For the Love of Veggies

Well, I now know how to aggravate Eric. My good ole southern hospitality (funny…. I’ve found altruism to be more prevalent here than in the south) has taught me to ask politely when I desire something….say, a handful of kale or a garlic clove. I know I’ve worked hard enough to earn more than the few carrots I’m requesting, but no one likes a mooch, so, might as well ask politely like all those childhood manners classes taught me to do. Not to say those classes that my mother so kindly invested in weren’t important (because there does come a time when one must decipher which of the 84 spoons at the place setting is dubbed “pudding spoon”), but Eric’s generosity has resulted in a little feud involving said manners and my love of veggies. He recently told me that if I were to ask for something one more time instead of just going and grabbing it from the field, that…..well…..I don’t recall the threat, I just picked up on the fact that I should be more assertive in my vegetable bartering.

So look what I so stylishly toted home last Friday. Navigating through the Burlington traffic (ahem, lack of bike lanes), barefoot, dirt stained, but proudly bearing my Pitchfork Farm canvas tote filled to the brim with stir-fry ingredients. And I didn’t even ask.

All of this is to say: look at all of my beautiful options!

Kohlrabi, which resembles an alien, but tastes delightful in a stirfry.

red cabbage

radicchio, used as a filler for the mesclun if they're running low on other greens, or the head lettuce bolts.

kale, which is my new favorite green. roughly chopped and sauteed for 10 minutes, or tossed in olive oil and baked to make kale chips!

green cabbage

garlic

fennel, which I have not yet tried. I am doubtful, as it smells like licorice.

broccoli, absolutely diviiiiiiine.

beets, which I have not done much experimenting with.