons? I bought a Groupon a couple of weeks ago for a farm-to-table delivery service and set up my account online, thinking I’d place my first order when I got back to school after Christmas break. The delivery service has an option to create your own custom box, which is what I was planning to do since I didn’t particularly want to have random vegetables like say, beets or radishes, sent to me. Apparently, though, as soon as you set up your account, you’re automatically enrolled in their pre-designed box program. As for why the package was delivered to the Center for the Study of the American South, I still have no idea.
I cracked the box open when I got back to my room and saw that there were radishes, lettuce, kale, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, beets, apples, collard greens, and bananas inside.
I wasn’t excited about getting the box during exams because I’m pretty much in “survival mode” during finals and I don’t have time to cook much. I’m definitely not up for experimenting in the kitchen with new-to-me veggies like beets and radishes and collard greens.
But…the more I thought about it, the more I started getting excited about the idea of cooking with some new veggies. The whole box was only $15, and a lot of it is local or organic produce. So, as soon as finals are over, I’m going to do some recipe experimenting! And this is where I need YOUR help. I have plans for the familiar produce already:
Bananas- mix into oatmeal, eat as snacks with almond butter, and freeze the rest for green smoothies
Apples- eat for snacks
Lettuce- use in salads
Sweet potatoes- bake them whole or cut into wedges and roast them
Red potatoes- quarter them and roast with fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic
But I’d love your ideas for how to use radishes, beets, kale, and collard greens. I’ve been eying this kale and lentil soup recipe because it looks easy and delicious, and because I have dried lentils in my room that I should probably use at some point in the next two years before I graduate. I’d also love to try my hand at making “Southern-style” vegetarian collard greens. I have no clue what to do with the beets, though, because as we all know, “nobody likes beets.”
If you have any other ideas of recipes or dishes that use one (or more!) or these veggies…I’d love to hear ’em! Feel free to drop links in the comments.
So tell me…
Are you a “Grouponer”? Have you had any strange experiences using Groupons?
Do you have any favorite recipes that use radishes, beets, kale, or collard greens?
Do you love and miss the Office as much as I do?!
I have seen a lot of baked goods made from beets, specifically brownies! You bake them, then purée them and make something similar to a canned pumpkin, they turned out great for me!
That’s so fascinating! I actually saw a sponsored post on Facebook today with a recipe for beet brownies that looked surprisingly good!
I laughed at the title of this post! I like roasted beets or a quinoa + beet salad. Also, collard greens can be used as “wraps” for sandwiches.
I actually made a sandwich for lunch today but saw your comment about the collard greens too late. I’m definitely going to give it a try, though!
This was too good! I had a good laugh this morning, which was exactly what I needed for a gloomy day like today. I have never heard of Groupons? What is it? Hope finals are going well for you! Keep strong!
XO
Groupons are deals you can purchase for certain businesses, like restaurants, movies, bowling alleys, etc. A lot of times, you can pay something like $10 for $20 worth of goods, but sometimes, they expire really quickly or have other strict limits…there always has to be a catch, right?
I’ve bought one thing from groupon. It was rayban wooden sunglasses for my husband as a suprise. Other than that, I’m too scared to buy from it! I’m not a huge beet fan, but I do like them juiced!!
I think I need to start being scared of Groupons, too, haha. For some reason, I keep trying to make them work for me!
There are almost always enough terms or limitations on Groupons that I don’t buy them, but that one sounds pretty cool! So funny that you ended up with so many veggies on accident, but I’m sure you’ll make the best of it. Good luck with finals!
I’m pretty sure the businesses make SO much money from tripping people up with all of the Groupon terms and conditions!
This is hilarious… So many colorful, beautiful, delicious veggies, and I’m glad you have such a good attitude about it. I LOVE kale salad (massaged kale) or kale in stirfry. I’m not a big fan of beets.
Hmm…I’ve heard lots of people talk about massaged kale salad so maybe I’ll have to give that a try instead of the soup!
This is hilarious! I wouldn’t know what do do with those veggies either, maybe roast the beets? I like the idea of a kale soup.
What a great selection- Kale works well in stews and stir-fry (I’m not particularly keen on it raw), and collared greens also work well in stir- fry steamed with onion and served with chicken or salmon.
