Beautiful, Sensual Food!

I experience so much joy from food! I just love looking at fresh, healthy, unadulterated ingredients. Having lovely fruit and vegetables adorning my counters makes me happy! I get as much pleasure from looking at it as from eating it. 


We buy our eggs from a local couple who raise chickens here in Quincy. The eggs are beautiful in and out of the shell. As the days grew shorter and colder in late November the hens stopped laying. For 2 months we were without their gifts. We missed our farm-fresh eggs. We bought free-range organic from our co-op and the much cheaper regional-conventional from the grocery store. The yolks of both were similarly pale yellow and their flavor bland. Our egg consumption went way down while we waited out the dry spell. Now that the days are lengthening appreciably and the sun has been shining the hens are back in business and so are we. These gems were delivered to our house last week. Each one is unique but perfect in its own right. The shells' colors are earthy, their shapes voluptuous. The yolks are sunset orange, their taste rich and wholesome.

A feast for the eyes, right? Well, here is some more eye candy. Our co-op has been carrying broccoli Romanesco of late. It always takes me by surprise and delights me when I see it, which is not often. Of course, I had to buy some to photograph, blog about.... oh, and eat. When I bought it, Dave, my checker, said, "Ahhh, some fractal broccoli, eh?". Yeah, I couldn't resist. It brings to mind coral reefs and shells from under the sea and galaxy formation up in the heavens. It is a wild and miraculous world we live in and this vegetable is one of its manifestations.

I ended up roasting it as I do cauliflower. I tossed it with garlic olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and kalamata olives (375 degrees for 35-40 minutes). It is denser than cauliflower with less water so it was not as tender (could steam instead) but it was tasty.

Alright here is one last sensual food photo of a persimmon slice dried and given to me by a friend. It is like the sun, a star, a snowflake, a flower. As I bite into its chewy sweetness, I smile, happy to be a part of it all.  

Enjoy!