each week, new produce
delivered to our doorstep,
sometimes strange, foreign:
watermelon radishes,
Hakurei turnips,
bok choy, purple bell peppers,
garlic scapes, (the shoots
that grow out of garlic bulbs.)
we prepare them healthfully.
exotic thai tastes,
fish sauce, soy sauce and garlic,
thai chile paste,
cooked with beef and piled on rice,
topped with egg and sriracha
© Susan Joy Clark 2021
This was written for this week’s Tanka Tuesday challenge, hosted by Colleen M. Chesebro. This week’s theme was Disoveries, and I chose to write about food discoveries and wrote both a choka and tanka.
We have joined a CSA, and that has introduced us to some new produce that is not normally found in grocery stores — sometimes just a new variety of something familiar, like the purple bell peppers, or something somewhat familiar that I wasn’t in the habit of buying, like the bok choy. Actually, bok choy was one of the main components in the recipe, found here, that I featured in the tanka. The syllable count made it hard to include it, and I wanted to emphasize the foreign Thai flavorings. I’ve made it two or three times now, so it’s recommended.
Very well done 😊
Thank you, Willow. 🙂
💜
I belonged to a CSA years ago. Always too much food to use. Now I just get seconds from the local market. Mostly what I know though.
Oh… thanks for sharing your ‘Discovery’ 😀
Thanks Jules. 🙂
I’m not sure if you live alone or not, but I can imagine even the smallest CSA portion would be a lot for an individual. Being a member does encourage you to eat lots and lots of veggies. 🙂
I shared a half portion with another family member and it was too much. I just picked some lettuce and bok choy leaves and some parsley from my raised garden today 😀
I love Thai food! I eat Napa (Chinese) cabbage steamed along with other veggies regularly. I love Jasmine rice. Have you tried that yet? Bravo for trying the Chōka form. Food discoveries are some of the best ways to travel to other countries from inside our homes. <3
Oh, good. 🙂 I do like Jasmine rice, and I have Napa cabbage sometimes. I don’t think I’ve tried it steamed. For a while I was going to a Thai restaurant near my work every once in a while. I was always ordering the pad Thai, because I knew I liked it. The restaurant owners would always encourage me to try something different, so I expanded my horizons. I’m still not an expert on Thai food, but everything I’ve tried, I’ve liked. I’ve tried a few other Thai-inspired recipes too. I agree. Trying food from another culture is one way to travel from home. I like interacting with international bloggers here on WordPress too. 🙂
I agree with you! It’s great fun to discover new foods. I’m on weight watchers right now, so finding vegetables is important. The more unusual the better. I love bok choy! 😀
🙂
This is wonderful, all of this goodness delivered to your door!
It is pretty nice. 🙂