Fresh Produce in the Land of Plenty
(Originally published in The News Review on Tuesday, December 2, 2014) Recipe links: Glorified Cauliflower, Roasted Romanesco,
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| A lovely display from Norm Lehne Garden & Orchards |
A stroll through the farmers market is
like a trip to an art museum, with the added benefit that I can
afford to purchase the edible masterpieces I admire. The produce
vendors in particular go to great lengths to create esthetically
pleasing displays. With an eye for color, texture, balance and
detail, fruits and vegetables are carefully arranged in baskets,
bins, crates or free form pyramids. The results can be stunningly
beautiful. No wonder still lifes of food are my best-loved works of
art.
My dear friend Gloria Johnson is a
woman who loves vegetables almost as much as she loves cheese. Gloria
and her husband Roland are currently humanitarian missionaries in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are thrilled to be in Africa
serving people they have grown to love. Gloria is the most
enthusiastic, energetic, upbeat person I have ever known (her maiden
name is Jolley!) and she's embraced the daily challenges they face
with courage, optimism and a sense of humor. One of her only
complaints about life in the capital city of Kinshasa is the limited
availability of fresh produce and its exorbitant cost. A tiny box of
grapes? Thirteen dollars! A single red pepper? Six bucks! In one of
her email updates to friends back home, Gloria implored us not to
take the abundance and affordability of our fresh fruits and
vegetables for granted:
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| A beautiful Big Lick Farm display |
"The next
time......you go to the grocery store, Kruse Farms, any other farm,
Sherm's in Roseburg, anywhere that has produce! Please PLEASE
hug...(I MEAN IT!!!) the produce person and anyone else within
reach.... then... pick up a head of cauliflower and caress it,
kiss it, hug it, buy it, take it home, prepare it any way you want
then slowly and lovingly chew each morsel and say my name at least 10
times while doing so. And forever more don't race through
the produce section of the store, or farmer's market, just stop,
savor every color, every texture EVERY beautiful piece of freshness
and thank the Lord that you have it."
In honor of Gloria's wishes, I offer my
version of Glorified Cauliflower, a whole head steamed to perfection
and covered in a "glorious" cheese sauce. I serve it in a
shallow bowl with a large spoon and it looks lovely. (Well, one
member of my family says it looks like a brain, but he eats it
nonetheless.) If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, you can
easily turn them into a creamy soup.
Of all the varieties of cauliflower on
display-- white, orange, purple, green-- the most intriguing to me is
Romanesco, also called Romanesco broccoli. It stands out from the
crowd with it's lime green, cone-shaped head of spiraled florets.
(For you mathematicians reading, the number of spirals on a head of
Romanesco is a Fibonacci number.) Roasting it with olive oil brings
out the sweet, nutty flavor.
You and I are indeed fortunate to live
in a land of plenty. We have year round access to more fresh fruits
and vegetables than we could ever tire of eating and at prices we can
afford. So take your time. Saunter through the market or produce
aisle and let your senses delight in the visual feast. Then fill your
bag or basket or cart and count your blessings.
