Living well certainly includes good food and there is nothing like fresh picked greens from the garden. It is becoming a weekly event to walk to the local u-pick organic gardens and enjoy the smells, colors and tastes of fresh local yumminess. Each weekend I grab my big Blue-Q bag, a few plastic bags saved from previous purchases and a handful of cash. I routinely forget my hat. I slip on my flip flops and make my way over to Sundew Gardens, which is my local source for fresh food.
The gardens are lush and green. The master gardener and proprietor, Tom Carey, is there with a friendly greeting. This week when I arrived I see Tom in the garden with a man and his young daughter. They already have a large pile of greens, turnips, and other stuff in a bucket. The little girl is happily engaged in this wondrous world. It brings back memories of the awesome experience of pulling a root out of the ground not knowing what you will get until it is fully exposed. Turnips, carrots, radishes and their relatives are all mysteries while they grow. When they reveal themselves they can be large or small, regular or irregular and sometimes they are even funny, as they mimic the shape of something unexpected. This is a little delight that I am so grateful to have experienced throughout my life.
As I begin to walk the paths to see what is available this week, I find some lettuce that is glowing and I fill a big bag with this for my salads for the week. I must have herbs. I head for bunches of dill, basil, parsley, French sorrel, cilantro and more. Then I spy that patch of endive that I picked from on my last visit. I must have more of that! Last time I took it home and made a salad which has become a much loved delicacy of spring, having the perfect combination of bitter, sweet and salty, and bursting with flavors. Not only that, but the recipe makes it easy for me to eat large quantities of this valuable liver cleansing spring green and enjoy it completely!
a small part of my pickings....
Endive Salad Recipe:
I will take this green endive home and wash it well and cut it into bite sized pieces.
Add a couple of those fresh green onions chopped
An apple or two cut into small chunks
A bunch of dill, chopped
A light vinaigrette made with 1 part apple cider vinegar to 2 parts of my best olive oil tossed into the bowl.
I’ll sprinkle the whole thing with dulse flakes, rather liberally but you can skip these or add them to your own taste preference.
And maybe I’ll add sliced almonds, lightly toasted.
My mouth is watering just thinking of it, but back to the task at hand.
I round out my purchase with fennel, green onions and turnips. There is other good stuff there too but I don’t need it this week. My mom will bring me bunches of kohlrabi, kale and collards from her garden. ( I am very prosperous when it comes to good food probably because I am so appreciative! )
There is so much more to this than just getting the fresh vegetables. There is the joy of being under the sky, making contact with the earth that supplies my food, knowing the place and the people that care for this life sustaining and delicious necessity. There is the joy of seeing my community come together into the garden for the harvest.
I have been an avid and productive gardener at times in my life and will be again in the future but for now, this is my weekly fix and it is very fine indeed!
Sue
Heart of Prosperity
Life Coaching
You can find Heart of Prosperity on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/HeartofProsperityFor my local readers; a little more about Sundew Gardens:
Sundew Gardens can be found on facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sundew-Gardens/300609518579or you can call Tom at 407-365-5424 for more information about his harvest gardening programs. Please be sure to make contact before to get the schedule and information about membership programs for picking.
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