Wrapping up deliveries in time for dinner
A week ago we started my weekly route as I deliver fresh organic
produce to Bay Area customers. This week, you’re back behind the
wheel with me.
Wrapping up deliveries in time for dinner
A week ago we started my weekly route as I deliver fresh organic produce to Bay Area customers. This week, you’re back behind the wheel with me.
As I head down Franklin Street in San Francisco and make a right on Bush, I gear myself up for this video game-like track I must now follow. I make stops at several nonprofits – Save the Redwoods, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club – and in each office I’m fortunate to run in to customers who are always thrilled that it’s ‘veggie day.’ And in each office one question always seems to linger – “What will we eat during your winter break?” So many of these folks have been buying from me for years – all found through word of mouth – and it pleases me to hear they share the same passion as I do for our farmers’ fresh food.
My next stop, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, becomes more engaging where I pull in to their delivery zone and the employees meet me outside to pick up their food and chat. Today Libby tells me about her plans to go to London in January for two weeks. Anne whines about her morning sickness, a result of her first pregnancy as I hand her a chuck roast she ordered on a whim because she was having a craving for it.
My connection to these two girls reminds me of how small San Francisco really is. I met both of them when they signed up for our program a few years ago and over time have learned that Libby is part of the same poetry reading group as another customer of mine. Anne’s husband, who is in the film business, just worked on a film with a friend of mine. By chance, we ran in to each other at the film release party at the Embarcadero last June which is how I learned of the connection. You can’t get more connected than that!
After chatting with the girls, I head South of Market Street to Chronicle Books, a small publishing company who also happens to be my former employer. Not only do I drop a box of fruit off to the company as a perk for employees, but several of them buy food for home, too. Most of the customers here have been buying from me since I started deliveries five years ago. In fact, it was a coworker’s interest in my new job that sparked the whole delivery arrangement in San Francisco to begin with.
Over the years, no matter how my route changes, I keep this stop as one of my last of the day to give myself time to chat with my friends who still work here as well as the other employees I have come to know. Everyone meets me on the first floor and, like everyone else I have encountered today, they sigh over the last produce of the year. When they ask if I’m excited for the break, I am honest and say yes, but realistically we have been on such a work track this year without much time to breathe, the fact that there is an end is hard to fathom.
Once done with Chronicle Books, I stop at a few more pilates studios leaving the last of the orders for downtown folks before heading to the last neighborhood of my route – Pacific Heights.
As I make my way up the steep staircases of the homes, I admire their classic, unique architecture in this neighborhood. The street lined with trees, the houses surrounded by black fencing and the warm shades of light blue, sage green and white evoke a prestigious edge to the neighborhood that is by no means pretentious as its reputation might assume.
I arrive at home in the Outer Richmond District by 5:00 and take in the glorious sunset hanging over the ocean not a dozen blocks from my cottage. I climb the stairs to my house and meet up with Ryan who searches for his order amidst the bags that line my front porch. We exchange greetings as the bulldog he holds on a leash hangs his tongue out as though parched.
As Ryan leaves, he tells me he can’t wait for next year when we begin again. I appreciate the enthusiasm and reflect on the true sense of community I have experienced over the day as I unlock my front door and bring in my own bag filled with fresh treasures. Perhaps after a little rest I will feel the same.
Butternut Squash Gratin
2/3 c. chopped parsley
1 tbsp. freshly grated lemon rind
3 cloves garlic
10 c. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/8 inch thick slices
salt and pepper
½ c. vegetable broth, warmed
¾ c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. olive oil
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12-by-8-inch baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together the parsley, lemon peel, and garlic. Spread half of the squash slices in the baking dish. Sprinkle with the parsley mixture, and some black pepper. Top with the remaining squash and parsley mixture. Gently pour the broth over the top.
Cover and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until squash is almost tender. In a small bowl, mix together the cheese, breadcrumbs, and oil. Top the gratin with the mixture. Bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes or until the squash is tender and the top is golden.
Romanesco with Mustard Cream Sauce
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion
1 Romanesco, quartered
grated rind of half a lime
¼ c. cream
1-2 tbsp. white wine
½- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a small frying pan and cook the onion for a few minutes, until beginning to soften. Place the quartered Romanesco in an ovenproof dish, spoon the onions over them and roast for about 15 minutes, until tender. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by placing the remaining ingredients in the
frying pan and heat very gently. When the Romanesco is cooked, remove from the oven and pour the sauce over the top and serve.
