October 9th, 2008 by Margie
I am really noticing all the babies…baby chard, baby lettuces, baby bok choy. But not just in the fields, I was introduced to a beautiful baby girl just over a week ago, baby Justine. Tuesday when I went to pick up goat cheese for some of you at Mary’s goat farm, she introduced me to two adorable baby goats. Oh! A baby goat is a sweet sweet sight! I am surprised I let go of the one she let me hold.
I suppose I am seeing life and new life all around. Let’s really enjoy that this month. The season shows us leaves are dying, the sun is changing positions in the sky, the the temperatures are falling but all these signs of fall and winter coming are just different ways that nature continues to foster life. The colder days will help our fall greens. I can’t wait to get more and more crops of lettuce and cooking greens. The greens you have this week are young swiss chard, beautiful and tender. They are easy to cook up if you enjoy greens with a little olive oil and garlic, this is perfect for the chard. Just cook them less time than you might a hardy kale.
The recipe this week is the way I have been cooking my okra the last few weeks. It seems weird for me to even say “my okra” since I have always hated this vegetable! Hate is a strong term for a food product but okra had a special place. To think that I am not only eating okra but cooking it for myself, alone, when no one else is here, is amazing! I hope for you that at some point you find a new relationship to a vegetable you thought was not for you. I was a vegetarian as an adolescent because I thought I hated meat. When I grew up and moved to New York, I realized that I did not hate meat. I hated cheap meat! My family was a working-class southern family and the only steak I knew was “cube” steak, need I say more!? The reason I share this is because I am hearing stories of vegetables that people hated as a child but most of the time it is the way the vegetable was prepared that was so distasteful. Not all of us like boiled okra (whew!) or brown sugar gobbed on our sweet potatoes. To me, hearing that someone is eating something that they thought they did not like at all and now they love it is a story of a new life of sorts….sooo….
Here’s to all the babies!!
October 8th, 2008 by Margie
Dear Vegetable Husband customer,
Today is a rainy Wednesday but this is so good for our new fall crops. I hope it helps the lovely greens get even more mature by next week. Speaking of, this week you have lots of variety for salads. You have the endive lettuce from Whippoorwill Hollow Farms again. You also have some delicious arugula from the Scharko Farm in Fairburn. You will also find the mix baby salad greens from Full Moon Farms. These are the first gifts from these lettuce plants in Athens. I snacked a little while we were weighing out the product and I think you will like them! Please be sure to wash everything thoroughly. The rain has made everything a little extra…earthy.
You have another melon this week and a pear or two. These pears are much firmer than some so if you prefer a soft ripe fruit, you might want to use them for cooking. There is nothing easier than throwing a pear cut in half in the oven to bake. You will have a wonderful treat in about 50 minutes. Add butter if you like and sugar. I sometimes squeeze a bit of lemon on mine.
Next week I will DEFINITELY be picking up goat cheese and coffee for folks so if you would like some of the coffee you tasted, let me know by Monday. The coffee is $10 a pound. If you are interested in goat cheese, she makes chevre (cream), feta, and mozzarella and they are all $7 each. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Enjoy your fall harvest of veggies and fruit. I can’t wait to cook my chard and have poached eggs with it for brunch! I have to have veggies even with my breakfast.
Here is the list of your goodies for this week:
sweet peppers
baby salad greens
swiss chard
arugula
okra
endive lettuce
sweet potatoes
Heirloom watermelon
pear
I’m posting an okra recipe this week so be sure to check it out. I post on the website each week to help you use some of your ingredients. Remember, I am happy to talk FOOD!
Namaste,
Margie Thorpe
October 1st, 2008 by Margie
Dear Vegetable Husband customer,
October is here and so begins the season of greens. I have managed to get the first harvesting of turnip greens. We do not have the turnips yet. That comes later, but for now we are entering the season of dark leafy vegetables, my personal favorites!
I switched to offer you an arrangement of herbs this week. Please let me know if you need additional ideas for your sage or rosemary. Potatoes always love being coupled with rosemary, even the sweets. I also made sure you got another chance at some hot peppers. You can always add hot peppers to the pot when cooking your turnip greens.
We are getting watermelon again this week. If you got one of the melons from a few weeks ago that were not very sweet, I apologize. Several of them were picked too early. I have been assured that this will not be the case this week so don’t let an earlier experience keep you from cutting in to your fruit for this week.
Let me know if any of you are interested in ordering fresh ground grits. I have found a wonderful source in Athens where Tim and Alice Mills grind the grits fresh to order. I tested them this week by making baked garlic grits. They were great but I would have loved a few shrimp to go with them. If you are interested, e-mail me for pricing and quantiies.
Enjoy your basket of Georgia nourishment. Below is the list of your goodies for this week:
sweet peppers
hot pepper
turnip greens
okra
endive
sweet potatoes
basil
sage
rosemary
Heirloom watermelon
pear
Do not hesitate to call or e-mail with any questions you have and enjoy the recipes section where I post on the website each week to help you use some of your ingredients. Remember, I am happy to talk FOOD!
Namaste,
Margie Thorpe
