Summer Produce

There's just no denying that this family loves produce. We are produce lovers. And when the weather changes and the harvest changes... heaven on earth here in the lovers home. We currently have in our home right now: Cherries, raspberries, bananas, apricots, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, mangoes, tomatoes, avocados, red & orange bell peppers, red kale, celery, carrots, cilantro, zucchini, red leaf lettuce, arugula, English cucumber, spinach, Brussels sprouts...

I'm a nut! That's all the fresh stuff I've picked up at Farmer's Market and organic produce stands... it's out of control, but I can't help it. And we're eating it as fast as it's coming in (I mean, we kinda have to if I don't want it to start wilting and be inedible). I refrained from buying blue berries yesterday and more strawberries this morning (although by the end of today, the current ones we have will likely be gone). We love it though. Can I just have my OWN garden already? OK. I can be patient. I know I can.

Mateja loves nectarines and pineapples. I love apricots (it's basically the cleanest, non-messiest fruit you can eat). Ari's favorites are strawberries and raspberries, well, any berry for that matter. Nathan loves mangoes. And then when you stick a variety of them in a blender w/ some kefir? Again: heaven on earth.

And then there's veggies... kale has to be my #2 go-to veggie prety much all the time (asparagus is #1). We also love baby broccoli quite a bit over here. And if you can find some delicious brussels, oh heck, it's over. We're having the brussels as a side with dinner tonight. Also having the spinach and then I'm going to make a basic salad w/ some red leaf, cucumber, tomatoe and arugula... but that's dinner. Lunch is in the works. We just LOVE fresh produce. LOVE IT!!

Farmers Market

This morning I took the girls to a local Farmer's Market. It's something I hope to make a family tradition. I wish we went to Farmers Markets three times a week, but I'll settle for once a week for now. I love them. I talked it up so much that by the time we parked the car (I know, we should have biked) and headed down the closed off street the girls were squealing with excitement. It was perfect. The weather was agreeable, the street was not over crowded, it was well organized and the live music wasn't obnoxious. My only grimace of the day occurred when I looked at the posted prices of the face painting booth. That was after I'd agreed to let Mateja get a "kitty" caked on her right cheek. Boo. Oh well. She was pleased with the outcome and I was pleased with the positive experiences my girls had at the market. It wasn't their first, by any means, but it was certainly the first memorable experience for each of them as they were very involved in the choosing of the foods we purchased and the variety of samples they consumed. Yay for FM and summer time produce. Aaahhh ~ loving life!