Good news, bad news

I'm a bit of a creature of habit. Which is why I don't really treat this blog like a food diary; I'd be embarrassed for the world to know how often I eat the same thing over and over. But to anyone who's been reading a while, it's pretty clear that there are several places here in Nashville I love. Woodlands Indian Restaurant...Miss Saigon for Vietnamese...Los Rosales for Mexican...and McNeil's produce stand to get produce.

So I shouldn't be too embarrassed to admit that I visited two of those places this weekend. Saturday night, the Momster was in town for a reunion of some of our extended family (hi Perrys!) and I wanted her to experience this place. The SO and I also invited his parents, brother and sister-in-law and their daughter. Luckily, we got there early because (good news) the place got pretty busy Saturday night.

I did branch out a little bit this time and instead of getting the stuffed avocadoes, I got the enchiladas verdes that Laura at Fixin' Supper ordered on her visit. It was kind of a gamble because I really don't like cooked spinach at all (the smell makes me gag, actually), but the (organic) spinach in this quesadilla is cooked very delicately. No gagging at all; it was delicious.

The SO's mom got the stuffed squash that I'd considered and let me try a bite. She and the SO liked it, but it was a bit rich for my taste. I'm not a huge fan of eggs and they're fairly prominent (which is why the SO liked it). But there's plenty for me to eat.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal (I certainly hope they weren't just being polite--though I know my mom would be honest) and we had a great time.

Now for the bad news. This morning, I took the Momster out to McNeil's produce stand because I knew they'd have some fresh corn. When we got out to the spot, the building was gone. Mrs. McNeil was set up under some tarps off to the side, but all that was left of the stand was a concrete slab. I thought surely they wouldn't be remodeling in the middle of summer, but what really happened didn't even occur to me. Last weekend (actually, the night of my last visit), thieves robbed the stand and then burned it down. When Mrs. McNeil told me about it (I missed it when it was on the news), I was stunned. Who would do such a thing? They are such nice people. And it's a produce stand, for crying out loud. It just doesn't make any sense. I can't help but feel pretty angry about it. That may seem odd, but that's just how happy it makes me that they're out there.

But they're not letting this setback get them down too much. As I mentioned, they're still operating. It's a bit smaller an operation, but they still had some great tomatoes, green beans and fresh corn. They've got the bi-color Peaches and Cream as well as Silver Queen, a white corn I had for the first time this evening. I highly recommend it; it's delicious, sweet and juicy. If you're on the west side of town, drive on out there and pick some up. As I've mentioned before, they're on Highway 100, just west of the Loveless Cafe and the Natchez Trace Parkway. If you're coming from I-40, take the McCrory Lane exit and drive south until it dead ends at Highway 100 and turn right. It's down the street on the right just a little way. It's worth the trip.

Finally, some more fresh produce

First, a confession. I ate bread for dinner Monday night. Organic Grains bread from Provence with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a little ground pepper. Bread for dinner. But I ate healthy food all day, so I figured I deserved it. I just had no energy. Sidenote: the bread was $5.39 instead of the usual $4.55, which makes me unhappy. I'll still pay it but that seems like a rather dramatic increase. But just about everything I bought at the grocery was more expensive. Finally seeing those increases in food costs I keep hearing about. Anyhoo.

I did better last night, though. This past weekend, I finally made it out to McNeil's Produce Stand on Highway 100 to get some good (local) stuff. I got zucchini, squash, a cucumber, blueberries, lima beans, and purple hull peas. They also have peaches from Chilton County, Alabama (though I'm lucky enough to have a co-worker who lives down there and brings baskets of them to us) and an assortment of jellies, jams and sauces from southern Kentucky as well as local honey. I got some strawberry jam (very tasty) and some honey from Fairview, Tennessee that is delicious. Not sure what the bees were working from, but I like it. I don't think it's helped me with my allergies, though.

So last night, I cooked the beans and peas (I add just salt to the limas and a little Liquid Smoke to the peas for seasoning) and then roasted slices of the squash and zucchini after tossing them with olive oil and a few dashes of dried Italian herbs. I wasn't feeling adventurous, so I just used the Weisenberger's cornbread mix and had a really great dinner. I'm going to miss these fresh veggies when the season's over, for sure.

Note: the truck of goodies from the Mennonites in Kentucky arrives at McNeil's on Friday mornings, so be sure to arrive early on Saturdays (if you can't do Fridays) to make sure you get the good stuff (including the delicious Baby Bradley tomatoes). Or you can make arrangements with them to hold some stuff back for you. They have fried pies that go pretty quickly, but sadly, the pies are fried in lard so I don't eat them. They had loaves of really great bread last year (sourdough, wheat, cinnamon raisin, etc) but I don't know if they're getting them this year or I was just too late to see them.

Non-Local Food

One of the biggest trends amongst environmentalists and foodies is the pursuit of local food--food from within a 100-mile radius of your home. While I consider myself a very environmentally conscious person, it's just not something I can get behind. I have a banana every day and bananas come from faraway tropical lands, not from the farms of Tennessee. Though I do buy other produce locally when I can. But even the local produce stand goes beyond the 100-mile border to bring us these lovely babies. Gala and McIntosh apples brought in from Michigan. If the intersection of Highway 100 and the Natchez Trace Parkway is local to you, I recommend stopping by to get yourself some apples. They've got early "winter" squash (butternut, acorn, spaghetti, and others), pumpkins and other gourds as well.


And if you're wondering why I haven't been posting about what I've been eating...well, let's just say I've been raiding the freezer more than I'd really like to admit. And tater tots really shouldn't count as dinner, but hey, they're vegan so there's that.