This was our first year to join a vegetable coop based on recommendations of coworkers.

We had the option for 3 or 6 month, prepay, cash option. We signed up for the 3 months, and after one week of the freshest, most delicious assortment of vegetables, herbs, and salad fixins from Homestead, we are reeady to sign up for another 3 months.

From November thru May I pick up a box (1/2 order is about $27 a week) and that is plenty for 2 of us. I wait til Karen gets home and it’s like Christmas once a week. We unpack our box to see what we will be cooking with this week. We even bought a dehydrator for the herbs. Karen loves to cook and experiment with new recipes and we both enjoy eating healthy, so this is perfect for our household. Now its like we own a piece of the farm and have gone to veggie heaven!!! It’s a great way to support the local economy!!!

I believe you can join for the last 3 months that starts mid February. The contact info is: phone # (Mon., Wed., Fri. only) @786-243-1714. Email contact is alllocallygrownproduce@live.com (teenaspride)

PS. The heirloom tomatoes are to unbelievable. I didn’t even know God made purple tomatoes!!

My spiritual journey has lasted 43 years thus far and shows no signs of stopping. In my 20’s I abused my body. I smoked cigarettes, drank wine in excess and didn’t worry about the food that I ate. I began noticing that my life was not panning out as I had planned. The amazing potential that I had at 23 was faltering at 33. The stage which had always been my safe space, changed for me. I found I needed vodka to be able to perform. I quit attending church. Things needed to change. I got sober, I quit smoking and I returned to church. Things quickly improved for me. I became a teacher, got married and had a family.

The last part of this journey concerned the food I consumed. The more I was in touch with my sober self, the more I began to contemplate the choices I was making concerning all God’s creatures. I noticed the animals in my life and the emotions I saw them display. I saw dogs feel happy and cats sulk. What made them different than a cow, chicken, turkey or lamb? I realized that I had no higher place in God’s eyes than they did. Then I started to hear about the treatment that these creatures of God received at slaughter houses and I was convinced .I made the decision to stop consuming animal flesh and felt that I was being true to myself and my beliefs. It didn’t end there. When I started researching the treatment of animals raised not for slaughter but for what they could produce (eggs, milk) I was equally appalled. My journey continued with eliminating all animal products and now I feel truly balanced in my sustenance choices. Jakk even understands and tells his class that, “Mama only eats vegan cheese.”

Where does this leave me spiritually? I don’t think it leaves me anywhere for a spiritual journey must constantly evolve. One must constantly strive to do better, do more. Here is a recipe that is an example of what I eat:

Roasted Summer Vegetables and Tofu

Serves 8
2 to 3 cups cubed summer squash (zucchini, crookneck, or scallop)
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into large pieces
2 cups small mushrooms
1/2 pound very firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon Spike, Schilling Garlic and Herb, or other seasoning mix
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
risotto, polenta, or pasta

Preheat oven to 500ºF. Prepare the vegetables as directed and mix them with the tofu cubes. Divide between two 9 x 13-inch baking dishes and sprinkle with the seasoning. Toss to mix, then spread evenly in the dishes. Bake until the vegetables are tender and the edges just begin to darken, 15 to 20 minutes.

Spread the cooked vegetables over Risotto, Polenta, or pasta, and top with fresh tomato wedges.

My favorite recipes are the ones that are simple, tasty, and healthy.  This recipe came from a health insurance company cookbook on healthy eating about ten years ago.   It’s always popular with my family and friends, the true test of a recipe.  You can substitute the protein if you like.  I often make it with lean pork chops, which are even better the second day, and have doubled the recipe to make it with pork tenderloin. Enjoy!

Tarragon-Dijon Chicken

• 1/2 cup Lea and Perrin’s Marinade for Chicken
• One 6oz can pineapple juice
• I tbsp. dijon mustard
• I tsp. dried tarragon
• 4 boneless and skinned chicken breasts

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix other ingredients and pour over chicken.  Bake covered at 350 degrees one hour.

It’s only ten in the morning and my stomach is rumbling. Loudly. It’s hoping I will stop what I am doing and give in. Just a few more hours I say to myself and I go back to my silence. Praying when you are hungry, or rather, trying to pray when you are hungry is not as easy as I hoped or thought it would be. Trying to get back into my praying, my silence is interrupted by thoughts. Why am I fasting this year? Why couldn’t I just give up caffeine like last year? I think I still have a yogurt cup in the fridge, and so on. The thoughts almost make me want to give in. Almost. Just when I feel like standing up and walking to the fridge for that yogurt cup, something interesting happens. My mind goes blank. It is cleared of those pesky thoughts and I am left feeling peaceful and focused.

I never really put much thought into the sacrifices of Lent, or why people observe those sacrifices. I actually never really knew Lent at all. Oh Sure! I grew up with a few friends who observed this seemingly odd tradition every year. My mother, who converted from Southern Baptist to Catholic, would always give up chocolate. However, through my observance, I could never really understand the why. I knew there was a connection between Lent and Jesus’ journey in the desert and I knew it always happened forty days before Easter.

Those years between the Sunday Schools of my youth to my reconnection with the church in my adulthood never thought beyond the giving-up-the-chocolate-because-Jesus-wandered-the-desert-for-forty-days moments. I now, thankfully, have a better understanding of what encompasses the season of Lent. Lent, as I understand it, is a season of reflection. A season of preparation of the self for Good Friday and Easter Sunday through various means such as prayer, penitence, self-denial and charity. My combined thoughts lead me to believe these actions are meant to bring us closer to God. So, out of all these means, how did I choose fasting? Each year for the past nine years, I always felt I was missing the mark; not really paying as close attention as I thought I should.

