Blueberry picking

Yesterday we took a drive to the closest organic blueberry farm to our house. It was a small operation, that grows only blueberries and blackberries and is run by an elderly couple.

Our first blueberry picking experience was at a farm that is close to home, but that clearly uses chemicals. While on the hay ride, we passed sheds labeled with danger signs and the fruit bore a white residue that made me nervous when River was picking it off the bushes and popping it into his mouth.

Since the organic farm is further away, I wanted to pick as large of a supply as possible. Mark came along this time, which nearly doubled the load. In an hour we managed about 6 pounds, plus a small container of blackberries, for a total of $23.

River, as before, mainly occupied himself by stuffing his face with blueberries. Whereas last time he didn’t contribute a single blueberry to the bucket, this time he contributed a good 5-10. As I started to understand how time consuming the process is, I understood the settler’s need for children as laborers. A bunch of kids would certainly yield a larger supply of blueberries. But if you have that many more mouths to feed, does the cost cancel out the benefit?

I recently saw a program on one of the major news shows, where they were profiling migrant families who use children under 12 as laborers. I think they were trying to make people shocked at the practice, but they failed to look at the options. If the whole family is out picking blueberries and the 10-year-old can’t come along, what is that 10-year-old or 8-year-old or 6-year-old going to do? Sit home alone? Watch TV? Be in danger of getting in trouble? Migrant families are unlikely to be able to afford a sitter. Why not be outside with the family and make a contribution, however small, to the yield, so that the family has resources it needs to feed, clothe, shelter and educate that child? If society cares enough about preventing the practice to offer childcare, or to offer material support such that the whole family doesn’t need to go out picking, that’s fine. But you can’t just prohibit something without considering that the other choices available to the family may well be worse for the child’s welfare.

I’m grateful that River doesn’t feel the stress of knowing the quantity he picks might determine how much the family gets to eat. That is a great burden for any child. But I get great pleasure out of seeing him occupied in this way. I think he knows more at the age of two about where his food comes from than I knew at the age of 20.

“No green ones,” he said, immediately upon arriving at the bushes. “Only blue.” He then proceeded to search them out with gusto and pop them into his mouth.

I don’t think there are many experiences more beautiful that one can offer a child than the chance to pick berries. The excitement of the hunt, the understanding of where food comes from, the sweetness of the reward crushed against the tongue, the time outdoors and the sense of accomplishment at having sought out the treasure make for a wonderful experience.

As a child, we had a cabin where wild red and black raspberries grew alongside the road. I vividly recall carrying a bowl and searching them out. I remember the mosquitoes and flies that bothered us, the red stain on my fingertips, the temptation to pick those that weren’t yet fully ripe, and the reward of a lush, juicy, fully-formed red or black berry. We got poison ivy several times by crawling back into the bushes, but that didn’t stop us.

I’m in the process of researching the farms and resources in our area, trying to figure out which offer the best quality at the best price within a reasonable distance. I hope that memories of picking fruit, flowers, vegetables and visiting farms for milk, butter, cheese and meat will help my children (yes, I’m starting to think in plural) make choices that are sustainable and healthy. I hope they will have an appreciation of where things come from. And I hope we’ll form memories of good times spent together in nature.

Have you taken your child/ren to a farm for their food? Do you do so regularly, or on occasion? Do they continue to enjoy it as they grow older?

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.

Another Week of Vegetables

As the harvest season progresses, the weekly farm pick-ups become increasingly more fun.

This week cabbage and fresh basil was added to the assortment. I collected the usual salad mix, arugula, swiss chard, Russian kale, beets, and giant lettuce. I got to pick the last remnants of peas off the vines as well as flowers. Best of all, the herb garden was ready for use. I walked alongside rows of two types of mint, oregano, chives, lavender, thyme and lemon verbena, free to cut whatever I’d use during the week.

With a greater variety of veggies came more variety in dishes. I made an herbal tea by boiling one bunch of mint with a bunch of lemon verbena. I used ½ pound of arugula in a pasta recipe provided by the farm. With the peas I made a mint-pea hummus, wonderful with whole wheat pita wedges and fresh veggies (the recipe is in the Oprah Cookbook).

I told an employee of the farm how wonderful it is that River began eating just as the local soil began to reveal its treasures. As a result, he’s including sautéed beet greens, turnips, beets, collard greens, broccoli and kale in his very first tastes and is accepting them all well. She told me it’s only a few more weeks until the early tomatoes are ready. I can’t wait!

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.