CSA Week 18

The share seemed huge this week. Maybe it is just typical of fall or the farmer bulking up this share just in case Hurricane Joaquin cases some flooding of the farm before next Wednesday.

The watermelon radishes are 3 to 4 times bigger than last year. I traded the eggplant for another 3 so I have a total of 6. One has already been shredded and it added both flavor and color in a slaw with ingredients from last week: broccoli and kohlrabi.

There was another bunch of beets. I’ll be making more fruit beety with the beets even with half the previous batch still in the freezer. That still leaves the leaves. I’ll be focusing on eating them while they are fresh either in salad or stir fry.

There are a lot of ‘greens’ right now: arugula, watermelon radish leaves, lettuce, and mizzuna (two bunches since I traded hot peppers). The freshness of the leaves means that they will last a bit longer in the bins I have for the refrigerator….as long as we don’t lose power when the storm comes through early in the week.

There were bell peppers and snack peppers still this week.

I was thrilled to get another sweet dumpling squash – yum!

The heaviest single item of the day was 3 pounds of sweet potatoes. I’m glad the squash and the sweet potatoes don’t need to be refrigerated.

I picked rosemary as my herb choice…it’s already drying.

We got 2 items from the overage table; I got 1 pound of roma tomatoes and some scallions.

My refrigerator feels very full!

Beautiful Food to Savor

It is easier to eat well when food looks appetizing…looks beautiful either on its own or in the way it is presented. Over the past 5 years or so as I’ve gone from overweight down to ‘normal’ weight, I’ve become more thoughtful about making food that is beautiful and tastes good at the same time. It is easier to savor food and be satisfied these days. Here are some ways I have done that for myself:

Beautiful dishes. Even something as simple as hummus with pita bread wedges can look beautiful served in my Blue Tulip glassware!

Prepped to eat. Cutting up the pita into wedges as part of the preparation makes it easier to enjoy the act of eating. I cut of salad into smaller pieces that the regular bagged salads for the same reason; I dislike having salad dressing dribble off a too-large piece of greens.

Make it colorful. Spinach - strawberry - carrot - almond salad…beautiful in a clear glass bowl. The vibrant colors and melding of flavors made this one of my favorite salads in June. In July the ‘red’ veggie can be tomatoes. In the fall, the ‘red’ is apples with the skin left on.  I almost always add carrots or sweet potato for ‘orange’. When the leafy greens are scarce in the hottest weather - I use mint or basil or rosemary to contrast with the white cucumbers (if their skin it too tough to provide the green). Stir fries can be colorful in the same way.

Eat with a view. My favorite way to enjoy an orange for morning snack is to look out the window over my kitchen sink at the deck garden while I am eating. I cut it into wedges and then just observe the birds at the bird feeder and bath…the insects at the flower…the breeze moving the trees in the background.

Fresh is best. Now that I’m on the second year of belonging to a Community Supported Agriculture, I am a believer in the beauty and taste of just harvested produce. I love to eat seasonally.