I absolutely love beetroot and eat it almost everyday. Chocolate beetroot cake/ muffins/ brownies are also popular if you fancy baking: http://deliciouslyella.com/glazed-chilli-brownies/
and the following recipe uses your sweet potatoes, kale and beetroot: http://deliciouslyella.com/sweet-potato-sprout-beet-salad/
Best of luck with your remaining exams
xx
Thanks for the recipe ideas, Charlotte! I’m impressed that you found one that uses 3 of the ingredients I’m trying to use up!
I’ve heard that beets can be used to make red velvet cake.. if you’re in need of some late night sugar for studying. 😉
Ooh, how cool! I just looked it up and it turns out you can use them for a more natural way to color the cake red 🙂
That’s hilarious it ended up in a random building! Does your college not have street addresses? MSU only used building names until my senior year, and they finally got real addresses because emergency personnel complained it confusing!
My college actually DOES have street addresses, which makes it even stranger than it went to some other building haha. But that’s so interesting that MSU didn’t use real addresses until your senior year!
haha this is the best story! And I’m not a grouponer, but if I were, I’d be one of those who let their groupons expire. Oops.
Also, I love baking with beets. I’ve got a red velvet loaf recipe on my blog that you should check out. And I also put them in smoothies after boiling/baking and cooling. Radishes are great baked with some rosemary. But I don’t have a tonne of experience with them. I’m not a huge fan of collard greens so I’ve got nothing there. But kale chips are the bomb.
Happy experimenting! 😀
Thanks for the ideas, Giselle! Ooh, I may have to give kale chips a try! I’ve heard that they’re really good.
Sadly we don’t have a ton of good groupon deals in my area. We did when I lived in Columbia, SC, but now I’d have to drive to Charlotte (~30 min) for any of them and with this busy school year I’m not feeling it.
I love pickled beets! Roasted beets are good too, just really messy! Collard greens just need to be sauteed and then top with lots of vinegar-> southern style minus the bacon. I like raw radishes in salads and as dippers.
Thanks for the ideas, Kate! I think I’ll put the radishes in a salad. My favorite Mediterranean restaurant puts sliced radishes in their Greek salad (I think?) so I’ll try that.
that is so funny! I’ve never actually ordered a groupon but i would probably do the same thing lol. Can’t believe that box was only 15 dollars! I love roasting beets and putting them in salads, so good!
– radish- i used to HATE. but can now tolerate (lol). my mom loves with with lemon juice & a sprinkle of salt. i found i can tolerate them in a stir fry or soup. they’re so different once cooked!
– beets- delicious roasted!! cut if they’re big otherwise just SCRUB REALLY GOOD and wrap in foil and bake at 450 for like 60 minutes. you can also cube and roast like the potatoes. also good in brownies and cakes as suggested above.
oh! also good in a raw beet/shaved fennel salad with citrus segments!
– KALE GIRL ARE YOU KIDDING ME. so much! in a smoothie, stewed greens, and these recipes:
http://www.masalagirltravels.com/2014/10/20/dorm-cooking-pasta-with-kale-tomatoes-1-pot-1-bowl/
http://www.masalagirltravels.com/2014/07/08/curried-pumpkin-with-kale/
a hash, egg, or tofu scramble http://www.masalagirltravels.com/2015/06/07/tofu-scramble/
steamed or sauteed and in a bowl with tofu & black beans
– collards, in a wrap, or yes cook greens are amazing! i make them all the time!
Thanks so much for all of the ideas, girl! Checking out your pasta with kale recipe now 🙂
also, i did basically the same thing.
signed up for DoorToDoor Organics (delivers organic, mostly local produce to your door!) just to *sign up* and order in January (this was in OCTOBER) and got a whole box ($$$25) delivered straight to my dorm room. as in a guy from DTD came to my building and asked to bring it to my room because that’s their customer service haha. this was also a day after i went to the store and the tuesday before i was going home for the weekend
Haha I love that you did basically the same thing! And of course, the worst timing- the day after going to the store and right before you go home for the weekend 🙂
Ahhh I am so happy I am not the only one who fails with groupons!!!!! Although a box of veggies is pretty hilarious at least it’s always useful and healthy right? I have no doubt you’ll whip something amazing up! After some time off from groupon-Ing (self imposed probation 😉 ) I now buy them pretty regularly to treat myself and Curtis in Sydney which is such an expensive city. It makes things much cheaper! I schedule them into my planning now so they don’t expore :p
That’s a GREAT idea! I’m going to start marking Groupon expiration dates into my Google Calendar so I don’t keep forgetting about them 🙂