Luna and Larry: Coconut Bliss Bar

I spotted a new item tag on this box of frozen dessert bars at Whole Foods a couple months ago.

I remembered being partial to Edy's/Dryer's Creamy Coconut Fruit Bars during undergrad, so I was willing to try it. After all, it said it was made with real coconut milk.

It wasn't till I took the box to the office that I read the fine print. I was not really into the touchy-feely branding, but the box looked pretty and I didn't have anything against a good vegan, gluten-free treat now and then... so I bought a box.

These bars are creamy and have a really luscious mouth-feel. Not as creamy as a true super premium dairy-based ice cream, but definitely more than a Rice Dream bar. I immediately wondered if Luna & Larry tasted better than what Art Smith made for the Zoe Deschanel episode of Top Chef Masters.

I liked 'em. They're just lightly sweetened and are pretty satisfying. I'm not entirely a fan of the bits of frozen coconut, but I don't think anything much beats real fresh young coconut or freshly toasted coconut. Perhaps if I were ever to have a restaurant with a Man Vs. Food-worthy spicy food challenge, I'd use Coconut Bliss Bars as the wuss-out relief popsicles.

How does your garden grow?

After my semi-successful attempts at herb gardening in Boston apartments, a California backyard has created my first opportunity to garden. This year it's all about my first tomatoes and herbs. All of the organic plants are from Sweetwater Organics in Sebastopol, CA. I picked them up as part of a 2/$5 deal at Whole Foods.

Herbs: Basil; Chives (organic); Thyme (organic); Parsley (organic); and Rosemary (organic)

Tomatoes: Bush Champion (early-season, organic), Sun Gold (cherry, organic), Pineapple (late-season, bi-color beefsteak heirloom)

I went all out with the organic theme and used organic soil and organic fertilizer. I'm a little skeptical that I can keep the plants pest-free on my own, so I've been inspecting for anything scary looking and subjecting them to a good finger-squishing or toe-stomping. If the folks at Stone Soup Farms could hand-pick potato beetle larvae, surely, I can keep my own backyard creepy crawlies away.

And after almost five years of watching infomercials, I bought two Topsy Turvy tomato planters (not to be mistaken for the knock-off Upsy-Downsy planter). The two larger tomato varieties are in the planters, mostly because the thought of having to cage/stake the plants as they grew made me less excited about gardening. So far so good with the planters. They don't look completely ridiculous and the plants seem to be doing okay. We'll see what happens once I can actually taste the fruits of my labor.

out in the burbs

After church, a carload of some of us young ladies headed out to dinner and dessert...

The first stop was Big Fresh Cafe in Framingham. It's an organic place that focuses on local products - for eating organic and fresh, the menu is priced pretty reasonably. I had the Stir Fry Big Fresh Special, "Organic tofu in a delicious satay sauce, served on brown rice with teriyaki vegetables & collard greens." The presentation was pretty and I added a bit of Bragg Liquid Aminos as a seemingly lower-sodium soy sauce alternative. (I don't know the specs for sure, yet.)



But apparently I didn't get the memo that dinner was really supposed to be a snack, since everyone was saving room for ice cream at North End Treats.

We were surprised to find out that the store had much more than ice cream. Frozen yogurt with mix-ins, Richardson's ice cream, and gelati made up the frozen treat section. Sandwiches, pizzas, and pastries using recipes from Bova's 24-hour Bakery in the North End are sold here, too. Lois had an amazing hazelnut gelato, Evelyn had her first cannoli with chocolate chip-dipped ends, and Pam and I shared an amazing peanut butter cup bar.

Summer Bounty

I just borrowed Lois's camera battery charger and rescued a few pictures that were trapped on my camera since June.

This picture was the first Stone Soup Farm delivery that included the flower share. L-R: cucumber, kale, Japanese eggplant, fennel, wild flowers, cilantro, onions, and sugar snap peas.



I also really enjoyed the few weeks we had fresh heirloom tomatoes and edamame pods. The tomatoes were so lovely and flavorful, and the edamame was nice after quickly boiling them and eating them with sea salt and fresh squeezed lime juice. Too bad I didn't have battery life to take those pics!

Quick! Go find a farm with a CSA program!

Folks a the office are starting to talk about their grand gardening plans for the Spring/Summer growing season. Some have backyards or deck gardens. Others are urban gardeners with plots in neighborhood community gardens. And for a hot minute, I, too, considered the adventure of urban gardening.

Ha! That would be a horrible idea for me.

Instead, I got my Google on and looked into local farm share programs. Community Supported Agriculture programs are pretty popular and nowadays farms will often deliver into the city and many no longer require that members put in work time. Some CSAs ask that you commit to a full or half share at the beginning of the season, $250-$500, and in return you receive between 5-15 lbs of produce weekly. Instead of equating your share to fixed amount of produce, other CSAs count your share as afixed percent-off at their farmer's market stands. These are all good things for the carless city-dweller that I am.

I'm splitting a half share with friends this year at Stone Soup Farm. I'm excited because it means I'll have access to organic produce at around $2/lb. That's definitely better than most of the deals at Whole Foods or anywhere in my neighborhood. I hope to report back in June with the first fruits of the season and share recipes.

www.localharvest.org is a neat site where you can find local CSAs, farms, markets, and even restaurants that support local farms.