Dear friends of Four Cooking Together and/or Freshness Farms,

We’re looking for a few fresh food enthusiasts to share a story, cooking tip or recipe to be published here in the coming months.  We know our readers are full of delicious ideas.

Perhaps you have a vegetable garden at home, stir up your own jam or simply toss a creative salad once in awhile.  And what about that special holiday recipe or killer side dish?  We’d love to hear about it!

Novice cooks as well as more experienced ones are welcome.  The post doesn’t need to be anything fancy or lengthy—just something that features at least one fresh seasonal fruit or vegetable.  Take a peek at Christine de la Cruz’ post featuring holiday health tips, along with her ultra-simple fresh beet juice recipe, as just one example.

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The fall holiday season is upon us.  In our house we light candles (and sparklers) this week for Diwali, then quickly shift into Thanksgiving mode, while looking ahead to Christmas cookies and New Year resolutions, all in short order.

In these parts it’s not unusual for families to straddle cultural divides, bringing together diverse traditions and festivals into a single household, like mismatched, but well-loved clothes crammed into a shared closet.  What were once considered impossible bedfellows—Hanukkah and Christmas, Diwali and Eid al-Fitr—are now chums, living happily under one roof.  And with twice the parties to attend.

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We often chat about random topics in the car—ballot propositions, hurricanes and Spanish verb conjugations.  Sometimes it’s the science of electric circuits, or what’s for dinner.  Burning questions of the day.  You know what I mean, if you hang around kids much.

How about cooking escarole tonight?, I ask.  Esca-what?  You mean snails?!  Yuck.  No, not escargot!  It’s something rolled, right?  Give me your iPhone Mom; I’ll look it up.  I love the teachable moments we still share in the car.  And in the kitchen.  With teens, the opportunities are fleeting and attention spans short.  We need a galvanizing force, like a presidential election or a head of unusual lettuce.

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