I've been away for a few days, where I could eat nothing but industrially farmed food. It was OK for the most part, but the tomatoes on one salad tasted like a spoonful of fertilizer. I scraped them aside.Not many other people seem to notice this, but when you've conditioned your taste buds by eating only local, organic, farmers market food, the "real" world tastes bad.
That shocked me, to realize I really am only eating local, organic, farmers market food. Almost exclusively, barring the occasional gummy bear or sack of Doritos. (Cheating with junk food once in a while is what life is all about.) The simple truth is, I only buy organic meat, cheese and produce at the farmers market. I haven't had a banana in over six years.
So here's the sad story. We decided not to plant vegetables this summer. We have a variety of reasons, some personal, some meteorological, and some fruitacious.
See the pears in the tree? We'll have a half ton of Bartletts and Comices by the end of next month.
We are still clearing the Summer Navels from the orange tree.
The plum tree is just squirting fruit.
The grapes. The grapes! If everything works out, we'll have bunches and bunches of wine grapes (not enough to make wine, though), probably all at the same time (I don't know when, exactly; this is new).
I'm going to enjoy my Summer of Fruit.
But I will still eat my vegetables. They will come from the farmers market. What a relief!
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12 comments:
You fruitarian, you! (You lucky duck, you!) Can easily understand. I have a couple tomato plants and that's that, this year.
As for wine grapes -- how wonderful. I had a wine grape clafouti made by Ms. Fisher (she used several kinds of dark, dark ones). And I have had them on top of an almost-sweet focaccia with walnuts. Delizioso. Can't wait till yours are ready to hear what you do with them.
Kudzu: I'm so into fruit now; it took a few seasons with these buffalo-charging trees.
I think the grapes should be perfect mid-August. I'll save a few bunches for you, but be advised, the skins are tough and the seeds are like pebbles.
(Ms. Fisher. Le sigh.)
Saint Cookie, the patron goddess of locally grown produce?
oopps.. clicked before I finished. I think that the tomatoes are just not very good this year. I bought come at our Civic Center Farmer's market and they didn't have any taste at all. I roasted them and chopped them up for a pasta sauce but they were very disappointing. I image tomatoes from chain stores don't have any taste at all.
Nancy: Yes, I know I'm dropping the ball this year. But to think that I can buy locally everything I want, and not have to garden this year... Bliss.
I will save you some pears.
OBAMA HAS NO EXPERT FINANCIAL ADVISORS; READ KRUGMAN
I'm in "thinking" mode about what to do with the garden on our return. Tomatoes & ??? Or will I just bung in a truckload of flowers and watch the bees? :)
Mouse: On your return? Won't it be the dead of winter? Oh, but you have a mild climate.
Bung in the flowers, mate!
Gardens are a lot of work (of course I'm singing to the choir here), and if you want to be able to do other things in life (like take a few days away or run a company), it doesn't always make sense to tie yourself to a patch of dirt. Certainly the farmers appreciate our support and dollars for things we don't want to/have time/effort/patience grow.
If one more person tells me that "flat (sales) are the new growth" I'm going to clobber them with the 5lb zucchini I got from my neighbor!
Little Pots: I appreciate that. I wish you could have witnessed me and Cranky deciding, simultaneously, to forgo the chicken poo this year. Audible sigh.
And, yes! I'm so happy to give my business to the farmers. I'll get more variety, too. Not just zukes all the time.
I very much like that photo effect. BTW if you tell everyone how great it is to live here....well you know. Welcome to Marin now go home!
Greg: Whoops. Marin very, very bad, folks. You no like.
:o)
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