What I bought:


• Since I'm on a kick to have lots of bee-friendly flowers in my yard, I thought I'd add some thyme and oregano to my herb garden. So, one pot of each!
• I needed some fresh beets for my roasted beet salad and, in addition to the standard red beets (organic, freshly picked and beautiful, so "standard" doesn't really do them justice), several of the vendors offered golden beets, which would be absolutely perfect for the salad.
• Young and tender carrots
• Chevre with Calamata olives and sun-dried tomatoes
• Chorizo

What I did with it:


• The two potted herbs went straight into my herb garden, so they could catch up to the other herbs (St. Johns Wort, Chamomile, Pennyroyal) that were already beginning to flower.
• The beets became roasted beet and orange salad - see recipe and picture below. As soon as I cut the greens from the beet ends, I put the stem portions in the compost bin, roughly chopped and washed the leafy greens, then placed them in the refrigerator.
• The carrots and beet greens, along with some peanuts, peanut oil, soy sauce, sesame seeds, water, brown sugar, and corn starch became a delicious meatless stir-fry. I washed (but didn't peel) the carrots, sliced them at an angle, then put them in a large hot sautee pan with some peanut oil. After a few minutes, I added peanuts and the washed beet greens. (It doesn't hurt to soak the greens several times in water to make sure you get rid of all the sand and soil. Biting into the grit of dirt can be very unappetizing!) I made a sauce with the soy sauce, sesame seeds, water, brown sugar, and corn starch, and added it to the stir-fry a few minutes before the dish was done. Dee-lish!
• The chevre was a fantastic snack on crackers. I also tried it on the roasted beet salad. Not bad!
• We had the chorizo for breakfast, with fresh eggs from my friend Elaine's chickens, and some fruit.

So, this little basket of food yielded a bounty of nutritious and delicious meals.

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad

• 1 pound of beets
• 1 can of mandarin orange sections
• Splash of vinegar (cider/balsamic/etc.) - adjust to your taste preferences
• Splash of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the stems and root ends from the beets and wash thoroughly, especially around the ends, where sand collects. (Save the greens for a salad or stir-fry.)
2. Wrap the beets together in a single sheet of aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. If you prefer not to use aluminum foil, bake the beets in a covered shallow container.
3. When the beets are done, place in the refrigerator to cool.
4. When the beets are cool, cut into bite-size pieces and mix with the mandarin orange pieces.
5. Add oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. (That's it! An inexpensive, but elegant and beautiful salad.)