Lately, I have been in the habit of riding my bike down to the farmer’s market. The difference with the flavor and freshness of their vegetables versus the big chains is unmistakable and the price is usually better as well. You haven’t really tasted a tomato until you’ve had one from local fields and just off the vine. Those things make some of the best tomato sandwiches and soup.
Everyday, I like to pick out one or two fresh vegetables and make a meal out of it. This brings me great satisfaction. Yesterday, I cooked some rutabagas and a squash casserole. Rutabagas, if you are not familiar with them, are a root vegetable much like a turnip. When cooked they take on this rich, orange hue like cooked pumpkin. Here in the south we cook them with some salt pork (my grandmother called it fatback) until they get nice and tender and then we mash them. I love to eat them with some homemade vinegary hot-pepper sauce.
This morning, I rode down and bought some beautiful vegetables for vegetable beef soup and some peaches to make a cobbler. (A cobbler is a southern treat that is akin to a pie. It customarily has a latticed pastry crust that is light and flaky.) I picked out some beautiful tomatoes, onions, corn, okra, green beans, and potatoes. I brought them all home and carefully cut them up into bite-size pieces and placed them in my crock pot. I then put in some cubed stew beef that I had defrosted in the refrigerator over night. I topped all of this with water and salt and pepper to taste. I will let this slow cook around 6 to 8 hours until the vegetables and beef are tender and cooked through.
The smells of that soup cooking will drive me crazy all day. I am sure there will be many moments where I go take off the glass top, take a big whiff, and survey how well dinner is coming along. It should be ready when I get off from work. Pull the peach cobbler out of the oven, cook a pan of cornbread, pour a glass of sweet tea, and dinner is served. Bon Appetit!
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