I didn’t have to get far into Alice Waters and Chez Panisse, a book by Thomas McNamee, before I began planning my own pilgrimage to the Berkeley restaurant. Now, only days after completing it, Elisa and I have have subscribed to a community-supported agriculture farm and are looking forward to cooking with locally-grown, seasonal vegetables ourselves.
OK, I can’t give Alice Waters all the credit. Elisa and I started talking about this weeks ago. And honestly, I may never have done it if she hadn’t done the research, the phone calling, the math. But I am very excited that she and I will be splitting this local produce without increasing our grocery bills!
We’re joining Grow Alabama, and our plan (which we’ve been told is just enough for two single people) works out to just $11 per week. I spend about $100 on groceries monthly, and half of that is produce, so I feel good about this new venture.
Cooking seasonally has also been on my mind lately. I’ve slowly started to attempt figuring it out, just by paying attention to cost. (Did you notice that Publix’s asparagus recently dropped from $3.99 a pound to $1.99?) And The Cook and The Gardener, a cookbook by one of my favorite food writers, Amanda Hesser, focuses on seasonal recipes divided by months.
Bring on the leeks, the cabbage and the snap beans. I’m ready.
2 comments:
I am so excited I can't stand it! I don't even know what to do with a leek, so part of the adventure will be learning what the heck to do with all these strange looking veggies...and new things to do with old faithfuls.
Grandmom sautees leeks and mushrooms together and then freezes them to reheat with chicken sandwiches (NOT made with sliced chicken from Publix). She sort of does a panini thing with bits of rotisseri chicken, mushroom, leeks, and a slice of provolone melted over the top. Oh yeah, and pesto/mayo/dijon sandwich spread.
If I liked cabbage and fresh tomatoes I'd be in heaven. Unfortunately I don't, so I may just hit Pepper Place this summer and see what I can find.
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