thoughtful consumption

We started eating our produce late this week with Friday’s lunch. But it was worth the wait.

squash muffin, sausage, crowder peas, sweet potato, and salad (lettuce, sorrel, radishes, and sprouts)

The sausage is incredible. It has so much flavor; it’s what little sausages dream of becoming some day. If I can’t develop a weekly sausage habit, maybe I can develop a monthly one.

The sweet potatoes are really flavorful, too. The flesh is rich and creamy, and you can eat them right down to the skins.

Back to the grind

My new food processor finally arrived!

It’s much bigger than the one before, and I’m very happy with it.

It fits on my blender, which I think was my grandmother’s. And I know the mixer was my great-aunt’s. It’s amazing how well these appliances hold up.

So today I (finally) made pesto and baba ghanoush. In addition to the basil from a couple of CSA deliveries ago, I pulled up the couple of plants I had left in the garden.

With my new processor, I’ll be able to make the pesto in one batch instead of three.

And why must little creatures eat 10% of each and every leaf? Couldn’t they just eat 10% of the leaves instead? Or even 15% – I’m willing to negotiate.

Three little suppers all in a row

Saturday we had salad and Things You Can Spread on Thinly-sliced Garlic Bread.

What is pesto, baba ghanoush, and radish green- artichoke dip, Alex.

Sunday night we had fried okra, garlic shrimp and grits, and sweet potatoes.

Tonight’s supper was leftovers but surprisingly satisfying. With the salad, we finished up the lettuce and bean sprouts and purple radishes. (There are still some red and pink ones left.) I’m going to miss those little bean sprouts. We also had field peas and linguine with pesto.

The dangers of unproven herbal teas

Chocolate mint tea is wonderful for late night sipping. And lemon verbena is soothing, too. But I’d never had rose geranium tea. I googled “rose geranium tea” to see what to do with the leaves, and none of the results gave directions for tea with just rose geranium leaves. All the teas described were made of rose geranium plus mint or lemon herbs. So last night I made lemon verbena with one rose geranium leaf. And it was delicious – very light and lemony.

Still I wanted to know what rose geranium tea would taste like. So tonight, I made tea with just rose geranium leaves. It didn’t taste nearly as good as the lemon verbena combo and gave me a headache and a scratchy throat. (Or I’m catching a cold. Or tired of sitting at my desk.)

Guess I’ll go back to lemon verbena tea with one rose geranium leaf. And believing in the wisdom of Google crowds.