Abundance

Sunday is my sister’s birthday, and of course I am planning a really lovely meal for her. I am trying to rein myself in a bit because its really muggy and hot here at the moment … and you dont really want to eat lots of rich overwhelming hot dishes when its a thick summer’s day. But I do want it to be an exciting meal, and to that end, I went mosey-ing along to Whole Foods (my personal mecca) to see what was in store. I have never been there during the summer months, and I have to say… WOW. Amazing, beautiful, gorgeous, luscious, astonishingly bright, delicious, fragrant, touchable, edible fruits and vegetables. I mean really, really stunning. I probably spent about an hour in the produce section. I couldnt believe how lovely and tempting everything looked…

These are just some of the things I picked up…

Check out these baby heirloom tomatoes. Seriously gorgeous. I chopped some up tonight to go into a bean (pinto and kidney) stew. They added brightness and freshness and a certain pizzaz to the dish. I just love how they smell… essence of tomato but each one subtly different.

Peaches, with baby fuzz skin, and a scent like a perfect perfume. Flesh juicy and sun warmed, sweet and tangy and thirst quenching … like your first kiss. Unforgettable. And the avocadoes… bright green and creamy, we had one for lunch today, sliced thin and sprinkled with salt and pepper and a tiny drizzle of olive oil. With sour dough bread, and some smoked white fish salad. What a summer’s meal!

Oh these cherries. So glossy they seemed out of a magazine. Such blood red colour, and tartsweet flesh. Staining our lips red, like lipstick. These cost ten times as much in Malaysia, and when I had these today, I realised the ones at home dont even taste like cherries should. These had such a complete and full flavour that all your senses are satisfied after eating just a few…

These grapes were phenomenal. We had them for dessert with the cherries. Thick skinned, so you had to work at biting into it, but once you did … An explosion of juice, the essence of grape – but greenpurplered all combined. You had to spit out the seeds and skin after, but each bite was like a firework going off. Amazing!

Have you ever seen such beautiful kale? Frilly, thick, perfect. Roasted it for dinner tonight with bean stew and rice. What a great, healthy, vegan meal. Simple and yet infinitely satisfying. This kale was so vibrantly green it almost hurt the eyes. And it was absolutely delicious. Earthy, strong, vibrant.

Strawberries. I was literally assaulted by the perfume of these berries in the store. I tried one, and they were sooooooo good. I couldnt resist. I got a four pound box first, but then decided may be it was overkill, so I compromised with a 2 pound box. Again, it cost about ten times less than it does in Malaysia, and these were so richly strawberry-ish I couldnt believe it. I plan on making a strawberry fool with some organic whipped cream to go with the chocolate cake for M’s birthday dinner…

There were so many other things – firm succulent mushrooms, tender delicate raspberries, red and green figs, leeks, parsnips, arugula, elephant garlic, bright broccolini… I was totally and blissfully immersed in these lovingly grown and sold fruits and veg. I was so happy today, and I am so thankful that my family and I can experience such abundance.

Speaking of which… I am still musing on the menu for the birthday dinner, but I think its going to go something like this…

• Poached fig tart – made with a walnut crust, mascarpone and blue goat’s cheese base (all local cheeses), and wine poached figs on top
• Mushroom pastry
• Roasted butternut and parsnips
• Broccolini with almonds
• Honey glazed carrots
• Heirloom tomato salad
• Arugula + Avocado
• Creamed spinach
• Chocolate blackout cake with a raspberry coulis + Strawberry fool

What do you think? 🙂

Tags: abundance, avocado, birthday dinner, cherries, fruits, grapes, kale, menu, peach, shopping, strawberries, tomatoes, vegetables, whole foods