Cooking Inspiration

I no sooner finished my last blog post called “Inspiration” (now called “Quilting Inspiration”) and realized I needed a second post to share another inspiration in our life. Verne and I have never lacked for sources of new recipes as we own over one hundred cookbooks purchased over the years (maybe 200, but who’s counting?), subscribe to several cooking magazines (Milkstreet is our latest addition), follow cooking blogs and podcasts, and even follow favorite chefs on Instagram (like J. Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats). I know what you’re thinking…what about the cooking channel? The cooking channel is a great source of inspiration (and education) and at one point in our lives when Verne lived and worked in Nevada, he wouldn’t miss Alton Brown’s cooking show and every day without exception I watched Martha Stewart Living here at home in Volcano. As Martha would say, “It was a good thing.” But then life changed. Verne retired and we were back spending 24/7 together. We settled into our current routine of very limited television time that is exclusively crime fiction, like the British show Midsomer Murders, and the like.

Back to the point of this blog post, two years ago we joined the MotherLode Harvest (MLH), a local CSA (community supported agriculture). The motivation behind our decision to join a CSA was not because we only eat organic or only buy locally-grown food. Our (okay, let’s be real here) my reason was purely to support the local farmers. They work hard to feed us and without our support, the small family-owned and operated farm will disappear. Not a good thing. For years we have frequented (and still do) several of the local farmers markets and have our favorite roadside stands (like Davis Ranch, Lee’s Berries, and the Oneto Farm honor stand), but the decision to join MLH was different. Belonging to any CSA requires a commitment. In our case, a commitment to buy produce on a year-round weekly basis. We don’t choose what we get each week as that is based solely on what is currently in season and available for harvest. Our box generally includes about 6 to 8 different items. Here’s what we’ll be receiving in this week’s box as an example: Baldwin apples, Bosc pears, Concord grapes, salad mix, arugula, slicing tomatoes, tomatillos, carrots, and hot peppers. Hmmm…what to do with the Concord grapes? Last week I juiced them in my new steam juicer and used it in my kombucha. I think I’ll do the same this next week. Hot peppers? Maybe I’ll pickle them with the carrots.

I didn’t realize at the time we joined MLH that this would have such an impact on our cooking and lifestyle in general. I just assumed the only real change would be the source of our food and regularity of our grocery shopping. We pick up our produce every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in Jackson. As we’re now in town every Tuesday, we do the balance of our grocery shopping on that day. Here’s one of the biggest changes we’ve experienced…we plan our meals based exclusively on what is contained in the box! Recipes are chosen based on those key ingredients. Recipes often include additional ingredients that we purchase either through the CSA or at our local market, but those are also typically of the same season. We no longer randomly choose recipes that include un-seasonal items (afterall, everything is available at a well-stocked market, in season or not), but instead focus on eating our box of produce. This is such a small change and one that initially completely escaped me, but has had a significant impact on the way we eat. For the most part, if it’s not grown and currently being harvested in NorCal, we don’t eat it. We have reconnected with the cycles of nature and only eat in the season! What did I tell you…Small Change, Big Impact!

Typical weekly box of produce

Another benefit of this program is the opportunity to experience a wider range of varieties of produce. For example, we’ve spent the last couple of months eating Shishito peppers blistered in our new cast iron pan and finished with one of our flavored salts. Not widely grown, they are hard to find in grocery stores. As a simple lunch or served as an appetizer, there’s nothing better. Sadly, we’ve had the last of the Shishito’s until next August when they’re again in season. Just last week we enjoyed the last of the local berries and are now focusing on apples and pears. Every week for the past month we’ve had several varieties of each in our box. We eat them fresh and in salads or as a dessert in apple-pear crisp. Num! A few weeks ago our box included a pint of Jujube's, a fruit originating in  China and grown by a local farmer. New to both of us, Verne tried one (he wasn't too keen on them) and I got the rest. This past Spring we enjoyed our second season of garlic scapes. They freeze beautifully so we are able to enjoy them throughout the year in salads. Same with turnips that are plentiful in the Spring and easily preserved by blanching and freezing. We didn't eat turnips prior to our CSA experience, but have found them to be delicious fried with potatoes, a little bacon, and a splash of vinegar. We’ve experienced several different varieties of lettuce and other greens not available at the local grocery store and four different varieties of cucumbers.The list goes on. All fresh and delicious! We are living in the season and loving it.

Although we pay a premium to participate in a CSA, I believe it is money well spent to know we contribute to farming techniques that minimize the impact on the earth. And, although the CSA food does taste better as it's picked at the peak of ripeness, I'm not convinced it's necessarily more nutritious than store bought produce. However, that wasn’t the primary reason we joined the program. Being part of the community, meeting and getting to know our local farmers and supporting their passions makes our food as real as it gets. It wasn’t trained, trucked, or flown. It comes directly to us from the farm. 

Visit with one of the MLH farmers

Years ago I visited my Uncle Ned when he was living in Pine, Arizona on acreage shared with my sister. We picked green beans together from his neighbor’s garden he was tending. We sat outside and talked while I watched him carefully trim the ends from the beans.  I could have thoughtlessly had the job done in a fraction of the time, but I still remember how his was a slow, purposeful and methodical approach. It was an act of love. He’d helped grow those beans and he didn’t want to waste any of that effort. Uncle Ned was not a farmer, but that day he was. The beans were more than nourishment to him as, I believe, they are to every true farmer. Those are the people I choose to plant, tend, and raise my food.