Here are some surprisingly simple (and wonderfully delicious) ideas for using your Freshness Farms fruits and vegetables –

Strawberries and Lettuce – We’ll likely eat all the berries, one by one, before we have a chance to plan anything more complicated. But if we have at least a handful left, we’ll hull and slice them, then toss into a salad with the leaf lettuce, berries of other sorts (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries), thinly sliced red onion, toasted walnuts and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Just before serving we’ll toss in some small chunks of local goat cheese. This is a simple summer salad, full of complex flavor.

Cantaloupe or Honey Dew Melon – Whichever variety we get, we’ll enjoy the sweet, juicy melon peeled and cut into chunks for a light breakfast. Just add a slice of toasted rustic bread topped with homemade apricot jam and a comforting mug of hot tea with milk and agave nectar and you’re set for the day.

Chives – A favorite herb in this household, my daughters pick it from our garden and nibble on the tender stalks – they love the mild onion flavor. We often snip the stalks with kitchen shears into very fine bits and sprinkle on slices of rustic bread smeared with a soft goat or cream cheese. Topped with a slice or two of vine-ripe tomato you have a simple and delicious lunch or appetizer.

Dandelion Greens – These greens are full of vitamins and nutrients, as well as robust flavor. Our youngest is a huge fan of greens, so we’ll sauté the bunch in good olive oil with plenty of minced garlic, perhaps some thinly sliced onion, a pinch of red pepper flakes and salt (first slice the leaves into two inch pieces and blanch for 5 minutes or so in water – before sauteing). Dandelion greens are on the bitter side – something we love – but you can add some milder greens (like chard or kale) to mellow the flavor. We like to add white beans (such as cannellini) to the pan for a lovely main dish. Pair it with the strawberry/leaf lettuce salad and some bread for a simple supper.

Carrots – We’ll probably shred these into salads or cut into sticks and eat them raw, dipped into a creamy hummus. Or maybe we’ll use them as the basis for a delicious Morrocan salad. Check out the recipe page.

Recipe – Morrocan Carrot Salad

Cauliflower – The first dish that comes to our minds is a classic Indian vegetarian entrée – Aloo Gobi (Potato and Cauliflower). We’ll serve it with Trader Joe’s frozen naan (flat bread) and a refreshing cucumber raita (a savory yogurt dish). Find the Aloo Gobi and Raita directions on our recipe page.

Recipe – Cucumber Raita (Savory Indian Yogurt with Cucumber)

Recipe – Indian Spiced Potatoes and Cauliflower (Aloo Gobi)

This time of year – early August – brings my family together. From both ends of the country and parts in between, we travel to a tiny town in Northern Indiana, nestled beside a picturesque lake. We gather in a house built at the turn of the last century, which has remained over those many years, more or less, as it started – a modest lakeside cottage. Relics of lives long since passed are harbored here – a Victrola phonograph, fishing poles and tackle, pink Depression glass plates and Wizard of Oz books. It’s a setting saturated with childhood memories – swimming in the lake on hot summer days, chasing fireflies at dusk, lounging with a book on the porch swing, falling asleep to the lullaby of chirping katydids. Photographs line the walls, revealing smiling faces. Some of the images are brown with age – five sisters, the first visitors to this place. Now five generations later, my own family’s smiles grace the dark, unfinished wood, as do those of cousins, aunts and uncles.

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