Farm Stand - Eggs

I went to the farm stand!

I've been planning to do this all summer, but somehow I kept putting it off. I mean, it's in our town, but I don't ever just drive by it. It's next to a park I sometimes take the kids to, but the park tends to amplify the temperature, and it's been hot. So we haven't gone.

But today I finally went. I didn't need corn (although I shall make more of an effort to buy it there going forward), but I got beans and a cucumber (a small one Andy asked for in a very sweet voice.) And since they had a sign that said they sold farm fresh eggs for $3 a dozen, I got some.

Eggs have been an issue for me. I would like to buy some reasonable priced, organic, free-range eggs. But our grocery store only sells one kind like this. Oh, there are tons of organic eggs, presumably born of chickens fed organic feed while trapped in itty bitty cages. And there are free range eggs, born of chickens running free and being fed chemicals and antibiotics enough to keep a horse healthy. My eggs cost $4.69 a dozen. Sheesh.

Anyway, I got these eggs, and I took them home and I cooked them up... and they look just like regular eggs. I have heard that farm fresh eggs are supposed to be Sooooo good, supposed to look different, taste different... but these weren't. Which leads me to believe that either accounts of farm fresh eggs have been exaggerated or that we were sold regular eggs and told they were farm fresh. Hmmm....

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

Last year I planted tomato seeds, and we got three tomatoes from sixteen plants. None of them were ripe before the first frost.

This year I tried planting them a little earlier. And guess what? We have tomatoes! In fact, four or five of the plants have little green tomatoes on them. I am stupidly thrilled!

Actually, the little veggie patch was a success, unless you count the beans, which never sprouted. We have carrots! Little ones, but you know... And peas! Thanks to Nick's RE teachers. Only three plants, which have given us about five pods so far. But that's plenty to add to an Indian Chicken Tikka.

I'm loving this. This afternoon, before it started raining, I was out watering the plants (of course) and I actually found myself wishing I had planted a few other things. Blueberries. Blackberries. Mint. Onions - do onions grow here? Cucumbers, or maybe peppers? We don't even eat peppers. But the way things are going, I might consider planting zucchini.

Need Suggestions

I need a really good vegetarian cookbook or website. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Organic Moo

I have taken to buying organic milk.

Even when I'm buying a half gallon, it's more expensive. And my husband rolls his eyes and isn't entirely on board. My kids claim it tastes different.

But this milk is from local farms. While even the generic store brand claims they give their cows no artificial growth hormones, the organic milk also uses no antibiotics and no pesticides in the feed.

Not to mention that the organic milk comes in cartons as opposed to plastic containers.

So it's better, right? Or am I just buying into an illusion? I really don't know.

Eggplant Parmesan

Wednesday's dinner is meatless. This is environmentally sound, as meat production and distribution creates pollution. I also believe it to be quite healthy, if it means we're eating more vegetables.

But finding meals I think the family will eat is tough.

I ran across this one in my stash of recipes to try. It was passed along to me because it is rumored to bring on labor in pregnant women. I was pregnant at the time. With my oldest son. Who will be six in three days. So you can see it's been sitting there for awhile.

Eggplant Parmigiana Alla Scalini's

It took awhile to make, honestly. I used all organic ingredients, except a few of the spices, which I already had, and the mozzarella. I'm not sure I cooked the eggplant enough. And then none of my kids would eat it. Or touch it. I didn't even tell them it was eggplant, but they glared at me and said they hated it before they even picked up a spoon. When my husband told them it was chicken, my four-year-old told me it was good, but he couldn't eat it because of the bones.

So... it's not vegan. It's vegetarian. And it's worth a try.