slow food

When we travel, as much as we'd like to eat well, we don't. We end up eating more fast food than we would ever consider at home. So this week is all about taking time to create homemade meals.

veggies

These beauties were ready and waiting in the garden. The potatoes were a nice side dish alongside a roasted chicken on Monday night. I boiled them until tender, then drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled on a few herbs and sea salt and crisped up their outer skins on the stovetop. Yummy!

The basil was turned into pesto, which was a nice sauce for our homemade pizza last night. Toppings included carmelized onions, roasted red peppers, sautéed mushrooms, sweet Italian sausage, mozzarella and chèvre cheeses. Whenever pizza is served, a movie night is in order. Last night's movie... Forrest Gump. I had a need to see this after having dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp in California last week. Following our meal, the waiter asked us a bunch of trivia questions about the movie, and I realized I needed a refresher course. I also need another serving of those delicious coconut shrimp. Are those considered slow food?

carrots

These little french baby carrots are the best! The seeds were the only package I purchased from a company called Renee's Garden. They'll be on my list for next year.

I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and it's got me thinking a lot about fresh, local food. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, it's a story of how Barbara and her family were changed by one year of eating only food produced where they lived.

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