September 23rd, 2009 by Margie

Dear Vegetable Husband Customer,

We are not up in an ark this Wednesday against all odds.  While many of our Atlanta neighbors are under several feet of water, the farms have managed to come through for us.  This week we’re even lucky enough to have more tomatoes and green beans from Steve Miller’s farm in Clarkston.

The big news of the week was the birth of Judah Alexander.  While this baby was in Laura’s belly for last week’s harvest, he’s in the comforts of their home, happy and healthy this week.  We all wish our farmer and his baby boy well.  Even with his new role as papa, Jason managed to provide us with beautiful arugula, sweet peppers, and thai basil from the farm this week.  The arugula is larger and might be cooked or used in salad.  Taste it to see if you are ok with it raw.   The sweet potatoes are also from Full Moon and we have two varieties, some are lighter in color and not as sweet.

I know we all realize we are in the middle of eggplant season.  I have added several recipes to the website to help you with planning.  Don’t be afraid to cook and freeze your dishes.  You’ll be happy you did in December. Below is your list of goodies for this week:

Eggplant
Okra
Sweet Peppers (Mixed Variety) plus a few hot red peppers in a clear bag.
Green Beans
Tomatoes
Arugula
Thai Basil
Sweet Potatoes

While we are back on the roads and not in canoes, we have still yet to see the long term results of all the excess rain.  Our big loss in the fields was the lettuce.  Our thoughts go out to Love is Love Farms on the Westside, which is completely underwater as of yesterday.  While a big part of this business is helping us all eat healthy food, it is equally important that we are supporting our local economy and community.  Whatever you can do for your flooded neighbors this month, try to reach out.  The Red Cross is a great source.   Supporting the farmers is definitely one way so we are already helping today.  And of course remember, I’m always happy to talk food.

All the best,
Margie Thorpe

September 16th, 2009 by Margie

Dear Vegetable Husband Customer,

We have more than greens growing in the fields this week.  Laura, Jason Mann’s wife, is a full nine months due today, and yet she is the reason you have your beautiful breakfast radishes.  I pulled into the farm, and there she was round belly and all unloading a truck full of food for us.  Full Moon Farms also spent all morning in the mud, and the result:  Sweet Potatoes!  This is the first week of many for the potatoes.  For those of you who are new to the service, you may have marks on these potatoes.  These are not bad spots, they are where the shovel hits the potato during harvesting.  Unfortunately, we’re not often given the opportunity to see this with factory farming.

You have green beans from Steve Miller’s Farm once again.  Although these are a pole bean variety, they are stringless.  So I recommend steaming them up….Quite tasty!  We are still enjoying the muscadines from Whippoorwill Hollow Farms, but these tasty grapes will disappear soon.  Enjoy them while you can!  If any of you need guidance on juicing or cooking with the grapes, don’t hesitate to email me.
Below is your list of goodies for this week:

Eggplant
Okra
Sweet Peppers
Basil and Parsley
Sweet Potatoes
Breakfast Radishes
Green Beans
Turnips with Greens
Muscadines

I was reminded today that everyone does not arrive safely at the end of a journey.  This morning’s misty weather caused more than one fatality in front of me on the road as I made my trip to the farms.  I try to keep in mind that regardless of how late I feel some days, we’re always exactly where we’re supposed to be.  Well, enjoy your place in your day, and remember,

I am always happy to TALK FOOD!

All the best,
Margie Thorpe

September 16th, 2009 by Margie

As I drive through the country on my way to the farms this morning, I am thinking about our Farm tour and Brunch that was scheduled for this weekend.  Unfortunately, I have had to cancel the trip for September 19th and I plan to reschedule in the Spring.  Many of you showed a great deal of interest but were not available in September.  I really want this to be a fun gathering for us so I chose to postpone so more of us would be available.  I will plan it so that you have lots of advance warning this time too.

Every season is different but I cannot imagine a bad time to drive out here to the farms and witness the rows and the pastures.  Sometimes they have seedlings popping out of the ground, and sometimes they are abundant with greens and fruit of some sort.  Right now the plants look like Christmas trees since there are so many sweet and hot peppers coming in.

Regardless of the crop or the stage of its growth, it is a wonderful sight!  I look forward to sharing it with you, hopefully.  For now, we share this image through our shared experiences each week with our food.

September 10th, 2009 by Margie

The Eat-in at Piedmont Park over Labor Day was the easiest form of activism I have ever been involved with.  We all packed up picnics to have and to share in the park, made of real food to speak up for real food in school lunches.  This was a National Day of Action for the cause.  How do I define real food?  Well Slow Food USA had a simple little blurb on the website that went like this:

What is Real Food?

Real food is good at every link in the chain. It tastes good, it’s good for us, it’s good for the people who grow it, it’s good for our country and it’s good for the planet.

I love that!  It gets at the core of why I started Vegetable Husband, too.  I want to know where my food comes from and who grows it and how they grow it.  I also want to know that if I am spending my little bit of money somewhere that it goes into my own local economy.

The Eat-in was about much more than even that.  It was about healthy lunches for school children.  Have you seen what gets served lately?  Big business has taken over our lunch rooms.  If we grow food in Georgia and milk cows in Georgia then why can’t GA children drink GA milk?  Good question!  Many people were on-hand to support these questions.  Check out the pics.  That’s our own Slow Food Atlanta Leader, Judith Winfrey behind that cardboard megaphone…

This movement for an Eat-in was happening on September 7th in every state all across America.  People care from New York to Idaho about feeding their kids healthy food.  Move over KRAFT!!

September 9th, 2009 by Margie

Dear Vegetable Husband Customer,

This week we can get serious about cooking eggplant and peppers – we have plenty because the crops came in big.  I will revisit some of my eggplant recipes from last year on the website and I will add a new one this evening.  Full Moon harvested the last of their summer squash this morning and it was such a small amount that I called around to find more but there was none.  You will only find one or two small squash in your basket but they are tasty with lunch or on a sandwich.  Instead I found butternut squash for all of us too from Sundance Farms.  These are so yummy just baked in the oven for 40 minutes with a little butter.  Simple.

Taylor Organics harvested turnips for us so we have a root veggie to add to all this late season goodness.  Each of you will also find one or two small breakfast radishes.  They were a bonus at one of the farms so I shared them with everyone.  I ate mine in the truck on the way back.  Well, I saved my green tops and you can too. They can be cooked with your turnip greens.  Next week you will get the first harvest of the sweet potatoes.  Mmmm, that just makes me feel like roasted meals and cool days are just around the corner. Below is your list of goodies for this week:

Eggplant
sweet peppers
okra
turnips and the greens
green beans
summer squash / radish (es)
butternut squash
flat leaf parsley
muscadines

We had a great picnic this weekend in Piedmont Park to join Slow Food USA in their campaign for healthy school lunches.  When I post our recipe and letter this week, I will add some pictures from the Eat-in at the park.  Wouldn’t it be great if all of our young students could eat fresh food at school!?

I am taking out some time this weekend to sit and post some of the beautiful notes and recipes you have shared with me. Without you, this is not community.  I cannot tell you how great it is sharing food with all of you.  Always get in touch if you have any questions about the food or the recipes.  During my week I can be found harvesting food, ordering food, cooking food or eating food, but I am always happy to TALK FOOD!

All the best,
Margie Thorpe