"You talk tough to me, and it makes me smile."

[hermionesviolin]

There is more kitchenware in my kitchen than I had originally given Roomie credit for.  How did I not notice there was a blender?  I see fruit smoothies in my future.  (Just fruit and ice, though.  Not doing the yogurt blend a la Ari.)

I made pinto beans tonight.  And by "made" I mean "did that process called soaking but didn't actually do anything else with them before eating them."  I mean, this is me we're talking about after all.  I had meant to put avocados on the grocery list, though.  (Qdoba is turning me into a fan.)

It's Farmers' Market season -- and more importantly, I'm trying to consume less packaged food.  What's in season currently?  Is there a website that would tell me this?

Also: veganlunchbox

*

Oh, Lorraine, due to busyness, I only got your package mailed out this morning.

I had a ton of stamps but can't find them in my boxes (yes, mom; I hear you shaming me), so now I have a box of Crops of the Americas stamps.

*

Despite all the stuff I could (justifiably) whine about, I'm in a really good mood.

Comments

[hedy.livejournal.com]

I ♥ vegan lunch box.
http://www.mass.gov/agr/markets/farmersmarkets/get_fresh_seasons.htm

[vikingkangaroo.livejournal.com]

A farmer's market is going to have pretty much only in-season stuff. Right now it's a lot of young greens, like spinach, chard, arugula, kale, etc., as well as peas, garlic scrapes (the top buds of garlic plants, have a milder garlic flavor) and some early root veggies. And a good place to look for recipes for some of the more unusual things you might find is:
www.epicurious.com
It helps to use the advanced search option to narrow it down, and reading the comments for a recipe is a really, really good idea, too - especially if you're just starting to get your feet wet with cooking. They have a lot of very fussy recipes on the site, but they are also lots of basic ones and the fussy ones can often be simplified pretty easily.

I hope that helps!

[speacechilde.livejournal.com]

i only really know about the herbs, mostly because i can see them growing when i go outside.

But...blueberries should be ready by the end of the month, since this year has been a mild one.
and, provided they were started inside, green peppers are getting there, slowly but surely.
otherwise, it's pretty much interesting salad greens at this point.

Do you know, I can't eat movie theater popcorn anymore? How sad.

[speacechilde.livejournal.com]

i've just had a thought: do you mean packaged food (any food that happens to be in a package, including rice) or processed food (e.g. meal-in-a-box, shelf life of 400 years)? By which I mean, is this some kind of Transcendentalist diet, where you only consume raw vegetables whose root gatherings are under six inches long, or is it more of a "Gee, I should really cut back on the chemicals" thing?

If you're trying to wean yourself off of additives (which i've had to do, so i know how tough it is), the most important thing to do is to read labels very carefully. You'd be amazed at what has Red 40 in it. Or Yellow 5 and 6. Breakfast cereals--even the "healthy" ones are awful about this.
Also, the dread high fructose corn syrup...

[laynamarya.livejournal.com]

The Davis Square Farmer's Market has had mostly potted vegetable plants and herbs and flowers right now. Besides produce, there's bread and goat cheese and a place where you can order natural beef, which seems weird to me.

[ladyvivien.livejournal.com]

Vegan Lunchbox is great! Do mind if I use your 'nice is different than good' icon from Brothers Grimm? Will credit, obv.

[oyceter]

PEAS GET PEAS EEEEE!

*ahem*

Try one or two first; if they're sweet and crunchy and fresh-tasting, buy as many as you can possibly get. If they don't taste sweet and green, avoid like the plague.

You can shell them and eat them raw (I tend to consume a good deal while shelling), or if they're young sugar snap peas, you don't even have to shell them. I usually get a ton, like, uh, several pounds, and shell them and cook them on the same day. They convert sugar to starch very quickly, so eat them soon.

I usually cook them over low heat with a little oil, some salt and some pepper, to taste. Stir every so often to make sure the bottom ones don't get mushy. Wait till they turn bright green, and then try them every so often until the texture is the way you like (I like not-too-crunchy, but not smooshy either). Then I squeeze some lemon juice on top and just eat giant bowls.

Fresh peas are the best thing ever.

Also, looks like cucumbers are in season right now, and you can probably get dill and garlic and make very good yogurt sauce: use about 1/2 c. yogurt (I use non-fat, works fine) for every cucumber. If you want to take more time, put the yogurt in a coffee filter in the fridge for a few hours to thicken it and let the whey drip out. You can also peel and dice the cucumbers, salt them slightly and leave them in the fridge to take out some of the moisture, but I avoid the first two steps when I'm too hungry. Chuck the yogurt in a large bowl with crushed cloves of garlic (to taste, I probably put in 2-3 per cucumber) and finely chopped dill (I usually put 1-2 tbsp per cucumber). Pour in a tbsp or two of olive oil if you want. Mix and refrigerate and let the flavors blend.

Yay! Farmers' market!

[oyceter]

Oh! (sorry, fresh produce really excites me...)

And when heirloom tomatoes come into season, just slice them up and eat them with a sprinkle of salt, pepper and olive oil. They're so tasty you don't even need the basil or mozzarella, though that never hurts! I never used to be a tomato fan till I had locally-grown, non-shipped heirlooms, which are remarkably fruity and not at all like gross, mushy, mealy, tasteless tomatoes.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Good to know. And I completely understand as I was much later in mailing yours than I said I'd be.