Farms and Farm Stands

Pictured above Luke tagging along with Shawn Sizer picking lemongrass and lemon basil;

Susannah holding Cuban oregano.

We are off to the farm to pick up our share of vegetables and see what this week brings. We joined a new local CSA, the Sizer Homestead, for a few weeks to allow the kids to see how the food is grown and to learn more about it. It is proving economical so far with generous portions of tomatoes, corn, squash, onions and especially peppers. I worked my way through so many jalapenos, red dragons and green red dragons (red ones picked a little early to produce growth of even more). My favorite way to eat them is steamed with onions and served with Chalula which I had several times, often with squash and string beans...sometimes tossed onto a sprouted corn tortilla, with lettuce and fresh tomatoes. The peppers have also spiced up some of our local lima beans and string beans and I am making cilantro sauce with the rest of the jalapenos just to be finished with them in anticipation of the possibility of a new batch tonight. Actually, I have had several mornings of spicy contact lenses which, let's just say, wakes me up fast, and I may need to invest in gloves before my waning supply is actually used up.

I like to vary the source of vegetables here because I am never sure I trust the soil after news reports of dumping in this area years ago, the continued use of arsenic in chicken feed, and many other hazards, not to mention industrial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. So, my system is complicated because I like to gather fresh vegetables on my bike rides. On what I call my long route, (through Harwood for locals), I pass a few stands and pass our CSA but not at pick up time. The stand I prefer has Eastern shore fruits and vegetables on Davidsonville Road in what I would gently call the middle of nowhere. I still opt for a ride to the Anne Arundel County farmer's market (corner of Riva and Truman) on Tuesday and Saturday, although at this point Saturdays are a mob scene. And, I do still frequent Matthew Weller for corn which we go through like fruit here. We eat it raw as a snack all day long...which makes the source especially important. There are so many new hybrids but the genetically modified stuff remains mainly for animal feed. Nonetheless, I do prefer the heirloom varieties but farmers tend to opt for hybrids that repel bugs more readily and tend to be sweeter. I think the continuous cross breeding to sweetened vegetables does us a disservice and we have been pushing the envelope with sweet potatoes and yams. Other hybrids were created for longer shipping times, like new tomatoes with their thicker skins and thinner flavors. While these are not genetically modified and do not carry the serious ramifications of introducing genes from another species through gene blasting or bacteria piggybacking, they are safe but not as tried and true as the old varieties which may be more nutrient dense and offer deeper, richer flavors.

So, it was squash, squash, squash this week and we whipped up an incredible delicious summer squash, onion and jalapeno dish with chopped fresh lemongrass and lemon basil and a lot of nuance from my spice drawer (coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, whole cumin seeds, a dash of turmeric.) We steamed it in the steam oven, delicious and easy.