Less than five.
Chris and I will be getting married in less than five months.
And before we know it, it will only be four.
This is somewhat of a shame as I’m only just getting to that place where I almost never slip up and call him my boyfriend anymore. Fiancé is hard to get used to. It’s sort of a mouthful. It has certainly been fun to say, particularly to each other, but it’s an uncomfortable word, difficult to pronounce without seeming as though you’re calling attention or putting on airs.
This is not to say that I do not love having a fiancé. Or being a fiancée.
Read on...
I mentioned a while back that we joined our local CSA this year. We're coming up on our third week and it's already been a joy.
Our first distribution consisted of spinach, arugula, turnips, broccoli rabe, salad greens, and bok choy. My dad and his girlfriend were in town that week (thus my absence here) and I was able to introduce them both to arugula for the first time. Now, I don't think of arugula as being anything out of the ordinary. I've known the spicy, peppery leaves for such a long time that I was slightly surprised when I needed to remind my dad of the name on more than a handful of occasions. It was interesting, though, to watch someone experience something completely unfamiliar, with no preconceptions. As I was washing it up to prepare a salad, I handed my dad a leaf. "What does it taste like to you?" I asked him.
"Like peanuts," he said.
I slipped one between my teeth. He was right. Peanuts. I'd likely have never noticed, but there was a definite peanutty note in there. He'd never heard any of the classic adjectives associated with this "rocket" green, and it was fascinating to me that this was the very first thing that came to his mind. I tossed the arugula together with a homemade sweet balsamic vinaigrette and some sliced strawberries--more unfamiliar ground for my dad. He couldn't stop talking about that salad for the rest of their stay. It's so much fun to introduce people to new things, things that they'd have likely passed over in the grocery store or on a menu at a restaurant.
It's fun to be the one trying new things too. This is one of the things that I love most about being part of a CSA and I know this will only continue to build as the season progresses.
Another thing I love about being part of a CSA is that I don't have to make any decisions. You get what's fresh and ripe, and that's that. As much as I love the greenmarket, sometimes it can be a tad overwhelming for me. I find myself lost among the dozens of seasonal gems, all of them looking inviting, all of them seeming delicious. I want to grab some of each, but too often find myself stumped in the moment as to what I'll do with them. I try to take mental inventory of what we have in the pantry at home, try to write recipes in my head as I simultaneously dodge the other, more purposeful shoppers. I'm a kid in a candy store when I go, and disorganized to boot. Sure, the greenmarket still finds me arriving home with staples like kale and impulse purchases like rhubarb, but I'm mentally exhausted by the time they reach the crisper. So it works much better for me that, once a week, someone decides for me which ripe and wonderful goodies will fill my bag. That way, I can giddily unload them into my refrigerator and think quietly, in the comfort of my home, of what I should do with them.
This past week's CSA delivery included more turnips, salad greens, snap peas, collard greens, scallions, and garlic scapes. I was particularly--and I'm sure, understandably--excited about the garlic scapes. They're one of those fleeting, coveted greenmarket grabs that I know I'd wind up missing or staring at longingly before deciding to be reasonable and grab the spinach instead. What to do with them, though? Pesto seemed the most obvious choice.
Read on...
