Riverbend Gardens on a Sunday

I am currently sitting on the floor, surrounded by boxes. We're almost ready to move out of this place, my brothers in law are coming on the weekend to move all our stuff to my inlaws, where we'll be living for the summer until we fly out to Nova Scotia. I needed a little reprieve today so I re-visited a favorite day of mine from May. It has become one of my happiest memories from this last little bit. Do enjoy along with me! 

It was a Sunday. The sky was bright blue with lots of fluffy white
 clouds. It was the perfect day to go to the country. And so we did.

My smile grew bigger and bigger as we drove out of the city into the country and down roads I had never been before. I love discovering new places and this one was practically in our backyard. We drove down gravel roads, keeping our eyes peeled for the bright green and yellow signs that would direct us to Riverbend Gardens.  
We've long enjoyed their produce at our local farmer's market and when the opportunity came to show them some support and visit the gardens where our veggies are grown, we were all over it.

 I love the earthy smell of freshly plowed fields, misted over with the slight-ish green tinge of baby plants. It was a treat to walk over the farm and see how well-cared for everything was.

I oohed and ahhed over all the flowers, being very tempted to buy a huge lot of them but reality won and I came away with a bright orange gerbera daisy to brighten my windowsill until we move. I satisfied my beauty craving by taking pictures and enjoying the other people who were setting up their window boxes full of blooms.

 

A highlight of the day was taking a wagon ride through the woods. We climbed up behind the bright red tractor and set off. Through the woods and  along the river. Past an old apple tree in full bloom and sun-bathed clearings in the woods.

The girls were thrilled to be outside and they loved the wagon ride. I loved seeing their bright faces and exchanging smiles with my man over their heads. 
We left with our gerbera daisy in tow, quite happy and more passionate then ever about supporting our local food scene.

What are some of your happy  moments from this last while?

CSA: take 3

 Each week I am more and more delighted with our CSA experience. The amount of vegetables is incredible and I love being challenged by the variety. I haven't done a lot of cooking with different greens and they have been plentiful. I did wonder at the start of the season when it seemed like forever before the deliveries started if it was worth the investment but now it definitely seems worth it. Each week we feast on fresh garden produce and I freeze the excess to enjoy during the winter months. 

Tonight's supper featured a garden salad made with swiss chard, beet greens, leaf lettuce and the radishes, carrots and cucumber. 

 My plans for the rest of the week include this kale confetti, kale and potato soup, stir fry with the different greens and veggies, and frittata with steamed swiss chard. And lots of salad to fill in any gaps. 

My biggest challenge this week is the radishes. There's surely got to be something more you can do with them then just serving them raw or carving them up into roses for a garnish. But I have no idea what else to do with them. I could practice my radish roses, something else I've never done.

 

 

What new food experiences are you enjoying?

CSA: take 2

I confess.

I gave a little squeal of delight when I went to pick up our CSA 

order on a damp Tuesday afternoon. There were lots of bins filled with the beautiful produce. The lettuce leaves glistened in the light, the heads all covered with little droplets of water. The carrots practically begged to be eaten right then and there. You can taste all that went into them- the soil, the rain, the sunshine, the hard work of keeping a garden. 

Oh yum. 

I looked through the bin of swiss chard, choosing a bunch with red stalks over the yellow stalks simply because it looked pretty.

And then there were the strawberries and the potatoes and the beet greens and the radishes. I felt rich as I put all that goodness into my bag and then unloaded it into the fridge. 

I love opening the fridge and seeing all the fresh greens practically popping off the shelves. 

 

I'm not sure yet how I will use everything. I still have some greens that I purchased from the store before I got the greens from the CSA. Yes, I was impatient. Organic spring greens somewhat satisfied my craving for freshness but I now feel fully satisfied by my lovely heads of butter and leaf lettuce. 

I think I might try out this recipe for lettuce soup. It looks interesting and is a creative way to use the lettuce rather then all in a salad. 

I will definitely be making some salads with all the different greens and dressing them with a simple vinaigrette so that the flavors and textures shine through. 

But that's as far as I've gotten with my ideas. I would love to have some new thoughts on what to do with the swiss chard and beet greens. 

Do you have any recommendations for this bounty?