In Pursuit of Vegetables

By Amy Kunstle

It may be the icicles clinging to my treasured tomato vines.  It may be the withered tendrils of nasturtium woefully drooping over my wall.  Whatever the case may be, I can only think of vegetables.  I dream about salad....tender new leaves of baby lettuces and herbs delicately sheltering profoundly infantile new potatoes and springtime asparagus, glittering ringlets of jewel-toned peppers and red onions blinking with black-eyed peas, sparkling glass plates heaped with Shamrock green beans glistening with sesame dressing and orange wheels.

I remind myself.  It is only a dream.  It is winter out there.  To be health conscious, politically green and economically savvy my walking orders include local, seasonal produce purchased from regional organic farms with minimal fuel cost.  This means contentment can be found in root stock- potatoes, parsnips, rutabagas, carrots and hardy vine fare- pumpkins, squashes in a variety of colors and shapes.  Ok.  January to June- I can make it.  Right.  Right-o.  Right, cheery-o.  I just won't read my new cookbooks from Christmas.

We live in interesting times don't we?  Our food choices are dictated not by what we have managed to eke out of the soil but by a grander scheme.  We have to consider so much...what the political climate in South America is and do we support trade with the current regime?  how we can make a daily contribution to the quality of our Earth by buying locally and seasonally....save gas, support our local economy and improve our nutrition.  What store or marketstand do we choose to purchase our food at given that our independent grocers, farmers, and mom and pop stores are at best at risk and more likely extinct due to the large chains?  Forget the dilemma in buying animal products- free-range? antibiotic-free? hormone-free? grass-fed?   It is most appetizing to walk into a restaurant with a welcoming sign announcing the special of the day being a fresh organic microgreen salad with antibiotic-free chicken on top.  Hmmmmmm.

It is even more difficult to determine what the "right" thing to do is when it is all at our fingertips.  Grapes from Chile, sweet vidalia onions from Texas, crisp bell peppers from California.  It is even becoming interesting to decipher at our local farmer's market what is actually local.  It is a strange circumstance to arrive with all good intentions in alignment to purchase a basket of plums from a "local" purveyor only to see them refill the basket from a box marked California Plums!

So what does a green and good hearted, economically-minded, local independent business owner who is a dietitian and the mother of two do?  The best I can.  I have come to the conclusion that we are living in a global village.  My decision to not eat grapes from Chile may affect my neighbor who drives the truck that transports the grapes and in turn takes away money from the child in Chile that I have chosen to support through monthly donations.  I buy locally and seasonally whenever possible to support my home community and the people that I consider my friends and neighbors.  I shop with my eyes wide open at the Farmer's Market and buy tender corn, spicy peppers and a plethora of bounty and take the time to prepare and preserve my finds for a cold January day by freezing, canning, and dehydrating.  And, I talk to my kids about why I am not buying watermelon in the winter and am presenting them with orbs of sparkling sunlight in the freshly delivered oranges, cuties, and grapefruit that we received at Christmas.

As in everything else, I choose to be moderate.  Educated, but moderate.  And on that note, I will look forward to dinner.....how about butternut squash soup with Calvados garnished with homemade Penrose apple chutney and fresh cornbread laced with last summer's frozen peaches and cream corn and Musso's green chiles?  And, if all goes well, I can spare a bag of my frozen Palisade peaches for a delicious and decadent ice cream for dessert with a generous sprinkling of Chilean raspberries.  Sounds pretty good to me.

My Grandmother's Cornbread

(Mesa Style)

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda in 1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

4 Tbsp canola or olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4- 1/2 cup finely diced green chiles

1/4-1/2 cup cooked fresh or canned corn

1.     Preheat oven to 425 and liberally spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2.     Combine cornmeal, flour baking powder, sugar and salt and mix together.

3.     Add buttermilk, egg, and oil stirring until well blended but a little lumpy

4.     Fold corn and green chiles in gently until well distributed.

5.     Pour into greased pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until cornbread is heartbreakingly

        golden and crisp.

Calvados Butternut Squash Soup

2 tablespoons butter 

4 tablespoons Calvados

1  small onion, chopped

3-4 cups peeled and seeded butternut squash

2 peeled and chopped Jonathan or other tart apples

4 cups chicken broth

Salt to taste

Sour cream, chopped apples and toasted pecans to garnish.

1.     In a heavy saucepan, heat butter over medium heat.  Add onion and saute' until tender.

2.     Add Calvados and saute for 1 minute.

3.     Add broth, squash and apples and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes or until tender.

4.     When squash and apples are fork tender to falling apart- puree with a hand blender until

        smooth.

5.     Adjust salt to taste allowing for the sweetness of the soup to shine forward.

6.     Garnish with sour cream, chopped apples and toasted pecans.