• Celebrate the Small Things,  life after 50,  produce,  writing

    CTST: Yummy new option for healthy living

    Celebrate the Small Things: Market District specialty store in Carmel, Indiana I first heard about Market District from a staff person at work who discovered it when she was up in Indianapolis. A friend and I happened upon it this past Thursday and it was a delight. It’s like an amusement park for foodies! We were so excited about the choices that we bought a refrigerated sack, put a bag of ice in it and prepared our more delicate items for the two-hour transport home. Whether we wanted cheese, meat marinade or spice rub, or types of freshly baked bread, the selection was plentiful. We found old-time favorites as well…

  • Celebrate the Small Things,  farmers,  life after 50,  writing

    CTST: Tasty produce and the farmers who grow it

    Celebrate the Small Things: The hard work of farmers to produce healthy, tasty fruits and vegetables. This time of year, the farmers start to see the fruits of their labor and we have especially tasty choices at local farmers’ markets and in grocery stores who feature locally grown produce. I can’t wait until those juicy red, yellow and orange tomatoes ripen and the tender, yellow sweetcorn matures! Until I took part in a Consumer Support Agriculture (CSA) several times, I didn’t know there could be such a difference in taste, between organic, locally grown vegetables and those found year-long in big-chain stores. There is a huge difference and I’m spoiled.…

  • CSA,  organic,  pie

    Blackberry bliss from my CSA

    Blackberry pie fresh from the oven (and our CSA). Luscious blackberries. Über fresh tomatillos. Weighty, fresh, almost-sweet cabbage. Roasted garlic that melts in your mouth. Beautifully striated zucchini. Tender, sweet, mild beets. These are some of the treasures that we’ve experienced by participating in a half share of a CSA (community supported agriculture) with White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, an organic garden and educational center near Terre Haute, Ind. (and ministry of the Sisters of Providence). Although the midwest is experiencing the worst drought in 50 years, the produce that we’ve received has been worth the price of admission. Especially for someone who didn’t know her kale from, well, the…

  • CSA,  organic,  produce

    Veggies – here we come!

    I signed up for my first CSA experience (community supported agriculture).  Next week Joe and I will pick up our first one-half share of locally grown, organic vegetables, fruits and herbs from White Violet Center for Eco-Justice. Being “wild” about eating my vegetables is a fairly new experience for me.  Knowing how to prepare vegetables so that they are tasty is even a more recent experience. While I enjoy most raw vegetables, cooking and serving them for a meal is a whole different story. After moving to Indiana seven years ago, and having access to locally grown organic produce, I appreciate the fact that it seems to taste 100 percent…