Four and Fabulous

It was a great day for Susannah what with the utter and unqualified thrill of turning four. She was happy all day while milking her birthday girl status to an extent we had neglected to foresee. She pretty much got to do everything she wanted and got to do it all first and best, when she wanted, how she wanted. She chose chocolate and passionate mango flavors of coconut based So Decadent (Turtle Mountain) vegan ice cream and I picked up some lemon pound cake at the vegan gluten free stand at the local farmer's market. Both survived the ride home on the back of my bike in 90 plus degrees...

Pictured above, more of a shortcut than I have ever taken, frozen Cascadian Farms organic carrots and broccoli in garlic herb sauce, pretty tasty...OK, not exactly mother of the year but I mixed it with brown rice and called it dinner (not the birthday night!) Today, we stocked up at White Rabbit in Vero Beach which just keeps getting better. As always, it was an adventure to see the farm (even the dirt road is a great change of pace for us city folk). Although they are almost down to the last of their local summer crops (Florida gets hot and dry early), there were still plenty and they had a fresh shipment of organic produce from other areas. Luke is infatuated with the self pay honor system, unwavering in his desire to tally everything up to the cent. We made fresh wonderful string beans, lightly cooked in olive oil with salt and pepper, a big pile of sauteed spinach, salad with local cucumbers and peppers, fresh romaine just shipped in, and a great fruit salad with White Rabbit's watermelon and cantaloupe and some Georgia peaches from the Route 1 local stand in Sebastian. I also added the crunchy watermelon to my dinner salad with kalamata olives (I know I have been touting this for years now, but in this extreme heat it is a very thirst quenching salad). I have some local okra which I am assured grows here all summer, able to tough out the extreme heat and can't wait to cook that up tomorrow, bracing for another birthday on Wednesday...a few more busy days here.