Wednesday mornings I ride my mountain bike to New Roots Farm. As the weather has turned cooler and with the grass often damp with dew I wear knee high rubber boots. Since the boots are bulky I wear them riding. The neighbors probably wonder. My ride home is often a balancing act, with my daypack and a seat bag brimming with fresh vegetables. Sometimes I carry another plastic bag full of heavy tomatoes. And of course wearing my black rubber boots.
Although the temperature rose to near 80 today and the humidity was a tad high, it feels like fall. The leaves are changing daily and late tonight or early tomorrow morning is the Autumnal Equinox - the first day of Fall. I brought home a good harvest from New Roots to ring in the fall season: broccoli, beets, red bell peppers, red cabbage, lettuce, various tomatoes, zucchini and yellow summer squash, and a few onions.
One of the benies of volunteering at a friend's farm is that I can bring home as many veggies as I want that have a few blemishes. I can take red bell peppers that have a small black spot, or misshapen zucchinis, or scraggly looking cabbage -- once any little bad spots are trimmed off they all taste fine. I can also pick a few of my favorite tomatoes that are growing in the high tunnels.
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| A few oddball veggies that come home with me |
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| My favorite Green Zebras from New Roots Farm |
Our own garden is still offering up various vegetables for the equinox: fresh basil and cilantro, Beatrice and Fairy Tale eggplant, red Marconi peppers, the last of the cucumbers. I picked many of the remaining San Marzano tomatoes to let them ripen in the house so late season bugs and or a frost do not get them first.
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| Today's harvest from our garden |
The cilantro went straight into the food processor to make pesto (cilantro, salt, garlic, vegetable oil, lime juice) to be served up with the grilled eggplant, onions, and summer squash tonight. Alas, a small piece of the Cuisinart broke so I switched to the blender which does not work nearly so well for such things. The basil pesto is now on hold until I can fix the food processor.
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| Fresh cilantro leaves from our garden |
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| And now it is pesto |
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