Still Eating Local Foods

Well, it's be years since I've posted but I just thought I'd point out that eating local foods near Rockford has never been easier. The farmers' market season has begun and last Wednesday morning I purchased maple syrup, chives, red and green leaf lettuce, and string cheese from the locals and some fresh pita with pesto hummus and pizza from the lunch from the non-locals (that's non-local food).

Kai and I had a great time visiting with so many friends and had a lovely lunch outdoors with two other moms and with their children. We can't wait to go back to Edgebrook tomorrow and see what we'll find!

On the home food front, the asparagus is trying but not ready to eat (the purple asparagus is looking the best this year!). We've harvested rhubarb already a few times (my grandmother used to tell me you should never harvest rhubarb in a month containing an "r" so we wait for the first of May here and celebrate with a yummy dessert - this year it was rhubarb custard pie!

We're still harvesting spinach from the plants Kevin planted in late September that we kept alive under old skylights this winter. Other greens appearing on our plates are the result of weeding... dandelion and garlic mustard. I think we'll make something special with violet blooms this weekend.

The garlic, planted last year, is well over a foot tall and the onions are tucked into their relocated raised bed. Perennial herbs are returning and we've been eating those since before Easter (thyme, chives, parsley, sage, etc.).

Kevin and the kids started sugar snap pea seeds and they're going to town along with other lettuces and greens. This promises to be another yummy year!