Fresh Produce (OT)

Another OT post, but I gotta tell you this story. (I love living here.)

It's always difficult to get fresh produce. I fixed a very simple lunch yesterday of broccoli and green beans over a cup or two of white rice, lightly spiced. The broccoli I ate at two o'clock was picked that morning.

On the way back from getting the broccoli I stopped at a Mennonite farm stand looking for green beans, and I didn't see any displayed on the front counter of their little wooden shed. It looked like they were out of them. But I spied something else interesting: yellow raspberries. I had to try those. How can you not try yellow raspberries?

I did notice two quart boxes of green beans along with some other produce on the table inside the shed, in the back. I assumed they had been set aside for another customer.

Then a young woman came out, in her long dress and bonnet (no pictures), and here's the conversation we had:

Me: No green beans today?

She: I could go pick you some.

Me: Really? That would be wonderful.

She: How much would you like?

Me: About half a quart box.

She: It will take a little while. I will hurry.

Me: Oh, that's okay. No need to hurry. I need to make one more stop, so I could come back.

She (turning to the back table and hesitantly taking up one of the boxes of green beans I assumed were set aside): If you don't want to wait, these don't look too bad.

Me: Are those for sale?

She: Well, they're yesterday's.

Me: You mean they were picked yesterday.

She: Yes. I don't mind picking fresh ones for you. It will take a little while but I will hurry.

Me: Those look fine. I think those will do.

Isn't that great? That just tickles me. Do you suppose she knows that most produce in supermarkets in America is up to twenty days old by the time we buy it? And the freshest of the fresh in the produce aisle is three or four days old. And then we take it home and often wait several more days before eating it. (That's if we don't hide it from ourselves in the Rotter, which is what my brother Scott calls the drawer in the fridge.) And she's worried the green beans are not fresh enough because it had been one day since they came off the vine. I think she gave me a dollar or two off.

Anyway, I somehow made do with the day-old green beans to go with my five-hour-old broccoli. Not too surprisingly, the broccoli and the beans were delicious, tender and flavorful. Extremely fresh broccoli is especially good.

Oh, and the yellow raspberries were heavenly—they have a little less raspberry flavor and they're a little sweeter. The ones I tried, anyway—no doubt fresh-picked! Today, I'll have the rest of the broccoli for lunch. Of course it will be a day old. I'm thinking I'll live.

I love it here.  :-)

Mike

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Featured Comments from:

Stan B.: "Twenty days old?"

Mike replies: There's an organic heirloom apple orchard just up the hill from me, and it's the season. I need to wait a few more days while my tooth heals, though.

Sophia: "Re 'There's an organic heirloom apple orchard just up the hill from me....' Oh, please go! Find out what kinds of apples they have. Take some photos for us. Pick and eat a Jonathan or two. Or three. Make some apple butter, apple sauce, a couple pies and galettes. Maybe some cider. Please, let me live vicariously—I am so craving a Fall trip to an upstate New York heirloom apple orchard!"

Mike replies: When I get back from vacation I will pay them a visit for you.

Luke Smith: "When I was a kid, my neighbor grew corn in her garden. She explained how to cook it: Boil water. Pick an ear of corn in the garden. Run with it back to the house, and shuck it as you go. If you accidentally drop it, forget it, and go pick a fresh one. Her tomatoes were good, too: still warm from the sun on the vine."

Comments

[Jim Kofron]

And you live in the land of Wegmans---which is a fabulous grocery store, as grocery stores go. That roadside stand does sound awesome. It's a great way to go. I get lamb from across the street, and beef from the farm behind the lamb... Local is good!

[David Miller]

The rule in our household is that the water must be boiling before you pick the corn, and shucking must be done between the garden and the house…while walking briskly.

[Omer]

Mennonites are not monolithic in their social and moral outlook. Where I live, in Tucson AZ, the Mennonite community is quite progressive, using modern conveniences like smartphones and computers. The local church accepts gays and in 2009 was a sanctuary though that may have changed considering current politics. And yes, some do photography. I'm not sure how prevalent this is, but Mennonites can be wonderful musicians, in particular with singing. If by chance you enjoy hymn singing, visit the local Mennonite church.

I'm not Mennonite but dated one for a short while. I can tell you they are just as "human" as anyone.

[Earl Dunbar]

I could pick some cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes from the back yard tomorrow morning and drive down. And also bring home grown garlic.

