New Leaves!

Had an excellent trip to the farmers' market on Saturday. Not only did I stock up on dried fruit (raisins, apricots, white nectarines, peaches, cherries) and pick up my usual mainstays of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, salad greens and eggs, I found some new foodstuffs tucked away--actually in bold display--in one of the back corner organic farm booths.

You're familiar with fava beans, but take a gander at fava leaves:

Plus, if you've every been exposed to stinging nettles (as I was as a child), you know how much they hurt! Would you ever want to eat them? What if I told you they were incredibly nutritious:

My plan is to try some of the fava leaves in my latest favoritest beans and greens recipe (involving walnuts, garlic, lemon, and giant beans) and test out the nettles in pesto and in garlic mashed potatoes. I decided that I haven't been eating enough garlic lately, so I bought a fresh head to use liberally.

My wine collection has more than doubled in size. Hurrah! First, my sweet and generous boyfriend gifted me with a bottle on Friday--a red from Greece which is wonderful to drink because it has minimal tannins. Then on Sunday we made a quick stop at the beverage store, where I purchased a lovely riesling and a chenin blanc. These plus the bottles of sauvignon blanc and a French red mean that I can cover just about any wine requirements.

A big box of coconut macaroons has shown up in the break room. As I was in there getting tea out of my lunch bag, I was struck by the fact that I'm going to have to wage an ongoing battle with sugar. It's everywhere, it's accessible, and I am addicted. The battles are not too hard to win, however, especially when the macaroons look as lifeless and dull as these ones. Plus I'm already devising a recipe in my head, for tasty treats made from coconut, almond meal, and raisins.