Of the earth

Gosh, I love beets. I love their color and texture. I love that they are right in the soil when they are harvested.  It is so easy to freshen a salad by topping it with beets, or better yet, boil 'em, slice 'em, add some balsamic vinegar and some bleu cheese -- a family favorite.

So, why not kale?

The good: 

Kale is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron and Magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. Kale also has a low glycemic load and is considered a strong anti-inflammatory.

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2462/2#ixzz2ZKLiXydW

Kale and Garbanzo Beans

Ingredients

2 center-cut bacon slices

1 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

2 (15-ounce) cans organic chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

4 cups chopped fresh kale

1/2 cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt

4 lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan using a slotted spoon, and crumble. Add 1 cup carrot and chopped onion to drippings in pan, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cumin, and red pepper; cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken broth, 1 cup water, and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add 4 cups kale to bean mixture. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until kale is tender, stirring occasionally. Ladle about 1 1/4 cups bean mixture into each of 4 bowls, and top each serving with 2 tablespoons yogurt. Sprinkle with bacon, and serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Bean meditation

It is harvest time for beans. Bean picking is kind of like knitting, you start out a little intense but, in time, your breathing slows and your focus intensifies. It looked a little overwhelming at first, so my strategy was to focus on one plant at a time, starting at the base of the plant and working my way up to the top, pick all the beans...next plant. In about 30 minutes I had a basket of beans.

Amazing. Even the discards of the plants look beautiful to me.

As of today...

Only two weeks into July and already we have donated 201 pounds of produce to our food shelf friends. Christine, the food shelf coordinator at Neighborhood House commented,

"Both Francis Basket (Maynard location) and Wellstone Center (Robie location) Food Shelves have been receiving HOH produce donations! Thank you so much – the HOH representatives who drop off the veggies are always so kind and cheerful."

I want to thank all the volunteers who have worked in the sun, rain, and wind weeding and harvesting.

Visiting the garden

I rode up to the garden  this morning on my bike. The air was quiet and still cool.

Visiting the garden is a little like seeing old friends.  Even though the plants had grown and changed they were all there pretty much how I remembered them. I bent down to snip the outside leaves of the chard and kale. I don't think they minded one bit.

I spent this past weekend with some friends I hadn't seen for over twenty years. They were part of my Peace Corps group that worked in Ecuador from 1989-1991. We laughed and danced and ate together. We canoed and reminisced. We picked up right where we had left off. What a wonderful time.