Tierra Miquel Foundation, Our Local Farm

When we found out that my mom had kidney cancer, we fell off the fence about organic produce. Of course we knew better before and we intended to do something about it but the day to day got in the way. We bought most of our things from Whole Paycheck and were sucked into the narrative feeling like we were doing some good.
And we were.
Some.
Not much, mind you but some. If you haven't read Michael Pollan's thoughts on the place we love to shop, email me and I'll send you the sites.
In any case, now every Friday afternoon feels like Christmas because we drive to our little pickup spot and heave the box of fresh, local produce into the car. Unpacking it is exciting because you get what's in season. Who knows what'll be. This week it was Hass avocados, heirloom tomatoes, lots and lots of squash, zucchini (Thank goodness for Russ Parson's article in the LA Times with recipes!), a big white onion, a handful of green onions, cucumbers green and lemon, cantaloupe, loads and loads of lovely peppers, garlic bulbs and string beans. I had to learn a little about the lemon cucumbers before I could dig in, (more on that later). Tonight I'm researching the peppers.

The husband's at the Hollywood Bowl, the baby's in bed and I'm enjoying the quiet, cool house, spending the evening researching recipes.