Fruit Nirvana
Sep. 2nd, 2024 01:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
msconductI don't post much here because my life is so desperately boring, but something very exciting happened this morning (don't get too excited, it will also be desperately boring to other people, but it's thrilling for me!).
We're mostly vegetarianish and eat A LOT of fruit and vegetables. How many? Well, one week the cashier who saw me every week at my fruit and veggie shop asked me how many people were in my family, and she visibly started when I said two:).
That fruit and veggie shop was so great. I'm not impressed by the prices and quality of supermarket produce, so it's worth it to me to make an extra specialist stop to get good stuff. I'd been going there for years, when last year the bomb dropped - they were closing as the landlord was converting the space into something else. Horror! I was really upset and so were a lot of other customers - every line at the checkout was filled with people commiserating with each other for several weeks before the closure. Fortunately the staff had all found other jobs before they closed, so we didn't have to worry about that, but it really left such a huge hole.
So at that point I was forced to find an alternative, and I decided to give a new delivery service a try. I'd tried delivery boxes before with other suppliers, but wasn't crazy about them for one reason or another. However, these people were getting a very good rap on NZ Reddit for both price and quality. And they also let you order whatever you wanted rather than just restricting you to a set box - that was important to me as I like to plan meals and shop to that plan to avoid waste.
So I tried them and they were pretty good. The prices were excellent (this was a huge deal last year when massive flooding meant cabbages were going for $8 even in season) and the quality in the main was good to great. And like my previous shop, they had a great range as they could buy things that were grown in too small a quantity for supermarkets to be interested in. They weren't perfect - occasionally something would arrive that was past its best, and their customer service was nonexistent (they just didn't reply to contact attempts) - so if that happened you just had to suck it up. But overall they were the best option, and the lower prices meant that the delivery fee of $7 still made them good value.
Then earlier this year, they increased the delivery fee to $10. Ooh. Bummer. That meant that before I put in my order I had to check the supermarket prices at the same time to make sure that I was actually saving money (some weeks I ended up buying from the supermarket instead). That was a pain that did not add joy to my Monday mornings, but overall it was still worthwhile.
Then! This morning! I was checking out my fruit and veggie order, which was about $38.50, and a message came up "You need to spend $11.50 more to qualify for free shipping".
FREE SHIPPING???!???!?!?!??!?!
NZ is not like the US when it comes to free shipping. We hardly ever get it, so we definitely don't take it for granted. And the great thing about THIS free shipping is that my usual order plus $10 for shipping mostly comes out around the same as an order which qualifies for free shipping, which means that essentially I can add $10 worth and get that for free! So exciting! This is the part that's probably desperately boring to others as I may be the only person who gets so excited by fruit and veggies that I struggle not to impulse buy them, but for me it's the best gift ever. Now every week I have ten free dollars to splurge on whatever! This week I spent it recklessly on salad items I haven't eaten since last summer (tomatoes at the winter price of $6! Woohoo!). Next week I think I might go wild on grapes. I have no idea why we don't grow table grapes here since the country is full of wine grapes, but our eating grapes all come from Chile or California. What with general post-Covid prices and the decline of the NZ dollar grapes are now $15 per kilo/$6.80 per pound and I haven't eaten any for several years now. So many delicious options! Really looking forward to this little treat every week.
We're mostly vegetarianish and eat A LOT of fruit and vegetables. How many? Well, one week the cashier who saw me every week at my fruit and veggie shop asked me how many people were in my family, and she visibly started when I said two:).
That fruit and veggie shop was so great. I'm not impressed by the prices and quality of supermarket produce, so it's worth it to me to make an extra specialist stop to get good stuff. I'd been going there for years, when last year the bomb dropped - they were closing as the landlord was converting the space into something else. Horror! I was really upset and so were a lot of other customers - every line at the checkout was filled with people commiserating with each other for several weeks before the closure. Fortunately the staff had all found other jobs before they closed, so we didn't have to worry about that, but it really left such a huge hole.