Through initial research, I discovered that fasting is interweaved in this seasonal tradition in various ways and degrees. Further research through consulting family, a few close friends and even a web page or two, helped me come up with a way safe enough for me to observe my sacrifice and private enough for me to not explain to others why I wasn’t eating lunch, or that candy bar. Through my observance came prayer.

Through my prayer came a discipline to really be attentive to my inner feelings and thoughts. Each time I felt a pang of hunger, I would close my eyes and remind myself why I was doing this. I was preparing myself hoping to inch myself closer to God as the days passed, leading up to one of the darkest times in Christianity. Each passing day got a little bit easier, a little clearer. Each day that I reflected and thought and prayed helped me to be strong enough and open enough to understand the ultimate sacrifice Jesus gave. In doing so, I think I even managed to move a couple of inches closer to God.

I do not expect others, this Lenten season, to read my story and follow in my footsteps. I do hope that by reading, they will find their own inner-self and peace in a way that fits them and only them. And when God whispers their name to draw them a few inches closer this season, they will do so with clarity and purpose, with an open mind, an open heart and a better understanding of what Lent means to them.

Peace, Allison

Below is a prayer that I use to start off my time alone with God. You may or may not find it useful during this Lent.

Grant me, o lord my God, a mind to know you
A heart to seek you
Wisdom to find you
Conduct pleasing to you
Faithful perseverance in waiting for you
And hope of finally embracing you.

– Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas

We did this in the company of many of our RPC friends. Some of the best cooks I have met are members of Riviera. The early “cooking clubs” segued into a more adventuresome “Dinner Club” which meets whenever we can all find an open date on the calendar. The current group numbers twelve. This allows for menus that reflect the complexity of many cuisines. In all the years we have done this we have never repeated any recipes.

In the current group I have volunteered to be responsible for creating the menus for many of our dinners. I have an extensive collection of cookbooks which I love exploring…reading many like a good novel. I like researching the fit of the food to the culture and learning about history through food. What’s really fun is selecting dishes that compliment one another and waiting to taste them until the evening of the dinner. I have learned to trust the taste buds of my imagination. After the menu is set, the recipes are assigned. The recipes are selected to challenge our cooking skills and use ingredients that may not be familiar to us. It pays to know when fresh grown ingredients are in season. I learned that the hard way when the recipe I assigned myself required pomegranates… they were nowhere to be found! That’s when one learns how to substitute creatively. It’s been trial and error… but even the errors are usually tasty!

Another aspect of these dinners is the pairing of wines or beers or other beverages to the dishes being served. Henry is our resident wine expert. He makes suggestions, but encourages the rest of us to make selections we think will be a good match for our special dish. One of the lessons learned is that wine does not have to be expensive to be glorious with a given dish. We all love finding unexpected treasures.

A warm and inviting ambiance is created by the host/s. Finding the right music, table décor and any special touches commands the use your creative juices. You can be as minimalistic or decorative as you desire…just have fun.

Conversation is an integral part of these gatherings. Many a good story amuses and enlightens and we all go away with a better understanding of the cuisine in the spotlight and our dinner companions.

I would encourage you to create and tailor your own group to experience the pleasure of discovering new tastes with people whose company you wish to enjoy. Bon Appetit!

In an ideal situation, it is between mid-December and late May in South Florida. That means I can go into the fields of South Dade and get fresh, local vegetables.

My favorite thing to make during that time period is vegetable soup. The types of vegetables are determined by what is available that particular day. All of my soups begin the same way. I thinly slice 2 large celery stalks, chop 2 onions, and slice and dice a large bell pepper. If you want a little spice in your soup, use poblano peppers instead of bell pepper. In cooking this three-ingredient mixture is called the Trinity. I put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in my soup pot and add the vegetables. The idea is to sweat them and cause them to offer up their flavors. It’s best to use a medium low temperature.

As the veggies get close to being ready for the next step, I crush and finely dice 3 to 4 large garlic cloves. Let the garlic cook until you can smell it and then continue to cook for about 2 minutes. At this point I add a cup of white wine and let it reduce to about half, being careful not to let the veggies burn. While the base is cooking I chop the vegetables that will go into the soup. I love root vegetables like parsnip, turnip, carrot, radish, and a little bit of potato. I like to cut them all about the same size. The next step is to use 2 quarts of vegetable broth; I like organic products so I often make my own broth from South Dade vegetables. At this point I add a can of diced tomatoes with the juice. Some other vegetables that help the flavor of the final product are broccoli, okra, corn cut off the cob, and pole beans. Once the vegetables have been added you just let the broth and veggies simmer until done. Don’t let the soup boil. When the root vegetables are fork tender, you can add chopped leafy greens if you wish.

Henry and Sandy Barrow

Daughter Tracey and her family, except for Jakk, are either vegans or vegetarians, but I have nothing against meat. I don’t eat a lot of red meat these days because I find it harder to digest, as I get older. If you are going to use meat, brown it on the outside before adding the celery, onion, and bell pepper. If you are using beef, use beef stock. If you are using chicken or pork, use chicken stock. I like to use Italian sausage and that I cook with the Trinity. When using Italian sausage, I like to make a white bean and broccoli rabe soup with lots of garlic.

All soups taste better with crusty bread. The bread is also great for sopping up what’s left in your soup bowl.

The soup I have outlined serves 4 to 5 as dinner, more as a first course.

The whole idea is to utilize what God has made available to us. Using our local produce helps our community and fresh vegetables taste better than the alternative. Since I have not found a field that grows okra, I use frozen okra.

Note: Henry’s story is the first posting in a series of narratives and recipes to appear here as part of our Just Eating study, prayer and gatherings during Lent. Henry podcasts at TalkingAboutWine.com.