Local Food Heaven

I was like a kid in a candy store, or, as my Uncle Mike used to say, “like a mosquito in a nudist colony”! I spent Saturday at Sarasota Farmers Market, buying bags (my own cloth bags of course!) of just-picked produce from local organic farmers located in Southwest Florida. I came home with sacks of oranges (several varieties), grapefruit, limes, and lemons. I got just-picked strawberries (not as good as our local berries), local honey, beautiful large tomatoes, and sweet-like-candy cherry grape tomatoes. I found new red potatoes, garlic, onions, gold beets, green beans, and broccoli. Then I went crazy with the greens and herbs, buying just-picked arugula, rapini, baby bok choy, mesclun, red boston lettuce, kale, Chinese greens, basil, parsley, cilantro, and dill. I went to the seafood stall and purchased some just-caught shrimp and headed home to cook!

Amy’s mom, Mary, has been very gracious sharing her kitchen with us, and we’ve been cooking up a storm. Mary makes us their favorite breakfast of all sorts of local fruits cut in to a huge bowl, plain yogurt (we brought some of Amy’s yogurt made from Taproot Commons Farm milk in Cummington), grapefruit, toast, butter, and honey. The first day I marinated the shrimp in olive oil; freshly squeezed orange, lime, and lemon juices; garlic; and all the fresh herbs, then seared them in a hot frying pan (in the shell), flipped them after a minute or two, browned them on the second side, then added a little of the marinade, put a lid on the pan, and braised them for a couple of minutes. We’ve had several types of fresh salad, greens raw and cooked, potatoes anna, tomato and cucumber salad, fresh pasta with our garden tomato sauce that we brought from home, and Mary’s delicious strawberry desserts. The fish that Dick (Dad) and Brett (Amy’s brother) caught last week was featured in tonight’s dinner.

We’re in local food heaven. Although we love our stored root vegetables back home, it’s been incredible to eat fresh greens and so many types of just-picked veggies. I offer you the simplest of recipes, Kale with Olive Oil and Garlic and Potatoes Anna, to celebrate the simple pleasure of cooking freshly harvested food, prepared simply, and enjoyed with loved ones. Simple Blessings.

♦ Print Recipes: 

• Kale with Olive Oil and Garlic [Vg/NF/GF]
• Potatoes Anna [V/NF/GF]

Vegetarian (V) | Vegan (Vg) | Nut-Free (NF) | Gluten-Free (GF) | Wheat-Free (WF)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alice Cozzolino

Alice has been co-owner of The Old Creamery since 2000.  She and her partner and spouse, Amy, have lived in Cummington since they built their home in 1986.  Alice and Amy are very deeply connected to their land; they grow a lot of their own food, eat well (especially during the growing season), feed many friends and loved ones and preserve as much food as possible.  Rarely a day goes by that they don’t say “Aren’t we blessed to live here?” Feeding people feels like a calling to Alice.  She was brought up with her Italian Gram and her Dad putting something wonderful to eat in her mouth and saying “Here, eat this.”  Nothing brings her greater joy than feeding people that she cares about or people that are in need of kindness and nurturing.

[Photo credit: (ccl) Mike]