We’ve been eating more and more produce at our house:  Yesterday at lunch we had broccoli/cauliflower soup, a tossed green salad, a tomato salad, sour pickles, guacamole, baked apples stuffed with dried figs and shredded coconut.  There was also homemade bread and local butter, and a cheese tray with chevre, cheddar and blue cheese.  Most of the credit goes to my husband; he baked the bread and thought up the baked apples.  Can you hear me cheering?

Even though the meal did not exactly have a theme (like Thai, or Mexican, or even Chesapeake), it did have a lot going for it.  I’m talking about vegetables.  And color.  It had red, green (light, medium, and dark), white, yellow, brown, orange and blue (of sorts).  That’s a lot of colors for one meal.  And, as my mom taught me, the more colors at a meal, the better.

Colors are indicative of different kinds of nutrients, and so the greater the variety, the more likely you are to get what you need.  Also, the deeper the color, the more nutrition.  That’s why you keep hearing so much about including dark greens (kale, chard), rich oranges (sweet potatoes) and purple/reds (like beets) in your meals.

We’re not the only ones who benefit from eating vegetables.  Especially at this time of year, when there is no grass to be found, I make an effort to toss substandard lettuce leaves, pits and shells with bits of avocado still clinging, carrot ends, and anything else I can think of, into the chicken coop.  Yesterday I gave the chickens a piece of aloe that I pruned from a plant in the kitchen.  We’ll see what they think of that — if they didn’t care for it, I will find it still on the ground when I go out to check on them this morning.

A story on the joys of vegetables would not be complete without a couple of great recipes.  Here are some especially colorful ones from Cleveland’s noted Kosher cook and author, Joan Kekst, who was kind enough to submit these recently, along with a beautiful story that you should look for soon on these pages.  Apologies for deleting 1/2 t sugar from the ingredient lists of these recipes — you can certainly add it back if you’d like, but I have a feeling that they will be sufficiently delicious without it!

BROCCOLI SLAW
1 lb. shredded broccoli stems, julienne (can be purchased in some supermarkets)
2 large carrots, julienne
2 red onions, julienne (approx. 2 cups)
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted
Juice of 1 lemon
2-4 T olive oil
2 T fresh lemon thyme leaves
2 T flat leaf parsley, chopped

Combine broccoli, carrots, onions and olives in a mixing bowl. Toss with lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add thyme. Allow to blend for 30 min, stir occasionally. Serve at room temperature or chilled, garnish with parsley leaves. Serves 8. Keeps well for 5 days.

COLORFUL VEGETABLE SLAW
1 lb. Chinese or green cabbage, cored
1 large carrot, peeled
1/4 lb. snow peas
1 red bell pepper, seeded
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded
1 green bell pepper, seeded
12 green beans
1 small red onion
2 ears fresh sweet corn, shucked
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 pinch celery seed

Shred cabbage as thinly as possibly. With a vegetable peeler, shred carrots thinly to make curls. Use remaining carrot scraps elsewhere.  Julienne pea pods, peppers, green beans and onion. Remove corn kernels from the cob.

Combine all vegetables in large mixing bowl and flavor with vinegar, celery seed, oil, salt and pepper to taste. Allow to blend for 20-30 min. [NOTE: Use shredded zucchini or yellow summer squash, if desired.] Keeps 3 days.

TOMATO BASIL SOUP
1 T olive oil
1 large carrot
1 large celery stalk
1 large leek, white only
1 large garlic clove, cracked
2 lb. plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 cups water or vegetable stock
1 T tomato paste
1 bay leaf
6 to 8 fresh basil leaves, more to garnish
Several sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream [optional]

In a non-corrosive pan, heat the oil and cook the carrot, celery, leek and garlic until softened, 5–7 min. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20-25 min. Cool and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.

Puree soup in batches, strain into a pitcher or bowl, and chill. Adjust salt and pepper. Stir in sour cream just before serving, and do not reheat once sour cream is added. Serve warm or cold, in goblets or mugs.  Garnish with fresh basil leaves. Makes 6 C. Keeps 3 days chilled.

Bon appetit!