So at that point I was forced to find an alternative, and I decided to give a new delivery service a try. I'd tried delivery boxes before with other suppliers, but wasn't crazy about them for one reason or another. However, these people were getting a very good rap on NZ Reddit for both price and quality. And they also let you order whatever you wanted rather than just restricting you to a set box - that was important to me as I like to plan meals and shop to that plan to avoid waste.
So I tried them and they were pretty good. The prices were excellent (this was a huge deal last year when massive flooding meant cabbages were going for $8 even in season) and the quality in the main was good to great. And like my previous shop, they had a great range as they could buy things that were grown in too small a quantity for supermarkets to be interested in. They weren't perfect - occasionally something would arrive that was past its best, and their customer service was nonexistent (they just didn't reply to contact attempts) - so if that happened you just had to suck it up. But overall they were the best option, and the lower prices meant that the delivery fee of $7 still made them good value.
Then earlier this year, they increased the delivery fee to $10. Ooh. Bummer. That meant that before I put in my order I had to check the supermarket prices at the same time to make sure that I was actually saving money (some weeks I ended up buying from the supermarket instead). That was a pain that did not add joy to my Monday mornings, but overall it was still worthwhile.
Then! This morning! I was checking out my fruit and veggie order, which was about $38.50, and a message came up "You need to spend $11.50 more to qualify for free shipping".
FREE SHIPPING???!???!?!?!??!?!
NZ is not like the US when it comes to free shipping. We hardly ever get it, so we definitely don't take it for granted. And the great thing about THIS free shipping is that my usual order plus $10 for shipping mostly comes out around the same as an order which qualifies for free shipping, which means that essentially I can add $10 worth and get that for free! So exciting! This is the part that's probably desperately boring to others as I may be the only person who gets so excited by fruit and veggies that I struggle not to impulse buy them, but for me it's the best gift ever. Now every week I have ten free dollars to splurge on whatever! This week I spent it recklessly on salad items I haven't eaten since last summer (tomatoes at the winter price of $6! Woohoo!). Next week I think I might go wild on grapes. I have no idea why we don't grow table grapes here since the country is full of wine grapes, but our eating grapes all come from Chile or California. What with general post-Covid prices and the decline of the NZ dollar grapes are now $15 per kilo/$6.80 per pound and I haven't eaten any for several years now. So many delicious options! Really looking forward to this little treat every week.
no subject
Date: 2024-09-02 05:20 am (UTC)Do you grow any veggies? I find it worthwhile to grow certain veggies such as tomatoes. They're much better tasting and you do save money growing your own. I don't really have a green thumb and have most success buying seedlings instead of starting from seed :p
no subject
Date: 2024-09-02 09:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-02 01:22 pm (UTC)And oh! I know the answer to this one! I used to kill mint too! :D The trick is to cut them back a lot, often. Ditto with basil. Don't baby them :p
no subject
Date: 2024-09-02 03:27 pm (UTC)Free shipping is great! It is happening less and less here unless one has Amazon Prime and I don't. I always order up for the free shipping. I get why you are so excited. :)
no subject
Date: 2024-09-02 11:21 pm (UTC)I'd love to get as far as being able to cut mint back! But when I planted some it just disappeared. I do have some growing on the deck (the only place I can keep plants alive, apparently!) although it's not helped by the cat getting into the pot and sleeping on it:).
no subject
Date: 2024-09-02 11:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-03 12:56 am (UTC)although it's not helped by the cat getting into the pot and sleeping on it:)
The obvious answer here is to have *two* pots of mint! But of course cats like to make themselves comfy on rotating spots lol
no subject
Date: 2024-09-03 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-03 02:37 am (UTC)Can you not save the seeds from your mature tomatoes...?
I've never grown Tasty Toms! Early Girls are very popular here because they are one of the first to produce and they have a very long growing season. They taste so-so though. A fave that I've grown in the past is Black from Tula. Very flavourful, meaty, and juicy!
You have cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets! And you say you have no green thumb ;-)
no subject
Date: 2024-09-03 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-03 02:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-04 01:13 am (UTC)