Strawberry Fields Forever

Once you have tasted a juicy strawberry, fresh, fresh, fresh from the local farm where it was grown, you will never want to eat another one of those grocery store strawberries (that are white inside) ever again.

 

For the second week in a row, strawberries were the star yesterday at the FRESH Farm Farmer's Market near the White House.  Beautiful, red, ripe strawberries were lined up in a row just waiting to be bought and eaten. 



Photo Courtesy of FRESH Farm Markets

I bought a huge amount of strawberries last week and so did a friend of mine from the office.  We did the same thing yesterday and it was great to chat up the guy from the farm who brought them to the market. 

Strawberries are great for you and are loaded with Vitamin C.  Also, the strawberry is among the top 20 fruits in antioxident capacity; you gotta love that!  Below is a recipe that was being handed out at the market and I thought I would share it with you:


Crepes With Local Strawberries
Shelley Horne, Home Cook & Farmer's Market Volunteer
www.freshfarmmarkets.org

3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
butter for skillet

Combine eggs, flour, salt and 1/4 cup milk in medium bowl; beat until smooth.  Beat in melted butter, then remaining milk.  Chill, covered, approximately 1 hour.

Slowly heat a small skillet (7-8 inch) until a drop of water sizzles.  Butter skillet lightly for first few crepes; after that it will be seasoned and crepes will not stick.  Use 2-3 tbsp batter for each crepe.  Pour batter into skillet all at once and swirl pan to coat bottom with a very thin layer.

Cook over medium heat until lightly browned (15-20 seconds); turn and brown other side.  Remove to plate; when cool, stack with foil between each crepe.  (Can be frozen and thawed just beofre using.)  Makes 12-16 crepes.

To serve, fold crepe in half and half again to form a triangle.  Top with sliced, fresh strawberries, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

The above recipe is a yummy way to eat strawberries but if you're not in the mood to make crepes you can always pretend you are at Wimbledon: just slice the strawberries into a bowl and pour cream over them!

DOUBLE YUMMY!!!!!

White House Market Day Is Back!

The farmer's market near the White House is now open for business on Thursdays and I'm so happy that fresh fruits and veggies are close to my office for the picking.

 

 

I'm so proud of myself! I took these pics myself!

There was almost a party atmosphere as I arrived at the market today around 1 pm.  When I walked to the market area which is one block from the White House (www.freshfarmmarkets.org), there were almost 200 people shopping and sampling local produce.  People were spilling out of their office buildings, shaking off the cold weather, happy to be outside and become reaquainted with the farmers and other vendors they hadn't seen for months.

 

Browsing through the stalls today, I saw the season's freshest selections of kale, spring onions, baby cucumbers, leeks, beets, sweet potatoes and even some tomatoes.  I was really looking for strawberries but it is not yet their time.  I was told that it might be another week or two for ripe and juicy strawberries because Washington, DC had a bit of an unseasonable cold snap.

 

 

 

 

I came to the market for the opportunity to support local farmers and buy fresh produce but I also made a wonderful connection.  I was at the FRESHFARM Markets table looking for information about the vendors when a woman named Terry started chatting with me.  She asked if she could help me and I told her about Cry, Laugh, Heal and how I write about working through grief by trying to take care of yourself through exercise and eating healthy and generally staying resilient and positive.

 

She said she loved the name of the blog and she had experienced a time of laughing that turned into crying and then laughing again.

 

Terry said she was at a relative's funeral and this relative happened to be the kind of person who really liked playing jokes on people and making people laugh.  The person who got up to deliver the eulogy at her uncle's funeral walked to the front of the room to start talking.  Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, the speaker's zipper on his pants was unzipped.

People in the audience tried to make signals to him that he needed to zip up his pants and in the process of signaling, people began to laugh.  But then in the laughing they remembered they were at a funeral.  And then they started crying a bit but then they also couldn't stop laughing because the speaker was oblivious to his zipper being open.

 

EXACTLY!!  That's what's so great about the FRESHFARM farmer's market.  Every week is an opportunity to meet new people and share our stories about crying or laughing or healing.

 

Today I'm so glad to have met Terry and know that the farmers' healing fruits and vegetables are just a couple of blocks away for me for the rest of the summer and early fall!

Rock on farmers!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Thought Of The Day

To me, this picture captures a feeling of freedom.  The freedom of possibility, the freedom of creativity.  It's warm outside, not hot hot, and the windows are down; Janis Joplin's great whiskey voice is singing, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. . ."

 

When I see those VW wagons driving down the highway, I am reminded of the 1960's and the sometimes excellent adventures of being a teenager.  It was fun but I don't think I would want to go back and relive those times.  Maybe you feel differently. . .

Today I look at the passage of time very differently.  Every day is an opportunity to try to do something  alittle differently or work on something about yourself that you are trying to improve.  It can be something small like adding another minute to your exercises or not cursing for 24 hours (that would be me) or something big like calling someone you haven't talked to in a long time or visiting an ill person who may be in the hospital.

 

Either way, it's your day.  Grab it and go!!!!!!!

 

 

Perspective

 

Photo By Patti Raab

 

Have you ever been sitting in your car at a traffic light waiting for the light to turn and you look out the window and see something that's probably been there for months but it's as if you are seeing it for the first time?

