Thanks to an article (no longer available online, I checked) published in the local newspaper, we have recently discovered that we can buy a weekly harvest box directly from the growers in Mesilla. [Later note: Some of the produce comes from their "partner farms"]. We are pleased to report that it contains an amount of fresh produce that we can actually eat in a week. No more strange, soggy unknown masses down there in the vegetable drawer--this produce is so lovely that we actually want to eat it, and we are learning to eat fresh fruit for snacks instead of cookies. Really.
 |
| The contents of last week's box--kiwis, roasted chile peppers, mushrooms, baby spinach, etc. |
Do we get stuff we have never tried? Yes--how about collards and green cabbage! I discovered that collard greens don't have to be cooked forever with fatback--they can be steamed. I also found that green cabbage can be made into a lovely vegetable stew that smells pretty darned good while it's cooking.
However, I think it's an insult to label this good stuff with that modern slang word--"veggies." It's entirely too familiar a form of address. These dignified and beautiful vegetables deserve our respect, and I insist on calling them by their proper names. "Veggies," indeed!
*****
 |
| Harvest boxes ready to pick up on Friday afternoon. Nice farm guy, too! |
You might want to spend some time visiting the Los Poblanos website. Here is the link for the Las Cruces page. You can also read about how the Los Poblanos Ranch got its start.
11 comments:
Yumm!! And how cool to support local growers!!
I don't call them "veggies" either, Clair. In fact, I refuse to use almost all the abbreviated names for things that people use now. For crying out loud, it's usually only one more syllable to say the proper word! I think I can afford that.
Of course, when I rant about this, I sound like the cranky old lady that I am.
However, as a lifelong Southerner, I must take issue with your "steamed" collards. We just don't "steam" our collards around here, ma'am. :-)
Just kidding, of course. You can do whatever you like to your collards. By the way, speaking of cooked cabbage, I happened to have a leftover half-head of cabbage last week and made my first ever bubble and squeak. Quite tasty, I must say.
Buck, until they get the new Las Cruces farm really going, most of the stuff comes down from the Albuquerque farm, and some is even from as far away as California. But, yes, the aim is to be buying entirely local and making the transaction that much better for the environment.
And, dear cranky Beth, thank you for saving our other half of the head of cabbage, left from making the vegetable stew. Bubble and Squeak sounds like a plan. It's been days since I've had any meat.
What a very cool idea. I have wondered if we could learn to garden in NM, something to eat kind of gardening. But this may be easier and helps out someone else too. Thanks Clair...I'll go check out their page.
"Bubble and Squeak"?
I suppose the British word is 'veg' - even more abbreviated! It's a difficult time of year for the vegetable, all the more so since our kale and purple sprouting broccoli are not ready to harvest yet. As someone with an allotment it feels like an admission of failure to resort to a 'veg box', but like you I'm sure we would eat more if they didn't come from the oh-so-anonymous supermarket.
Love the bright colours of yours - you can practically see the vitamins.
Sounds sooooo good! I could be a vegetarian...I'm not, but I could be. Those greens go well in noodle soups...my g'son thinks that's how soup is made, so we've been accommodating! Very good...
Totally cool. I'm going to have to look into this!
Hiya Clair,
I find it much easier to get my veggies in during the summer with the farmer's market. I have not been eating too great (yes, cans of chili & ice cream!) Your weekly box of "veggies" sound great. They grow Kiwi in winter in Mesilla?
Sandy, bubble and squeak, as I understand it, is leftover vegetables and meat from a roast, all kind of stir fried together. It usually includes potatoes and cabbage.
Linda, I had to laugh at the difference in our ideas of levels of success regarding vegetables. For you it is to grow them all; and for me it is to eat them at all.
Deb, I'm still eating the vegetable stew I made with cabbage (and a lot of other things) and am very pleased with the flavor.
And Becky, no, they don't grow kiwi in Mesilla, at least not in the winter. The boxes contain organically grown produce from "partner farms," so not everything is local. I hope it gets more so as time goes by, because local is certainly better, I believe--fresher, and better for the environment, since it's not trucked all over. For now, that is a goal that we haven't reached, but this particular local organic farm is just getting established.
Justina, let us know what you think if you try the harvest boxes. I certainly am feeling healthy and shiny and full of vitamins! (I actually have lost weight, trading in cookie snacks for fresh fruit).
I have the same soggy mysterious masses in the bottom of my veggie drawer, too.
But you're right Los Poblanos is wonderful!
They also have a program where groups can lease a row or two in their public garden and grow their own produce. Our homeschool group did this one year and it was so fun to get kids and adults down and dirty planting, weeding and tending to our garden and sharing the harvest.
I had no idea they operated down in Mesilla. How wonderful an opportunity for you :)
~Lisa
Post a Comment