Bountiful Baskets: November 16

It is Bountiful Baskets time again!  I got so much HEAVY stuff this week!

Check out the photo of my ONE basket --

And between my TWO baskets, I got:

• About 14 pound of Yukon Gold potatoes.  Yummy
• 5 pounds of carrots
• 2 bunches celery
• 2 bunches romaine lettuce (only I traded one away)
• 4 cucumbers
• 5 enormous yams
• 4 coconuts (only I traded one away)
• 17 bananas
• 6 mangoes (plus 3 I got in trade, so 9 total)
• 10 Fuji apples
• 19 Satsuma tangerines

What will we do with this?

• apples, tangerines, and bananas just get eaten
• mangoes usually turn into smoothies, but with this many, I'm going to do some investigating so I can maybe do something a bit more fun
• carrots, celery, and potatoes are just used.  Though, umm, I have a LOT of potatoes in my house right now, so I probably need to start planning for them.
• Lettuce, well, salads.  I traded one away because I simply have far too much lettuce around at the moment.
• Cucumbers will be sliced and dipped in ranch dressing
• Yams -- I am SO making up a sweet potato casserole or two or three. I tell you, these things are ENORMOUS.
• Coconuts.  I don't have the first clue.

I also got a hostess pack.  Doesn't this look amazing and yummy?

It includes:

• 1 living lettuce 
• 1 pineapple
• 2 parsnips
• 1 yellow onion
• 4 good sized russet potatoes
• 3 big Granny Smith Apples
• 3 small Granny Smith Apples
• 12 oz bag cranberries
• parsley
• sage
• rosemary
• thyme

What do I do with all of this?  Well, mostly we're talking staples here.

• The lettuce will keep nice, and I just love the living lettuce for that!  
• Potatoes an onions will be added to the stash.  
• I'll use the Granny Smith apples to do some baking.  
• Cranberries, well, that was the big draw with the hostess pack in the first place.  We'll eat those with Thanksgiving.  
• Parsnips, I'll be investigating.  I'm considering this Roasted Parsnips and Carrots recipe (with carrots from the basket, and parsley from this pack.
• Pineapple may be used in baking, or I might dry it.
• The herbs, well. I'm thinking about those.  I may make some oils... 

Fun basket.  Next week is the last one for November, so I'm looking forward to that.  And although I've heard that we won't have the chance to purchase a box of cranberries, well, I'm still hoping.  I would dearly, dearly love to get a whole box.