Starting to roll

Eating five servings of local fruits and veggies was easy, peasy yesterday. That's the way it should be.

I started out the day with a big bowl of sliced peaches and raspberries.

The peaches were purchased at my neighborhood farm stand, but originally came from Klein's Kill Fruit Farm in Germantown. I honestly don't know about their growing practices, so I can't be certain they are organic, but I'm happy that they are local - and delicious. I'm hoping to find out more, as I sent an email inquiring.

The raspberries came from Kilpatrick Family Farm, so I know they are Certified Naturally Grow - and super yummy. Too bad that was the last of what I have - at least until next week.

My next meal of the day was a harukei turnip salad (recipe below). The harukei turnip, which I discovered while I had my first CSA, living in Maine, is one of my favorite vegetables. Who knew you could eat, and enjoy, turnips raw? They normally appear at the farmer's market very early in the season, and then come back around when the weather begins to cool again.

I was super excited when I saw that Quincy Farm had my beloved turnips on their table Saturday morning. I regularly buy som of my veggies from them. I frequent their table at the farmers market, partly because I know they use organic practices. They are also a first-year farm and I like the idea of supporting organic farmers who are just getting started.

After those two meals, who wouldn't indulge in local, in-season food?

I actually counted those two meals as three servings combined. They were pretty generous. This evening, I had some pasta alfredo with a combination of leftover vegetables, which were mostly local. I followed that up with some more of the spinach and chickpea salad from yesterday, and another peach.

Now that I feel like I'm starting to roll with the five servings deal, I feel like I can put some thought into some of my other locavore goals.

Harukei Turnip Salad
(adapted from this recipe at From Scratch Club)

• 1 bunch harukei turnips, including greens
• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped.
• 2 T. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp. honey
• 1 T. dijon mustard
• 1 T. olive oil

Wash turnips and greens well, then remove the turnips from greens. Trim the stem part that doesn't have any leaf. You can discard that, compost it or save it for vegetable stock.
Chop the greens and slice the turnips. Toss in a bowl with the nuts.
In a separate bowl or measuing cup whisk together the last four ingredients to make a dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss together and serve.