Amidst frolicking and languishing in the Berkowitz garden while learning lessons of earth and of growth came the inevitable wondrous time of harvesting. Freida has been watching those leeks since they were planted there in the first place, has eyed their tiny forest-green sprouts suspiciously, and has brushed past their long and gangly leaves for weeks now - glancing fairly briefly to marvel at their uselessness only to make a beeline for those sweet pea pods. Until, that is, Estee announced that the leeks were viable, and generously offered them for the pickings. I've always loved leeks, mostly in soups, but after harvesting a few of these organic babies - I'm hooked in a variety of ways!
Freida carried those big green onions out of the garden, through the backyard and into the car. But upon arriving at home and dragging the greens through the house to the kitchen she just couldn't get over how the leek in full seemed to be even bigger than her! Little did she know we'd actually just be salvaging a few measly (but flavorful!) inches off the bottom.
We proceeded to peel off the outer layers and wash and clean them (they tend to get rather sandy in between the skins). Freida just has fun messing around and pretending with her wooden knife and board...
I roughly chopped the white and light green parts + some fresh parsley and sautéed them in some extra virgin olive oil. Then I added a few beaten eggs, a dash of salt and a grind of pepper.
Add a slice of toast + some butter and jam, and we got ourselves a totally fantastic fresh-from-the-ground lunch!!
The omelet was kid-approved , and it was such a wonderful way to introduce her to a new food. She got a serious kick out of the fact that we pulled it from the ground, cooked it in the kitchen, and ate it for lunch. She had a very good nap afterward. :)
Also, aside from the fact that it's great for children to learn where food actually comes from, feasting on food fresh from the earth means that all the nutrients are that much more viable and in turn that much more valuable. The difference between the nutrients found in produce that was picked weeks ago and transported a long way by many different forms of travel and the nutrients found in fresh-farmed, organic, local produce is unequivocal. That should help legitimize prices at the Farmer's Markets - you get much more bang for your buck!!
