I used this sauce for the mizuna, it was ripe for wilting. The meatballs are banh mi style: ground pork, sriracha, fish sauce, a little salt and sugar. Soba noodles feel a little healthier, and peanuts and mint (from the backyard) make a nice garnish.

Cukes from Lancaster Farm Fresh via the Co-op, dill from Emerald Street Urban Farm, garlic scapes from our Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA.

You know what a pound of arugula is good for? You guessed it.

A generous handful of toasted walnuts, the zest and juice of one lemon, several glugs of olive oil, a hefty pinch of salt, and a pound of arugula (minus some for a spicy salad). Finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano would be a great addition too.

I mean, just a little bit.

Luckily, I had some help. As in, luckily, I had two able bodies to do most of the work.

Whew! All ready for radishes, cukes, tomatoes, peppers, basil.

I had already picked up two pints of blueberries and had noticed that not only were there blueberries from Hammonton but there were also berries from LA. What the heck. I’m glad I was paying attention…I just assumed that all the blueberries out were from NJ, where else would you be getting blueberries now and why the heck would you want to buy blueberries from anywhere else? And they were all mixed in! I couldn’t believe it. So now I’m checking out the nectarines and this woman picks up the LA blueberries and puts them in her cart. So, since I would have wanted to know, I politely say:

“I’m not sure if you care or not, but some of those blueberries aren’t from New Jersey.”

This could have gone either way. It’s obviously none of my business which blueberries somebody buys. But I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut. Luckily she did care and acknowledged that she would actually prefer the local berries and thanked me for pointing this out to her.

Because I feel like we have really immersed ourselves in the buying (and growing) of local food, I take it for granted that other folks might not care. The package of Driscoll’s strawberries just make me cringe. I do think that as more grocery stores like Wegmans start to stock more and more local produce, people who maybe hadn’t cared much before will start to notice. Of course, nothing beats chatting up your local farmers’ market vendors.

I’ve been cooking a lot sans recipes, with whatever is in the fridge, which happens to be A LOT of produce between our CSA and our garden.

I’ve been picking lots of fruit: cherries, peaches, blueberries, more peaches, and raspberries. And more peaches.

I’ve been making pickles.

And chutney.

And jam.

I grilled octopus last weekend.

I’ve been picking lots of delicious veg out of my garden. (Oops, I meant OUR garden.)

I’ve been shooting some weddings! One by myself, and one as an assistant. And I got paid! But, shh, don’t tell Uncle Sam.

I made zucchini bread that wasn’t very good.

I met Jennifer Carroll! Swoon.

I took two canning classes: beets and tomatoes (and salsa).

I’ve also been loving on my new chest freezer. More on that later.