Some days in the produce department, the veggies talk more than usual.  A usual day is pretty quiet, they are patient, they doze, somewhat indifferent.  Maybe you will buy them and allow them to feed you, maybe you would rather have an Annie’s pizza from the freezer, they don’t mind either way.

But there are other days, especially in the summer heat, when the frenetic veggies will not be silent.  My own plans matter not, after 8 hours in their midst, I end up surrendering to their every last whimsical demand.  Last week, this rowdy bunch all asked to be taken home together (in order from pushiest to most humble):

Poblano Peppers

Summer Squash

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Garlic

Red Onion

Dino Kale

One Beet

Avocado (waiting for me at home)

                Once we got back to the pad, I put a handful of sunflower seeds in some water to soak.  I chopped the squash, garlic, onion, and dino kale very small, and grated a beet into a bowl with them.  In a little bit of coconut oil, they were very briefly sautéed (about two minutes).  Hot and delighted, they went back in the bowl and asked for some goat cheese.  I mixed and mashed them together with about a half cup of Sierra Nevada chevre.  I sawed the tops off of the poblano peppers, who had been hollering from the counter this whole time, and in accordance with their earlier demands, stuffed each one with the mix of veggies and cheese.  In a medium saucepan, I heated up some bacon fat and coconut oil about ¼ inch deep and laid the stuffed peppers in to fry.  I turned them every five minutes until all three sides were evenly cooked.

                You’d think they’d be satiated.  You’d think, on a 90 degree night, with chili oil burning my fingers, they’d recognize that there are limits in this world.  But no, they wanted to be drained and covered, and while they relaxed, I put the soaked sunflower seeds in a blender with a whole basket of the cherry tomatoes, some nutritional yeast and braggs aminos.  I blended until super smooth, adding a handful of kernels from a drying corn ear in my garden to thicken it up.

                The precocious poblanos then asked to be stripped!  Carefully I peeled away each of their skins, and noticed I was getting into the swing of things myself.  With glee, I slathered on some of the sunflower tomato sauce, called my avocado friends to let them know what a great time it was, and sprinkled sunflower and pumpkin seeds like confetti on top.    Wow.  Woah.  Yes.

                Have a listen on your next trip to the produce aisle and see if something calls to you.  It can feel over the top at first, I know.  They’re pushy, they’re numerous, they’re esoteric and discriminating, but let me tell you, they’re right every time.

-Lauren Kennedy, Sustainability Coordinator & Produce Stocker