Teach Your Children Well

And feed them on your dreams
The one they picked, the one you'll know by . . .

~ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

We went grocery shopping together just before Christmas. She likes to help independently so we both took hold of our own shopping carriage and pushed them toward the entrance. 

Upon entering, brightly colored flowers on our left tempted me, seemingly in tiny melodious voices, to pick a few bunches for the dinner table. Pretty, but I already had freshly cut holly from the yard at home. To our right, a display case with assorted colorful pre-cut fruit, seemingly boasting their juicy flavors, tempted her to make hasty choices. 

My daughter loves fruit. With eyes wide open, she reached for a package.  

"Wait. Let's see what's available in the produce section which will save us money," I advised her. Yes, it's more work but can be fun when you prepare the produce together at home.

After pushing my carriage around the bustling produce section a bit and now near the greens, I suddenly felt overwhelmed. Perhaps the past few weeks of the holiday season were wearing on me. I looked at my daughter and said, "I just don't feel like cooking. I'm so tired." Without hesitating and with outstretched arms, she said, 

"Mom, look at all the beautiful colors! Look at all the fresh food! 

You don't need to cook - just put fresh food out and

we'll eat like we live on an exotic island." 

When I asked if she was serious, she said, "Yes".

I smiled.  

I felt pretty proud of my daughter at that moment and perked up. Confident she'd choose organic, our norm ever since she was diagnosed with FSGS Syndrome four years ago, we split up and shopped away. It wasn't the time to "preach" about making local choices, sustainability, carbon foot print, and all things related. That time will come (although she's been to plenty of farmers' markets and farms with me to already know a lot).

Baby steps.  

 *   *   *

The above pastel drawing was made by my daughter in elementary school

and hangs on a wall in our kitchen.

I love how the deep red apple in the center

looks like a heart.

Versatile Fresh Mild Salsa: Snack, Endive Finger Salad, Pasta Salad

What a surprise! I had no idea when I made this mild salsa that it would be so versatile during our vacation in New Hampshire. 

Salsa With Blue Corn Chips

The salsa was made from some of my garden vegetables before we left. We ate it as a snack the first night on vacation. I love using organic blue corn chips because, not only do they taste good, they are a nice contrast to salsa. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture because we were on vacation and didn't want to seem obsessive, at least not at the beginning of vacation anyway!

~ Picture the

Salsa

with Blue Corn Chips

Here! ~

Method: I diced a few cucumbers, a few tomatoes, and a red onion, added organic canned corn (drained), chopped fresh parsley to taste (I didn't have cilantro), fresh juice from one lime, and pepper to taste. It was a pretty big batch, but I was trying to use up vegetables that I had just picked. Reduce the portions for your needs.

Being leery about the existence of GMOs and chemicals in conventional canned or fresh corn, I used organic canned corn hoping to avoid them. (Frozen bagged corn would be best to avoid possible BPA from cans.) Still, I can't be sure. This is one of the reasons I support GMO labeling - it should be my choice.

Endive Finger Salad
Then I used the salsa in this endive salad to which my son said, "Oh, no, I feel like I'm in Paris again!" You would understand why he said that if you saw this post.

Method: I cut the ends off the endive, carefully pulled off a few leaves, added a slender slice of block feta that was left over from our watermelon salad, topped with a spoonful of salsa and a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil.

Pasta Salad
The rest of the salsa was added to farfalle pasta one night and served as a side pasta salad to our hamburgers.

Method: To cooked and cooled pasta, I added salsa, some extra virgin olive oil, and rice vinegar to taste.

For the bread and pasta, I couldn't find organic rolls nearby at Price Chopper and didn't have time to drive to Littleton Food Co-op, so I picked up organic bread which I was happy to see was from the nearby state of Vermont. I also found local cheese from Vermont, organic wine, and partially organic pasta. Whole wheat pasta was not an option and we're really not a fan of it anyway. Why the fuss to find organic? Ever since my daughter was diagnosed with her kidney disease, when shopping, I look for organic and if I can't find it, I look for local; if I can't find local, I try to make the best conventional choices (but more about that in another post).

Roasted Peppers

The peppers were previously roasted at home a few days before vacation and came along with us.

Method:  trim peppers, coat with olive oil, broil on low until skins are charred. Place in a bag until cool enough to touch. Peel skins.

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Meats

This summer, I've had the convenience of purchasing most of our meat at farmers markets. The meats are frozen in durable vacuum-sealed packages so it's easy to stock up. Here are the names of the farms: Aquidneck Farms, Pat's Pastured, J. Beaulieu Farm, Roy Carpenter's Farm, Meadowstone Farm

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The historic Littleton Grist Mill where fine grains can be purchased