I’ve had a rough week. Rough usually means little-to-none eating (which is CRAZY) because eating n cooking is the only thing that makes my heart sing when everything else is of dim light.
But things, lately, have been DIM.
So when I ask Tory if she’d like to do anything stress-free this weekend, and she tells me we should head to the farm and then get some meditative coloring done at her home, I know to my heart-core that I have me a very beautiful friend who GETS IT. Who gets me.
We went to the Brooklyn Grange to pick up her share of produce for this week. I got me some radishes, turnips, and their “famous mixed greens.” I went on a little photo excursion as well because that always makes me feel better. There were CHICKENS on this roof, errbody. Chickens and BEES, all sorts of lettuces, a purplish bulb(ous) root vegetable bruised with dew called Kohlrabi. There were rows of onions, squash, purple basil, chard, herbs, flowers. Tomatoes that have yet bloomed red. It was an overcast day but the sun did come out for us. (It got to the point that we kindly asked it to go away for a bit. And then it poured. Hard. Thank you.)
Tory purchased the last of the squash blossoms ($.25!). Here’s her hubby, Jon, holding a palm-full of yellow.
(I meant to ask–what do you plan on doing with this one blossom?)
When we got back to their place, we did the one thing in the kitchen I felt most comfortable doing: we simply wung it.
I had questions, though. I never had me a meal of turnips, radishes, or kohlrabi before. I’ve never even purchased these beautiful babies before. So, “My love, what exactly are we doing with ’em?” Her response was, “not much!” And then she elegantly (also, quickly) moved around her kitchen, swiftly peeling the purple off of kohlrabi and slicing them into mandolins, while I washed the turnips and radishes that were bobbing above water, which is how she keeps them. I wouldn’t mind being kept that way–head above water, showing my color with pride.
Kohlrabi: dressed in freshly squeezed lemon, olive oil, salt n pepper. That’s IT. It has such a mild, refreshing flavor. Tory called it our snack.
Hakurei turnips: sliced, skin-on, dressed the same as kohlrabi but with a twist: poppy seeds and honey. Measurement need not apply. “Is that pepper!? Reminds me of the time you made the wild ‘shroom stew with so much red pepper I could smile (with cheeks red). “It’s poppy seed!” Love the dotted black on the sweet, watery-white of these turnips.
Radishes: halved, salted (optional), served with a side of butter (optional.) It couldn’t get more simple than that.
Cheese board: Goat cheese on one end, feta on the other, tomatoes, mint quickly chopped and thrown (how I like it), and rosemary used for decoration, but definitely picked n used by Jon and I. Fresh Rosemary can kick the ass out of dried rosemary any time. This truly made me want to grow my own. And I will.
A bowl of kalamati olives centered this board. There was bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Little bowls filled to dip delicious things in.
We also had a mixed salad from Brooklyn Grange , with creamy hass avocado, lightly dressed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar (salt n pepper?). Delish.
I had me a very satisfying (vegetarian!) meal yesterday. Usually I’m all, “where’s the rib-eye? Pork? MEAT.” Nope. This was a meal of Light, done simply.
The sort of healing I need right now.