Tuesday, June 21, 2011

CSA Week Four. Kale with a side of Vandaveer.

A confession. I missed last week's CSA delivery. Mind you: I was back the next day and managed to cook every morsel, but the day of delivery? When I normally cannot wait to get home to see what goodies await? Did not happen.

All that work that happened and happened and happened and happened finally drove me to need to run far, far away. I needed my family, I needed my oldest friend, I needed a night of not working. I knew, under no circumstance, could I enjoy such a night in my home, so, on a Tuesday morning, I drove to BWI airport, boarded a just-purchased Southwest flight to my hometown in Louisville, and enjoyed 24 blissful hours not working (or at least not working much). What did I do? I saw my oldest friend in the world -- one of my two Caras -- and her garden. What does she grow in her garden?


That, lovely people, is. An. Entire. Garden. Of. Kale. KALE.

KAAAAAAALE.

I mean, kale that you can eat raw. Kale that you cook the same day it is in the ground. Kale that you spy in the backyard and know it was grown by awesome, amazing people I love. Is any kale in the world more delicious?

In a word, no.

I stood in that kale garden, drank a beer, exhaled, loved my oldest friend in the world, and then her daughter -- her beautiful, hilarious, sweet little girl, complete with princess outfit! -- bent down, plucked kale leaves from her garden, and handed them to me for munching.


I mean. Can you stand it? Are you weeping from joy yet? I sure could, even now, just remembering. I am the luckiest gal in the entire universe.

Because then? Not only did I get to eat dinner with my brother and dearest Suz at the new locally grown joint downtown (creatively called "Harvest"), which EVEN managed to have ginger beer for a dark and stormy ....


... but THEN, then, thanks to my strategic timing, I headed to see two amazing friends play amazing music that nourishes the soul the way kale nourishes a body. In my home town. For heaven's sake. For a Tuesday, I was doing pretty damn well. I even had my camera with video capability handy!



Meanwhile, back home, Karl's Farm was delivering to me the following:

  • Green cabbage
  • D'Avignon radishes
  • Spring onions
  • Mustard greens
  • Hakurei turnips
  • Zucchini
Luckily, most of these were repeats, so I had little to contemplate -- though I also now have little to report. Also luckily, all survived the overnight without me well. Most importantly for me, I had the best 24-hour excursion imaginable, and with deliciousness waiting for me at home. Like I said, the luckiest gal in the universe.

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