produce & peanut butter.

The small local Farmer’s Market I went to today near my parents house has to be one of my favorites because of one farmer. After picking up my bounty of organic vegetables from him, I wished I had snapped a photo of him. He is everything you would imagine a farmer to look like. He is overly tan with a scruffy beard, and wears cutoff shirts when it is stifling and flannel on the chilly mornings. His stand is the last on my route around the market, and today I only had a few peppers before making my way to his station. Upon reaching his veggies, I noticed he was nowhere to be found. After a quick glance around the market, I saw him running toward me with a big smile on his face. This guy knows how much I love my greens. There were garlic scapes, romaine, kale, collards, chard, radishes, and snap peas. Since V and I are working a lot and moving towards the end of this week, I made sure to not go overboard.

My fondness of peas is because of my father’s influence, without a doubt. I have delightful memories of sitting next to him shelling english peas from their fibrous pods at our summer home. Snap peas, the less fibrous variety, are a vegetable I prefer to eat raw. They do make a great addition to a simple stir fry, but eating them fresh is especially refreshing.

Oh, radishes… what an awfully beautiful vegetable with the perfect crunch for summer salads.

Kale is a vegetable that I just can’t say no to. I adore it almost always. In fact, my mother once asked me which foods I could eat daily and kale was one. Chocolate was another, of course. The small bell peppers were too adorable to pass up.

These warm days are upping my raw veggie consumption and everyone around me is always amazed when they see me make massive salads only to claim them as my own.

This showcased the farmer’s market romaine, radishes, and snap peas. Cherry tomatoes and cucumber were also thrown in there before it was tossed with Goddess Dressing. Leftover Indian from our early Father’s Day dinner was served on the side for lunch. Last night, I ordered Chana Saag (chickpeas and spinach) instead of my usual, Channa Masala. Although it was tasty, it didn’t compare to my favorite. Dal was also ordered and I used a brown rice tortilla to scoop up the two Indian dishes and eat with my hands.

Although not incredibly photogenic, the Indian dishes were better than the night before. The spices seem to become more pronounced after a night left in the fridge.

Since my family proclaimed there would be “no more cookies” allowed in their house, I was weary of baking but the craving was there. Let’s just say, I went for it. A new recipe was tried for Peanut Butter Cookies and everyone seemed to forget the ban they had made on these little delicious treats. Heidi Swanson’s blog, 101 Cookbooks, was one of the first I stumbled upon when entering the online foodie world. I have yet to buy her beautiful book, but have tried many of her recipes with much success and rave reviews all around.

Before baking, I made sure to use a large fork to create the criss-cross that makes a typical peanut butter cookie appear different from all other cookies. The recipe was one of the simplest cookie recipes I’ve found, containing spelt flour, maple syrup, baking soda, peanut butter, olive oil, vanilla, and salt.

For an afternoon snack, we ate them with the delectable So Delicious Coconut Milk.

Watching the World Cup with my father, combined with baking, didn’t leave much time for dinner. The recent sale on Rising Moon pastas at Whole Foods made for an easy dinner. Many of the Ravioli’s are vegan, and my weird desire for warming winter squash meant that the Butternut Squash would be the ravioli of choice. Kale and orange bell pepper were cooked with some basil, olive oil, tomato sauce, and garlic and then poured onto the pasta.

‘Twas a scrumptious meal.

Thanks so much for the kind words about the photos I included in my last post of my father. It is funny that a few mentioned he looked like Steven Spielburg since he is a director for commercials, not film. He is such a creative individual and aspire to be like him everyday. His stubbornness and drive are two things that have rubbed off on me tremendously throughout my life. I only hope to be as happy as he has been with his choice in line of work. He always told us growing up that he just wants us to be happy in all aspects of our lives, and I am unwilling to stay in any situation where I don’t feel content. He makes sure to travel abroad each year, even with his busy schedule, because he knows it is one thing that has made him most happy throughout his life. I can only dream that will be possible in my future because I miss it dearly.

Other things:

-A delicious looking Radish Salad recipe on Tartelette.

-This Chilled Soba with Tofu and Sugar Snap Peas recipe sounds absolutely delicious.

-These two raw recipes using bell peppers are wonderful: Gena’s “Cheese” Sauce and Averie’s Raw Vegan Kale Chips (you can bake them too).

-Make your own Chana Saag from Vegan Dad’s blog or some delicious Channa Masala.

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