the first thing i thought when i saw the greens that my mom had harvested from her backyard, was wow, these greens look so perfect and delicate. the pea pods with their curling tendrils looked almost precious. what i thought when i laid them all out on the counter to make dinner last night was woah, this is enough food for 3 dinners, and how much would this have cost me if i had to buy it? despite sequestering a chunk of my parent’s garden for the 20 tomato plants james and i planted earlier in the season, there is still enough room to grow all of these herbs, kale, peas, chard, chilies–and this is just what she grabbed for us. there are still the zucchinis, beans, peppers and more to come.
for now, a dinner of just-picked rainbow swiss chard, perfect, fresh sage leaves, yellow tomatoes and farro pasta. tomorrow, kale and fried noodles tossed with thinly sliced pea pods and green chilies. in between plates, a second phone call to thank mom. while doing the dishes, i can glare at the squirrels out the window, digging in what was, for one week, my strawberry plant, and then their breakfast.