I have Bergger Pancro 400 loaded in 4x5 holders, and the Chamonix hasn't had much time with the Nikkor 75/4.5 yet. Just sayin'

[Benjamin Marks]

I hear you, my brother-in-latitude. This is a great time of year in the northeast. My wife has planted our small garden so that every week there is something on the table. This week it is green beans. And I have tried my hand at tomatoes this year, even though I got started late. It is going to be a bit of a race with the frost this year. . . we will see. The farmstands too brim with interesting things. Celeriac. Who knew?

[Richard Parkin]

But frozen veg and fruit are the "freshest" and frequently shown to have the highest nutrient levels. *

*Full disclosure, I don't eat much frozen vegetables myself but then I buy or grow for flavour.

[John Camp]

I actually grow yellow raspberries in my back yard. It sorta sounds like an old wives' tale, but the woman who sold me the plants said that birds don't recognize them as berries, and so don't eat them. I've noticed that I don't seem to lose any to birds, but then, I don't watch them 24 hours a day.

[The Terrified Dad]

One thing I miss about living in Morocco is the availability and affordability of fresh produce. I could fill up my little pull cart with incredible fruits and vegetables for not much money. Everything was in season and local. Cherries and strawberries would get down to about thirty cents a pound, pomegranates closer to twenty, and whatever the fresh figs cost I would gladly have paid several times that.

I currently have a pretty awesome deal going with my in-laws. They grow pears, apples, and heirloom pumpkins on their farm in Western Michigan, and every October my wife and I go and fill up the car. Then we eat a hell of a lot of pumpkin, apple, and pear related dishes! We show up the week after they finish harvesting for their commercial obligations, so we get free run of the leftovers. The pickin's might be a little slim this year though - the deer have really rampaged through the fields.

[Bruce]

Hi, Mike, living in Central Victoria, Australia, we're 180 degrees out of season from you and the daffodils are just starting to pop out. We just had the last "Democrat" apple (Old Tasmanian variety) from last season' store, and are looking at the last pear-a Josehine- we didn't put nearly enough away. Rampant flocks of cockatoos strip all the fruit from our trees unless netted, and now I have to stop the kangaroos bounding through my freshly turned soil waiting the annual vegetables. We have been developing a "Permaculture" since 1978, and can harvest fresh vegetables the whole year. Right now we can live on --- (perhaps "exist" is a better word) broccoli- perennial variety- Kale- (four varieties- prolific self seeders)- potatoes-(just starting to sprout) - and frozen tomatoes, nectarines, peaches,and berries. Another of your readers, Ian K , came up from Melbourne and helped us press 60 litres of apple juice from our twenty (different varieties) to turn into cider and cider vinegar a couple of months ago. Aaah yes, life is good..., but we only generated 6 kilowatt hours of electricity from our solar panels last week after several gloomy days, so we are going to get a large electricity bill! Have a wonderful break, looking forward to reading Gordon's contributions. Kind regards, Bruce

[Joe B]

Mike,
All the fruit and veges are wonderful indeed! But,
1 or 2 cups of white rice? The bran and germ is stripped away. Each cup is 45g of carbs and 206 calories. Glycemic index of 89. Try brown rice next time. Yes, I guess I sound like the food police but there are other better options.

[Daniel]

You might try to find Hinnomaki Red gooseberries or plant a few for yourself. I am getting more than a gallon of berries per plant now in the third year of growth. Turn red/purple when ripe and better than grapes. Sweet or tart depending on when you pick them. Great fresh picked or in a pie. Other varieties are good but I find these go over better whenever I have had anyone try them.

[Speed]

A warm cantaloupe fresh from the garden for lunch is for me the best. Warm tomatoes in a salad are second.

[D. Hufford]

My family had a huge "garden" of over an acre back in the hills where I grew up. We grew about everything and a large part of our food came from it. Fresh in the late summer/early fall (though folks woulda thought you off your rocker if you ran from the garden to the pot while furiously shucking an ear of corn) and canned to get us through the winter. That and--OMG! hunting---provided us with a lot of food and saved us from having to buy it.

I didn't much like all the work, the plowing that rocky soil hanging half off a hillside, the hoeing, the fertilizing, and everything else that went with it. But I loved eating what resulted. The corn, the green beans of various types, the different types of tomatoes, the tators, fresh green onions in the early spring, the lettuce, cabbage, and all the other stuff we grew. Then, along with the vegetables, we had fresh apples from the orchard out back.

I didn't think it was anything special back then, as many of the folks around did the same, and had done so for generations.

Now I miss that terribly. Most folks I know, are surprised at the things we did back then. Makes me feel like I am living in different world nowadays. And I don't dare mention the muskrat, mink, fox, and even possum trapping we did. Horrors!