Playing with Produce

Okay, for starters, it's been entirely too long since my last post on January 4th! Shame on me for succumbing to multiple preoccupations and not allowing myself to be inspired enough to blog. Well, today things took a tasty turn. Work at the hospital was a bit stressful to say the least with staff shortages and super detail-oriented time-consuming tasks. As soon as I got out, I drove straight to pick up my biweekly organic produce. Since I was a bit late and my share was the last one remaining, I actually got a bonus head of lettuce! Now I have two huge lettuces. I think I will definitely have to share.

Luckily, my kitchen sink was empty (thanks honey!) and after taking the pups out and feeding them, I got to washing my fruits and veggies. Apparently there exists a culinary debate of whether to wash produce before storing or not. I think it is fruit/veggie-specific. I find that if I wash my greens, let them drain, and store them in a paper-towel lined fridge drawer, they will last a few days. Placing them in clean food storage bags will make them lasts even longer. I leave my citrus, apples, pears, tomatoes, bananas etc. in a basket at room temperature; although in the summer, I may place some of these item in the fridge for good measure. Either way, I usually enjoy scrubbing my items under running water before storing. It was definitely the most colorful and playful part of my day.

sweet mini peppers

can't wait to roast these rainbow carrots!

Italian flat leaf parsley, not sure what I will make with this...suggestions?

ice cream bananas

one of my favorite OXO tools. the peeler is also great!

 

pretty heirloom tomatoes

too much lettuce!

i love the sweetness of these babies

Another cool thing that happened today, is that I discovered this awesome national website: http://www.localharvest.org/  It contains a plethora of resources about food coops, farmers markets and such near you. Check it out!