It is a wonderful counterpoint to read this essay thinking back on when my parents separated and my father took on cooking for my brother and me. His specialty was meatloaf (straight from James Beard) and really crunchy salads - he was more into the pleasure of chopping things up than lettuce so there were more carrots, celery and peppers than lettuce. Vegetarian choices were limited to tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. It all works out just fine, Jesse. I have a huge garden now and raise my own eggs and honey!

My favorite gift is “From Asparagus to Zucchini:
A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh, Seasonal Produce” from the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition. Fabulous, simple and quick ways to prepare all that produce from a great organization. Yummy!