shoot Albert doesn't like the yellow squash either...

There are several articles that I read in O Magazine when Samuel was a baby that I go back to in my mind over and over again. One article in particular- an article about a woman's mother coming up with new systems for doing things around her house and for her family- is something that I think about- chuckle about- particularly at this time of year.

Here is the new system I have been chuckling about today. I have paraphrased it from how I remember it in the article-
~After you have bought your produce, go ahead and line the produce drawer in your refrigerator with the plastic bag the produce came in. When the produce molds, simply pull up the plastic bag with the moldy produce inside and place all of it in the trash.~ Easy Peasy. I love this one. I chuckle, laugh out loud even, every time I think of it.

Here is how this new system played out in my house, in my mind today-

(Keep in mind that this summer I have not one but two CSA's, in addition to my trips to the farmer's market, the u-picks, but of course, and my garden- although truth be known, I seem to be a more enthusiastic gardener during the cooler months and am now in the process of planting more greens for the fall and hopefully winter. The kale goddess is with me, urging me on... )

Also keep in mind that I love produce- including vegetables! It is not my usual thang to have moldy vegetables around- mostly. I do eat them. Lots of them. Yet even I, lover of most things veggie, have favorites and *un*favorites in the vegetable realm.

So, let's say, for instance, there are some particular vegetables- hmmm... like maybe green beans and yellow squash? that have become inordinately abundant in my home over the last couple of weeks. No need to worry that I am already done with green beans after eating a few cooked ones on a salad. No need to fret that the yellow squash is piling up with no end in sight...There are two routes I can take with such vegetables and both lead to peace of mind eventually. I call them mold and freezing, respectively.

Mold goes something like this- Simply leave the vegetables in the refrigerator (of course through all of this you are thinking of ways to use said vegetables, just not getting around to it because you are too busy eating all of the bounty that you do love...)- as the new system suggests- and they will eventually mold. Trust me. You can put them in the compost pile as soon as you see evidence of mold or you can wait until more of the vegetable is covered- waiting for the mold to spread takes the pressure off trying to salvage the rest of the vegetable, which I have been known to do. Right. The vegetable I don't like molds and I cut off the mold and put it back into the bin to try and use the rest of it another time. Good grief.

OK and freezing the vegetables is fairly straight forward as well. In this case, though, you need to go to the trouble to prepare the vegetables- in this case green beans- for freezing. Prep them, blanch them, freeze them. Think of all of the soup recipes you will use them in when December approaches....And then next April, pull them out of the freezer, all coated with ice and freezer burn, and deposit them into the compost bin. Either way, it seems, they end up there.

That's crazy, you say. Why not simply put the green beans and yellow squash out into the compost bin immediately (you mean like I do with the fennel?- yes.) or even better, find someone who likes green beans and yellow squash and pass them on to them. What a great idea. Anyone want some green beans and yellow squash? How about a veggie trade. I will give you all of my green beans and yellow squash in exchange for your eggplant and kale!

I'll tell you, I think the reason I don't just chuck the veggies I don't like {as much} immediately is because I am infinitely positive on the vegetable front and really keep the faith that one of these days I will find just the right recipe and that even if green beans don't miraculously become my favorite vegetable (I think I am well past that, after having eaten one too many over-cooked beans from my childhood), they will at least {perhaps} be an appreciated ingredient somewhere, sometime.

After writing this and thinking about it and looking about, I did stumble upon a delicious soup recipe that I enjoyed last year with green beans and yellow squash. Score. I remember wanting to make it last winter with the yellow squash that I had frozen (see, you can apply either method {molding or freezing} to different vegetables, depending on your mood and inclination). Unfortunately, I did not freeze green beans last year, so it was a no go on the Soupe Au Pistou. Next winter I will be prepared! I will have frozen green beans, frozen yellow squash and canned tomatoes, all on hand and ready for whatever soup presents itself. (Just as an aside here, I eat every.single.tomato that passes through my door and would definitely trade green beans for tomatoes any day.)

Soupe Au Pistou from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters

soup ingredients-
1 lb shell beans (for example cranberry beans, etc)
1 onion
bouquet garni- thyme, parsley, bay leaf, cracked peppercorns
1 lb green beans (!!!!)
2 green zucchini (yeah, yeah, what I am to green beans, others are to zucchini)
2 yellow summer squash (!!!!)
2 tomatoes
salt and pepper
1/4 lb orxo, conchilgie (love it!) or orrechiette pasta

Make it like you do soup.

pistou (to be served in each bowl of soup at the table with more Parmesan as well)

6 cloves garlic
2 cups basil leaves
Parmesan cheese
olive oil

grind it up in a mortar and pestel or use the modern alternative, the food processor

And this is why I don't just chuck it all out into the compost pile when it first comes in. This soup is a gem and it is well worth having all of the ingredients. One of my all time favorite soups is Minestrone. This soup is the Provencal version of Minestrone. Enjoy!