Why haven't I noticed that building before?  Are those new plants?  How long has that bench been there?

 

When you slow down or stop the usual routine of what you are doing, it can give you an opportunity to really see the world around you and notice the beauty of your environment.  In other words, a fresh perspective.

 

A few days ago, I had been sitting at my desk working on my computer for way too long and I decided to take a break.  Instead of walking around the office, I went outside and walked a number of blocks in direction I don't usually go.  I stood on the sidewalk and looked up at the sky and took a deep breath then I slowly walked, taking notice of the buildings, the plants, people, just life itself and how it was all happening.

 

The warmth of the sun felt great and just getting out and moving around gave me a positive perspective on the rest of the day.  It was just enough of break to shake off some stress and feel renewed.

 

You have control over your perspective about life.  Some days it is not always easy to find the wonder of being, but it is there for us to discover.  I think there is a lot of truth in the following quote which I found on the always resourceful website, The Silver Pen (www.thesilverpen.com):

Chipotle's Salsa

Photo By Patti Raab

Hey farmer's market fans --

Chipotle was the new vendor yesterday at the farmer's market near the White House.  What is a national chain of restaurants doing at a farmer's market you may ask?  I was wondering too until I got to Chipotle's table.  Chipotle put on a live demonstration showing how easy it is to use summer produce and herbs to make your own fresh salsa.  The store also gave out it's salsa recipe which I have posted below for you to try.

Chipotle, which tries to source organic and local produce when it can, also generously gave out free samples of the freshly made salsa along with some great salty tortilla chips!  Thanks Chipotle!!

It was a beautiful sunny day in the nation's capital and the market was very busy as shoppers sampled and talked with the local farmers about the local varieties of fresh produce that were being sold all along the blocked off area within viewing disctance of the White House.  Office workers and tourists browsed the tables filled with delicious sour cherries, sweet cherries, small cucumbers, yellow squash, salad greens, and vine ripe tomatoes, ready to be chopped, cooked and hastily eaten.  I found some absolutely beautiful tomatoes which I consider the best of the best of summer's home grown treasures.  I'll be eating those right away!

Summer tomatoes are very versatile and when they are as fresh as they are right now and will be for the rest of the summer you can add them to almost any dish and they will amp up the flavor of whatever you're making.  Chopped, roasted or marinated, I never get sick of eating summer tomatoes.

For a great salsa, summer tomatoes are essential. If you've never made fresh salsa before, it's very easy.  Have fun making it and experimenting with different ingredients.  As a starting point, here is Chipotle's salsa recipe which the store gave out today:

CHIPOTLE'S TOMATO SALSA RECIPE

6 vine-ripened tomatoes

1/2 a red onion

2 jalapenos

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon sugar

sal and pepper to taste

Dice the tomatoes, onions and jalapenos.  Combine all the ingredients and season to taste.

Mangi!! (Italian for "eat")

Seize the Freshest of May

Yeah!!! The FRESHFARM Market by the White House opened yesterday for its summer/fall season and the freshest and greenest produce was on its' best behavior sitting in beautiful baskets just begging to be bought, tossed, grilled and eaten.

It's too early in the season for my favorite farm grown tomatoes, but yesterday's vendors showed off plenty of fresh salad greens, asparagus, kale, bean sprouts and other seasonal crops for urban workers to choose from along with coloful freshcut flowers and cookies and breads.

I could feel the beginnings of summer as I walked from my office to the farmer's market: warm sun, the smell of freshly cut grass and tossed mulch and a general feeling of relief in the air that winter is finally behind us, not to be seen for many months.

I love going to the farmer's market because I feel I'm rewarding my body and my inner chickness by eating foods grown from local farms.  I still buy from grocery stores but it's not the same since some of its produce could have been irradiated or waxed in transit. 

It can be a little bit more expensive so I don't buy a whole week's worth of produce but what I do buy is tasty and real.  Most food found at the farmers market is minimally processed, and many of the farmers try to grow the most nutritious produce possible by building their soil's fertility without the use of pesticides.  The fruits and veggies harvested from their soil nourishes those who eat the farm's home grown products, namely me.

Veggies are the name of the game and I am always trying to incorporate more of them into my diet or trying to find a new way to cook the veggies I already find delicious.  Eating raw and organic fresh food brings my body the nutrients it needs to fight stress (ugh!) and aging (hate that!).  Today's mantra is: the more I take care of my body the less I have to worry about getting sick or lying in a hospital.  Caring for your body and its good health is not being selfish; it is responsible and smart.

Farmer's markets are beginning to open everywhere, so please check out the following produce lists.  The  "Clean Fifteen" list put together by the Environmental Working Group is food grown with the least amount of pesticides, ranked from best to not-great:

1. Onion
2. Avocado
3. Sweet corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Asparagu
7. Sweet peas
8. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Papaya
13. Broccoli
14. Tomato
15. Sweet potato

The "Dirty Dozen" list, also compiled by the Environmental Working Group, is foods grown with the most pesticides, ranked from worst to less bad:

1. Peach
2. Apple
3. Bell Pepper
4. Celery
5. Nectarine
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes (imported)
11. Carrot
12. Pear

For more information about the lists, log on to EWG's web site at foodnews.org or ewg.org