First Harvest

Some days we live the life of a Country Western song:
“Lord you could have taken me.
You could have taken this dear wife of mine.
The thing that I jist can’t understand
Is why my pick-up had to die.”

Other days it’s life as if within the pages of a cheap romance novel:
“The slender bodies of the red and white onions, fresh from
their evening baths, lay prone upon the table. Beads of water still clung to
them as they drew toward them the couple, who, swallowing desires frothy and
numerous trembled at that first touch as they grasped the onions to their
breasts and fled to the kitchen with them to do thus and so.”

Sometimes it’s a Greek Tragedy:
And so he promised them, lettuces, beautiful lettuces, the
first to greet his eye upon his return home, if he could leave their company
with his life. But upon his homecoming the deer had munched them all, and the
lettuces that met his eye had their hearts eaten from them. “A FIE ON MY
PROMISE” he cried as he cast himself to the earth and wept over his folly and
bragging.
But most often than not, we live the life that is a
poem. Each day and expression of some
deeply meant matter of the heart. And Wednesdays are especially lovely, as we
greet our farm share members and are given a glimpse of their plans for kitchen
adventures with their boxes of food fresh from our field. Their joy and
excitement add fuel to our fire. Before this season is up we’ll have a
veritable bon fire of good going on here on the farm…Delivery day is the day we
are always bowled over by the mutuality of Community Supported Agriculture.
Battling flea beetles and potato bugs in the field during the week is not the
full picture of what this life is. Our members remind us of that.
Onions and garlic are two of the very best friends of the
human race. Not only do they help to rid the body of bugs…they fill the kitchen
with such a mouthwatering aroma that strangers stopping by for the first time
will leave all social protocol behind and bound towards the door or open window
with the words “are you cooking something?” flying from them as if conjured
against their will by geni.
They are the basis for pasta sauce, stir fries, and the
stuffings for omelets. For those of you ladies with a meat and potatoes man in
the house, tucking a saute’ of fresh onion, garlic, and spring greens into a 2
egg omelet with a good grated cheese is one way to gain a convert to the world
of kale, Asian greens, and chard.
Our first CSA box this week came with a “bag of green magic”.
By far the headliner of the mix is the softly smoky Asian green, Shungiku. It
is the culinary answer to vitamin deprivation, to frozen pizza, and iceberg
lettuce. In addition to Shungiku, Mustard Greens, other Asian Greens, and baby
chard all make up the mix. For
adventurous salad eaters, liven things up with a handful of them...Our favorite
thing to do with a bag of greens, however, is to saute’ up some onion and
garlic (send out those loving tendrils of home cooking out into a soul starved
neighborhood) and add all the greens and a few red pepper flakes…cook them
down, add a few glugs of soy sauce and serve over rice. Better yet, save your
cooked rice from last night’s pork chops and add it into the veggie mix for
fried rice.
Radish tops are edible. We fold them into omelets or stir
fries. They will draw energy from the roots (radishes) so remove them asap and
store them separately in your fridge.
Despite our best intentions, most of us still drag our heels
when it comes to eating our greens…but “green rapture” is what the early season
is all about! It’s a way to welcome summer body and soul- and it is a matter of
only 10 minutes in the kitchen, with a glass of wine in one hand and a chopping
knife in the other while listening to Eva Cassidy sing her heart out, and
viola! A dinner or lunch or breakfast fit for the 1 percent. It would be a mistake to leave this kind of
food to trendy restaurants you can’t afford to frequent with your kids in tow…bring
home the raw materials for inspiring culture and home comfort…and call down
minute miracles into your frying pans. Thank God for good food. Simple food.
Simply grown. Amen.