The Selection Expands

More surprises were in store for me at our farm pick-up this week. As the variety expands, it becomes even more fun to figure out what to do with the various veggies. This week we received:
· Salad mix. So smooth and sweet I could snack on it raw.

· Arugula. The flavor was distinctively more bitter than in the past, perhaps because it’s nearing the end of its season. It was too bitter for me to use in salads, so I’ll be making another batch of arugula pesto, throwing in the bunch of basil as well. I used some arugula pesto the other day, tossing it with whole wheat garlic fettucine, a bit of spaghetti sauce, some grated parmesan and fresh basil – yum!

· A bunch of basil

· Summer squash – boiled and blended with fresh basil to baby’s delight

· Cabbage. Baked in sweet and sour cabbage. This recipe wasn’t especially tasty, but the baking shrinks the cabbage and makes it easy to take in a lot of vitamins in a small side serving. We blended the sweet and sour cabbage for baby as well. Tonight I plan to make rustic cabbage soup. (postnote – it was delicious! Check out the recipe).

· Beets. My favorites. Currently, I’m eating them all in salad with goat cheese, pecans and dried berries. If I wasn’t, I’m sure baby would be happy to get his hands on some.

· Swiss chard. I figured out that sautéing the leaves with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (the same way I prepare beet greens) is an easy and fairly tasty side dish. I still like the beet greens better.

· Small red potatoes

I could also pick a bunch of flowers and a few herbs. I repeated making a batch of
homemade herbal tea, pouring two kettles of boiling water over a bunch of lemon verbena, a bunch of mountain mint and a bunch of peppermint. The tastes came through clearly. Chilled in the fridge, it made a wonderful, refreshing drink for a hot summer day.

Visit to the Farm

This evening my visit to the farm was a smorgasboard. I filled a bag with arugula, salad mix, a pound of the spindly but fresh broccoli. There was a sign near the broccoli saying that they had cabbage worms. They farm had tried to wash them off, but warned people to be careful when washing. Moving on to the next table, I picked up a bunch of turnips, two of the delicious beets, rainbow swiss chard with bright yellow stems, a head each of escarole and lettuce.

Then it was on to the pick-your-own options, the first time I was able to do that. I got to pick one box full of fresh peas and 10 stalks of black-eyed susan flowers. I walked amidst the rows of peas, immersed in the wild growth of the plants, the little white flowers and the long, green peas that occasionally appeared like a half moon in the evening sky. I snacked as I walked, enjoying the crunchy sweetness of vegetables right off the vine as I breathed in the scent of compost and thick vegetation.

Then I strolled alongside the patch of black eyed susans. Some of them opened with confidence, like suns with a black fireball at the center. Others still had their petals wrapped up, hesitantly beginning the process of unfolding. I gathered a bunch to place on the table at home, bringing the colors of sun into our house even after it has set.

I’m really going to have to ramp up my consumption of salads this week. I’ve been eating one a day, but it looks like I’ll have to go to two. I’ll also have to decide what to do with the broccoli and the swiss chard. I’m considered a chicken and swiss chard enchilada recipe I came across. And maybe some broccoli soup or chicken broccoli stirfry.