Showing posts with label farmers market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farmers market. Show all posts

September 28, 2010

Kale

Our first year as share holders of Trillium Haven Farm is coming to a close. Only one month left. This summer flew by! I have loved being a part of such a wonderful community of people.

I really would recommend a CSA(community supported agriculture) to anyone, who loves a variety of fresh organic produce, but does not really have it in their blood or time schedule to plant their own garden. I don't have it in my blood by the way. I tried that for two summers, it was, quite frankly, a disaster. This summer I planted three tomato plants and some herbs and that worked out fabulously for me.

I loved everything about going to the farm except one thing. There is one thing that would just get my stomach in a knot and my pits a pouring sweat. Kale. I hated the kale. Every week there it was. Laying in it's nice basket, all clean, pretty, and green waiting for me to take it home and love it. I HATE IT. I can't stand kale. It would not go away. It was never ending.

Does kale have no season??? Tell me people. I need to know.

I few times I acted as if I didn't see it. I scooted right past and ignored it. Then I had kale-guilt. Another time the nice woman that is always there to help us fill our baskets and bags, pointed out that I had passed the kale by. "oh, you forgot your kale, here ya go." "Oh oops, thanks", I lied. On occasion there will be someone at the Farm cooking when you pick up your share, one day there was a women there showing the many ways to use kale. It helped, I tried a few, but really I couldn't get past it. Kale-guilt. And there is always so darn much of it! Sheesh give us kale haters a break would ya.

This is what I really want....

Beets and potatoes...

Beautiful carrots!

Radishes, green onions, lovely lettuces, which I was given...but always with this....


kale. Is this a lesson in..."with the good there always comes the bad"? Oh man....and how do I take the "bad" and turning it into something good?

Flippin' kale...trying to teach me life lessons! Who does he think he is? Blast!

Somewhere along in my blog hopping I read something about a Kale Chip. What? What did I read, and where did I read it. I couldn't remember for the life of me. Did I dream it. Kale had been haunting me in my sleep.

Dream #1: I went to the farmers market and all anyone was selling was kale.
Dream #2: I went to the grocery store and everything was kale.
Dream#3: I woke up and I was sleeping on a bed of kale!

I love chips. Potato chips with plenty of French Onion Dip. But how could one turn kale into a chip. I did what all good people do these days....I googled, kale chips. And what happened next is not to be explained. The heavens opened up and a beam of light shown through the window onto my keyboard. True story. Then I clicked on the second choice that was given, cause that's just what I do. I rarely choose the first one. To my good fortune it was Smitten Kitchen. Who is also not a fan of kale and therefore sought out the chip and it was life changing, for her, and for me too.

Yes, it is true the Kale Chip has transformed me. I have taken something that I believed to be horrifically yucky. And transformed it relatively easily into a thing of wonder.

I will leave you all to ponder how wonderful a kale chip is. I will be back later to post how to make kale chips. Or if you have a mound of kale and are desperate need of a recipe for kale chips then go to Smitten Kitchen, she has a lovely site, with lots of good stuff you may like.

Be back in a few.

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August 16, 2010

farmers market GIVEAWAY!

Because I picked my first tomatoes off my plants in my back yard last week.

Because it's the third week of August and the crops are at their peak.

Because I want you to GET OUT THERE and visit your local farmers market.
Because I just happened to be putzing around in the Model Drugstore in Holland Mi., and came across a few super cute things I could not resist buying.

Because of all the above....oh yeah AND because it has been WAY way too long since I have done a giveaway...feels like nearly an eternity since my last giveaway.

Because of ALL these things. I am doing a giveaway. And I'm as giddy as a girl in the front row of a Bon Jovi concert about it! It's been hard containing myself regarding these items for nearly a week. Are you sitting down?

I am giving away a cute bag...that looks like a strawberry. A colander with strawberry holes in it. A paring knife that has strawberries on it. AND brace yourself a pen that has a strawberry design! I KNOW, I know...it's a strawberrylicious GIVEAWAY!




I fit six large oranges in the colandar, just so you know it's not a mini colandar.


The pen even smells like strawberries! Just perfect for writing your list out for the market.


You have to admit, it is just too darn cute! And it has a nice sleeve to you could throw it in your picnic basket for cutting up apples or strawberries.


This bag is super cute. I think you could fit alot of produce in this bag and you could even put your dollars in the little strawberry pouch with draw string so you wouldn't even need to lug your purse along.





















I'm hoping all this will motivate you to get out to your local markets, if you haven't already or have never.

My son thought I was giving away a construction hat with silly holes in it. Don't worry you germaphobes I will clean his head cooties out of there before I send it to the winner.


So here is the deal. You NEED TO COMMENT to be entered to win. Just one comment per person this time please.

Answer this question:
What is your favorite vegetable and how do you prepare it?

Remember it's nice to share...so please pass on this Farmers Market Goodie Basket Giveaway to all your peeps. You can go to my sidebar and share me real easy.

DEADLINE is SATURDAY August 21! NOON eastern standard time. I will announce the wiener on Sunday August 22.

LuvYA!

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