Saturday, January 06, 2007

USG: Not-quite-futile pursuit of spinach

The first Greenmarket of the New Year was dismally sparse, and I imagine that's how things will remain for the next few months. I left without peppers, sweet potatoes, celeriac, and came close to leaving without spinach, until I splurged and spent $8 on 1/2 lb. of biodynamic/organic/greenhouse/fancy baby spinach leaves. But in my family, 1/2 lb. is about one meal's worth of spinach. Sigh.

Happy New Year:
1 bunch celery
2 lbs. carrots
1 acorn squash
1 bag shallots
2 yellow onions
1/2 lb. baby spinach
1 lb. Loratte fingerling potatoes
8 lbs. apples (Mutsu, Winesap, Fuji)
Total spent: $33

Everything here is pretty self-explanatory, I guess. I also bought a bag of yellow cornmeal for my first stab at polenta, which I'll serve with the spinach, white beans, and maybe some sun-dried tomatoes; the potatoes I'll probably roast for a potato salad with goat cheese, and perhaps I'll throw in some green beans. The Mutsu apples (which I was so relieved to see are still available) will be applesauce, and the rest I'll slice for lunches. And the carrots I don't eat raw will end up in a puree along with the acorn squash...or just roasted in the oven, if I get lazy.

Offerings aren't too inspiring, but it is winter (despite what the weather tells us). I am going to have to start getting my veggies from far-off locales via the grocery store, but I'm trying to stave that off as long as possible. But green beans, zucchini, and spinach are such staples that I just don't think I'll be able to last that much longer. Maybe next week I can make do with bok choy and mache, but...how long will they last?

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