Local diet update - Sunday, May 4

From the look at that photo, you'd think I was at the local farmers market yesterday. Actually, I missed it (more on why tomorrow). The veggies in the photo to the right are what my Dad came back with last Tuesday from DiIorio Farms in Hempstead - about 50 miles from here. Most of this came from right on the farm. The watermelon came from further south, but are you getting how big that melon is? It'll take me 2 weeks to eat it! Sweet!  Needless to say, the easy to freeze berries went right into the freezer. 

The squash, zucchini, and corn have been steamed and the tomatoes and cucumber with my homemade dressing will make a wonderful side salad. Of course this will all be supplemented by the seemingly endless supply of vegetable soup still currently in residence at the bottom of the freezer. I suppose I shouldn't complain. That veggie soup, as often as I've had it, still makes an amazing meal! 

On Thursday, Daddy dropped by again, this time with some intriguing fruit. See the photo? That's only about 1/3 of what he brought me. Most of them are cross-breed experiments from TAMU and a university in Arizona. I have oranges crossed with lemons, apples crossed with pears, and I'm not sure what the grapefruit is crossed with but it's definitely something.  They all look like you would expect them to, but when you bite into them, it's totally different and wonderfully delicious. The fragrance from the lemon-orange cross hit me from 6 feet away when my Dad first cut into it.  A bite?  The juice just bursts in your mouth. Amazing flavor!  Everything I could preserve in the freezer has been tucked away. And considering it won't be long before the local farmers market is bursting with melons, strawberries, and pears, I think expanding the eating locally experiment to include fruits is going to work out just fine. Bring it on!

Of course we have eggs, whole milk, and gouda cheese from the local dairy (Sand Creek Farm). We picked those up on Friday. I also have leftover homemade yogurt from last week's batch. And leftover homemade ice cream and Amish Friendship bread from last weekend's party.

So although I didn't make the market, I'd say we're going to be eating well this week!