About four weeks ago, Norm asked me what I thought about eliminating animal protein from our diet. I’ve been a vegetarian before and really didn’t miss meat for 15 years. So, naturally, I said “Sure!” 

I went to the garden this evening around 5:00 p.m. to see what was ready to harvest. My goal was to have a meal ready in about 30 minutes. The Indigo Apple tomatoes are just starting to set but they still too green to pick so I went row by row and here’s what I picked:

• Parsnip
• Romaine Lettuce ?
• Onion ?
• Radish 
• Peas 
• Oregano

I brought it all into the house, laid it out on the counter, and here’s the picture. As you can see there’s a little bit of a lot of things. 

I then looked in the pantry & refrigerator and found:

• Brussels Sprouts
• Sweet Potatoes
• Classic Condiment Balsamic Vinegar – Cask-Aged in NM (found at the Fermentation Festival last year – produced & distributed by Darland Company, LLC)
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder
• Himalayan Pink Salt & ground pepper

I’ve baked sweet potato fries before so I cut them, the kohlrabi, and parsnips into thin pieces, threw them all into a large bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder and then arranged them on a baking sheet with parchment paper. I baked them in a 450º oven for 25 minutes stirring and turning them once. If you do this you’ll want to make sure they are evenly spaced apart and similar in size so they will cook equally in the time given.

I then turned on heat under my cast iron skillet and added a little olive oil. I sliced the onion thinly and added it to the skillet. I then washed, cut the stem end off the Brussels Sprouts and cut them in half. I added them to the cooking onions, cut side down. I removed all the leaves from the oregano branches and sprinkled them on top. I covered the pan and let them cook until the baked fries were done.

While waiting for the fries and Brussels Sprouts to cook, I washed the Romaine Lettuce and tore it into bite-sized pieces. Putting these on the serving plates, I added thinly sliced radishes, and some left-over blueberries (the peas never made it to the plate — I ate them while prepping dinner. I guess if Julia Childs can drink wine while she cooks, I can eat the few green peas I pick from the garden. ?)

I poured about 1 teaspoon of very high grade Balsamic Vinegar onto the salad and added a little olive oil. 

The Brussels Sprouts and “fries” completed out the plate and enjoyed a wonderful Farm-to-Table meal. I love the fresh taste of “just-picked” vegetables. We were finished eating in time for Jeopardy at 6:00!