SEASONAL FRESHNESS - Freschezza Stagionale

Why eating fresh is better -  I love to simply walk outside and hand-pick my vegetables. It’s a fact that produce that’s been picked at its peak ripeness and eaten within a few days after offers the most nutrients. As Americans, we’ve grown accustomed to eating fruits and vegetables any time we want because they’re always available at supermarkets. The produce is harvested before ripeness, transported, warehoused and then sprayed with water on shelves to retain a fresh appearance. All this, means that a lot of nutrients are lost in the process.

Pole beans

Plum tomatoes

Swisschard

Parsley and basil

Cucumbers

ARUGULA SALAD FROM OUR GARDEN - Insalata di Arugula dal Nostro Orto

As you can see from the photo, my husband picked a lot of arugula so that it wouldn't go to waste.   As I understand it, if the arugula is not picked on a regular basis, it flowers and  creates seeds. Incidentally, if arugula is allowed to flower, the seeds are picked and saved to be used again.   So he picked it all and reseeded again for another crop.   Do you know that arugula survives under snow?  Actually in November and December arugula is at its best.  I went ahead and removed all the tiny leaves and discarded the rest.  Tonight I made a delicious arugula salad. 

Ingredients:  Arugula, sliced cucumbers (also from the garden), red onion, hard boiled egg, extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbs. fresh lemon juice, salt and crushed black pepper.

Pronto a mangiare!