Down on the Farm

A certain avocado jogged my memory today, to one balmy evening in Ojai, California from a summer past.

The avocado I speak of, at present, I purchased from a local farmer's market in Houston, Texas. Not expecting anything extraordinarily different from this particular piece of fruit, my senses were jolted upon my first bite of its fragrant, green flesh. The avocado burst forth with an earthy aroma of lilacs on my tongue. Slightly shocked, I turned my head for a quick scan of my surrounding flowers, but to no avail. I bit into another slice. Lilacs, again, flitted across my tongue.

I was utterly delighted with such an exquisite avocado, and its creator's surprisingly delicious compost selection.

Needless to say, the experience jolted my memory to a previous meal, shared between my mother and myself, that offered delightfully surprising results from unsuspecting food candidates.

The meal took place on a balmy evening, in a home situated amongst orange and lemon orchards, in Ojai, California. My mother and I had spent our morning carousing through the local farmers market, sampling ancho-chile spiced dark chocolate, a micro biotic Jungle Ice Cream, sweetened with local honey, and a variety of goat cheeses: cheddar goat cheese, soft goat cheese, hard, nutty-flavored goat cheese reminiscent of asiago.

With pockets not quite deep enough to leave with everything we saw and tasted, we left the market with one bunch of dandelion greens, one bunch of multi-colored nasturtiums, a 4-ounce container of walnuts and a chunk of the crumbly feta-like goat cheese.

My addition to our salad that evening, an avocado I plucked myself, from the tree outside my bedroom window. And, a citrus-vinaigrette, made with the juices of one orange and one lemon from the surrounding orchards.

The salad was truly something to be marveled; from the peppery crunch of the dandelion greens, sweet, creamy goat cheese and earth-flavored flesh of avocado, to the physical splendor of red, purple and orange nasturtium blossoms. Not to mention, a vinaigrette worth drinking, both sweet and tart, from the freshly-squeezed juices of orange of lemon.

Thinking back to the evening, of my mother and myself, sipping rose and dining on the stems of my childhood bouquets, my heart fills with supreme gratitude; for earth's many blessings and the sharing of these blessings with the very best of company!

Mama's Farmer Salad:
serves 3

1 bunch of dandelion greens
1 bunch of nasturtiums
A handful of spinach leaves
1 avocado, sliced
1 handful walnuts
2 ounces crumbly goat cheese

Citrus Vinaigrette:

1/2 orange, freshly-squeezed
1/2 lemon, freshly-squeezed
1/3 c. good olive oil
ground black pepper