Summer's Bounty

Eating locally produced and grown food is very easy this time of year. In fact, we are having trouble keeping up at times. My grocery shopping habits in the past would not have included plums, peaches, melon and blackberries in one visit. I probably would have chosen one fruit, and probably apples or oranges, since they have a longer shelf life.

This week I got all those fruits in my share from Fair Shares, as well as cucumber, tomato, okra, corn and mushrooms. We also got pork chops, tortillas and a dozen eggs. Meals have included pork chops with plum sauce, Indian style Okra, sliced tomatoes, ears of sweet corn and peach blueberry pie.

While at Fair Shares on my pick up day I opted to buy extra, while everything is in season so I could freeze some for later. But, by Friday night I figured out I didn't buy enough so we made the trek to the Tower Grove Farmers Market to buy more. Like my share from Fair shares, there was an abundance of fruits and vegetables everywhere. I bought some more blackberries and tomatoes to freeze for the summer.

I also enjoyed talking with some of the vendors that we get items from through Fair Shares. I stopped by the Hinkebein booth to pick up some bacon and had a chance to say how much I enjoyed the pork chops the night before. I told the person at the Mangia pasta booth how much I enjoyed their pasta after explaining how we get the pasta through Fair Shares. I also stopped by the Salume Beddu booth to buy another kind of bacon, but when we started talking I opted to buy some salsicca bolognese, as well. We are having it for dinner tonight. He recommended it with pasta, olive oil, garlic and swiss chard. (Luckily I noticed the swiss chard available at a booth in the last aisle so we are set to start cooking.)

Eating locally means eating with the seasons. And that means peaches and blueberries last week, and peaches, plums, melons and blackberries this week. This is the way our grandparents would eat and it makes sense. The fruit has a richer, more vibrant flavor. I already miss the strawberries of early summer, but am enjoying the later summer fruits. I am adjusting the way I think about cooking to what is available and finding the little bit of extra time is worth it because of the fuller flavors. My only fear is that I am not freezing enough to get me through the winter when fruits and veggies will be in shorter supply.

Update:

Here is a picture of the pasta we made with the sausage, pasta, swiss chard and cheese. I found a recipe on epicurious that was very similar to what the guy from Salume Beddu suggested. I added tomatoes and used Mangia spinach pasta because that is what we had on hand. I liked the swiss chard with the sausage. The sausage had a cinnamon and nutmeg flavor which seemed to be enhanced by the swiss chard. I used Methuselah cheese from Heartland Creamery. It was a really easy dish, taking less than a half hour from start to finish.