Bumper Crop

I've been feeling pretty green lately. Our latest pickup from the CSA was the biggest yet:

1 lb various leaf lettuces
2 lb tomatoes (YUM!!)
1 head cabbage
2 cloves garlic
1 green pepper
2 beets
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
3/4 lb broccoli
3/4 lb swiss chard

So far this week we've had lots of yummy salads, mu shu pork (made with the cabbage), plenty of open faced tomato sandwiches, and swiss chard sauteed with the garlic scape pesto I made and froze two weeks ago. Outstanding! So far, I haven't figured out what to do with the beets! Tim is eating some of the produce because he likes it and some of it because it's good for him. The kale he won't eat at all. The kids are pretty much sticking to the broccoli, although Jeremy LOVES garlic scapes and mu shu pork and even tried the swiss chard. In past weeks, we've gotten plenty of spinach and kale, too. I can't wait to see what's next.

This has been a fun experience. Tuesday nights working at the garden are peaceful and beautiful. The garden, while probably 2 miles from our house, feels a world away. Even though the deer are pesky and jump the electric fence, they are still fun to see. I can hear the cows grazing on the open fields nearby. Last weeks' walk back to my car even took me near the whole herd. Plenty of calves, too. (Odd to think that we may be buying the meat of one of those cows at the end of the season! The head gardener one-upped me when he told me that not only were the tomatoes and lettuce on his first BLT of the season from the garden, but the bacon was from one of his own pigs, too!) The sunsets are stunning over the tall rows of rye that's used as a cover crop. I think the two hours a week in the garden are as good for me as the fresh produce! Did I mention it's QUIET? That's something we're lacking at our house!! (Anybody want to chat with a 4 year old for FOURTEEN HOURS STRAIGHT sometime?)

More updates as the season progresses. And if anyone needs some weeding done, I'm becoming an expert with the scuffle hoe. Give me a call!

By the way, I've been reading two very interesting books about the way we eat ("we" meaning Americans and people around the world). The first is Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel. It's a fascinating photo essay and collection of written essays about what typical families in countries around the world eat in one week. The other is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. Both have open my eyes a little bit to the benefits of eating more local foods.