Farmers’ Market Sunday and the Food

It is beyond me why we stayed up until 1am knowing that we would be waking up at 6am to go to the farmers’ market Sunday morning. Some people (and by that I do mean me) never learn.

This morning we were both moving more than a little slowly and the first thing Rudy said to us (after hello) was, "you look like you need coffee". Doesn’t that just say it all? LOL, we were at the market early but neither one of us was exactly 100%. Being tired didn’t get in the way of shopping however. We came home with a nice haul of fresh, local organic produce today. *woo hoo* Today we brought home: mesclun, tomatoes (green house grown *yay Rudy*), green onions, Swiss chard, wheat grass (for juicing), kale, cilantro, fresh ginger, asparagus, shitake mushrooms, beets, strawberries, parsley and dill. Our refrigerators are stuffed, but that is a very good thing in my opinion.

After we got home from the market we had green smoothies with the usual ingredients: kale, frozen bananas, wheat germ, freshly ground flaxseeds, walnuts, cinnamon, powdered ginger, water and stevia for Dan.

Dan got caught up on the sci fi that he had DVR’d while I finished reading a book. Today since I wasn’t firing on all cylinders I decided to make a very simple meal for lunch with my parents.

I used my little halogen/convection/infra red onion to roast onions, beets, and tomatoes. That little oven is very versatile. I can’t remember the last time that I actually turned on my big oven that is how much I use the new one. If you don’t have one I highly recommend them. While the little oven was working I also had red lentils cooking to use in a salad. Overall I spend very little time actually in the kitchen but we still had a home cooked meal.

The first dish was roasted beets, oranges, roasted red onion, granny smith apple, and cilantro. I dressed this with sherry vinegar and finished it with sliced almonds. Nothing fancy but both my parents enjoyed it and even asked me what was in it. Go figure!

The second dish was a green lentil salad tossed with Dijon mustard, lemon juice and lemon zest. I also added grated carrots, the roasted tomatoes (which were roasted to concentrate the flavor), celery and cucumber. You could easily make this dish with sherry vinegar if you didn’t have a fresh lemon. I finished it was cilantro but parsley would work too.  Additionally I sprinkled a few chopped walnuts on top for crunch and healthy fat.

Our dinner was a simple dried mushroom with freeman (green roasted wheat).

Followed by a big green salad with fruit (strawberries, blackberries and granny smith apple) dressed with balsamic vinegar and finished with sliced almonds for crunch.

Happy Thoughts:

• Sunday was a nice day and I enjoyed having my husband home so we got to spend a little time together. We had a relaxing day together which is always a good thing. I think everyone should have at least one day a week to goof off.

• The beet salad that I made up on the fly was extremely well received. Both my parents volunteered that they enjoyed it and even asked me what was in it. Huh? Seriously, that shocked me but in a good way. ;-)

• I am looking forward to Tuesday (my 49th birthday *sigh*) since Dan is taking the day off. At the moment I have no idea what we are going to do since it will depend partly on the weather. We may try a new place for lunch and check to see if Ian is working tomorrow evening. You don’t expect me to cook on my birthday do you? I know I haven’t been cooking much lately but I want the “day off” on my birthday too and Dan isn't going to venture into the kitchen.

• It was great to get back to the farmers’ market on Sunday. We learned that Rudy finished his book during the off season and he is saving a copy for me and I can’t wait to read it. How often do you get to read a book on health and nutrition (and gardening) written by a friend with a PhD in chemistry?

• Our CSA started on Sunday and that was great. Knowing that we have produce to pick on each Sunday should be enough to get us out of bed early on the weekend.

• Dan and I have both decided that we need to get back on our early morning schedule and get back to the gym before work. Sunday night we actually did turn in early so maybe we have turned over a new leaf. *fingers crossed*

Signing out:

Sorry for getting this post up so late. Monday was busy again, like most of my days have been recently. We ended up running errands, going out to dinner (no Ian can you imagine) and doing a little shopping. It was another good day but a busy one. Tomorrow will also be busy since Dan is taking the day off but I am going to take my lap top with me when we go out so that I can write the post while he is driving. With a little luck writing the post while I am out will work fine and will get it up earlier in the evening.


I hope your week has started off well. Talk to you again soon.