So Saturday arrived this past weekend and although there were four baseball games and one baseball practice on the schedule it appeared that my presence was not required until the late hour of 10:00 am at the ballpark. So it came to pass that I found myself awake and showered with every single boy human out of my house. I decided I was ready to head out to tackle my Summer 2015 resolution to
First, I stopped at 7-11 for one of these because IT'S A PROCESS/ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY/ STOP JUDGING ME.
I started to get out of my car with my Cherry Vanilla Diet Coke, but ultimately decided to leave it in there. I was afraid that the majority of the Farmer's Marketers with their BPA-free refillable water bottles wouldn't appreciate a Super Big Gulp of aspartame within spitting distance of their grass-fed, pasture raised, non GMO what-have-you. And also, I am filled with shame and guilt.
Everything at the Farmer's Market is beautiful. It makes you feel like a million bucks just walking around there. Like you are a glowing mass of vitality and longevity. Like Dr. Oz might want to invite you on his show to be a guest. You forget that you lasted a mere 16 days the last time you tried to give up diet Coke and that the night before for dinner you ate the baseball team's leftover cookie cake. You think perhaps you will just ignore the voice inside your head that says, "You have no idea how to even pick up that beet much less what to do with it."
Armed with my environmentally friendly Trader Joe's bag, I steered clear of vegetables that I didn't even know real people ate and went for vegetables I recognized. I do actually eat a fair amount of spinach and often sauté it with garlic so I was happy to throw both of those in my bag right quick. Most of my people will eat peaches and at least two of us like Brussels sprouts so I was thrilled to fill up my bag with those.
Also, I wanted to make a recipe for an asparagus and tomato salad that my sister in law had made last year, so I was able to find both asparagus and tomatoes at one stand. The last thing I purchased was a gigantic bag of kettle corn. Whatever.
I got home to make my salad and I'm going to share the recipe. I'm not going to lie. The chopping can be tedious. And you have to boil water. I know. It's startling that I have enough energy to write this post. Anyway, here's a fancy food blogger-ish photo of the ingredients that I chopped up all by myself. I had the avocado and the cheese at home already and I got the basil from my friend, Tracy's very own pot on her deck for 0 dollars. (I didn't steal it - she gave it to me)
Here's the recipe if you want to try it.
TOMATO/ASPARAGUS SALAD
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and halved
6 cups halved cherry, grape and pear tomatoes in varied colors
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1 ripe avocado, cut into cubes
1 cup sliced basil leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Boil asparagus in a large pot of salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Mix asparagus with remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to coat evenly with dressing.
Look at it, friends. It's beautiful.
A warning: I ate so much of this over the weekend that my mouth might be a little raw and sore. It seems that tomatoes are quite acidic and you might not want to eat three bowls of this stuff in two days. These are things I'm learning. Anyway, next week, I cannot promise you anything, but you might want to hit your knees and pray without ceasing. Just remember that the Lord can do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine. And if it is His will, I might be back next week to show you what I'm doing with the Brussels Sprouts.
Have a happy, healthy Monday, Friends!! And if you have any Farmer's Market-ish recipes to share, please leave a comment!
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