What will we eat?

My husband is a night owl. He goes to sleep so much later than the rest of us that sometimes he doesn't get to bed until I am ready to get out of it. This has many advantages (we're both Olympic level snorers, for one) and various disadvantages (we hardly ever meet when we're both fully awake). It also has an impact on my mornings as some days I go downstairs to find that the perfectly neat and orderly kitchen I left last night has been visited by learning disabled elves who have misunderstood the meaning of "helping". On the other hand, there are mornings when I find that the dishwasher has been loaded, the counter tops wiped and the pots of food put away in the fridge. It makes for interesting life as I never know what I will find.

For example, this morning I found a bowl of baby arugula. Hubby is an avid gardener and this is his busiest time of the year. He grows everything you can think of. From the basics (tomatoes, basil, peppers) to the special (rhubarb, peaches, gooseberries) to the exotic (figs, blood oranges, etrogs). And last night he had apparently raided the arugula planter and left me a little gift. I happen to love arugula.

We don't always get the same type of produce. Some years we get so many tomatoes that we make them into sauce that lasts till the following April. Some years we need to use store bought tomatoes (the horror!). I remember one year when we did not even have enough tomatoes for one salad. And we live in New Jersey!!

Why do we get bumper crops one year and almost nothing the next? Hubby is very experienced and knowledgeable. Not to mention dedicated. You'd think he would get steady crops. What's going on?

The answer, of course, is that there is another factor at play. You can work hard, know much and care plenty but ultimately, the crop depends on G-d. If the rain comes at the wrong time (happened) or not at all (happened) or it's too hot (yup) or too cold (ditto) or the rabbits and squirrels held a population explosion rally (2 years ago) or whatever, you won't get what you worked for.

Luckily, there's Shoprite and while the produce isn't as good as hubby's, we don't starve. 

Not so for our ancestors who were totally dependent on their crops. If there were no tomatoes one year, they did not have tomatoes that year. Period. (OK, bad example. No one had tomatoes pre-Colombus). What a scary existence that must have been. Never knowing if all your hard work will result in feast or famine. And there was no famine relief, no US aid, no doctors-without-borders. Nothing. You starved and maybe died. And you never knew ahead of time. Never.

Well, not quite. In this week's parasha, the Jews are instructed to not work the land every seventh year. Got that? Not! work! the! land! At all! So they knew, for sure, that on that year there will be no crops. They will die of starvation.

Wait. What? 

Well, G-d anticipated this argument. And He said (Leviticus 25:20-22) that in case you're wondering "What shall we eat on the seventh year (when we're not allowed to work the land)?", have no worries, G-d will make the sixth year's crops so abundant that you will have enough for that year, the next year (the Sabbatical) and the year after that (until the new crops come in). Wow. That's some promise. The next chapter (26) lists all the other mighty and wonderful things G-d will do for us if only we will keep His mitzvot. There are some awesome things there: might, plenty, close relationship with G-d, peace. All good stuff. And the first goodie? "And I shall bring the rains at their appointed time" (Leviticus 26:4). As every good farmer knows, if there is too much rain, or too little, the crops are in danger. But the worst is rain that comes at the wrong time (this happened last summer). Not only do the seeds not germinate right, those that managed to survive will be drowned by the untimely rain. So you will have some hope only to have that crushed when it finally rains. Timing is everything, as I keep telling my husband. If you cut the arugula when the fridge is filled to bursting with leftover turkey (from Shabbat), BBQ chicken and beef (from the Mother's day picnic), soup (from the one cold-ish day we had this week), cakes (from the baking marathon I had with my friend Aidella), and various salads, it will not be accepted as gratefully as you want it to. 

Still. I need to find a way to use abundance. Here is a little salad I made with my class when we were discussing Shavu'ot last week. Feel free to save it for chag or use it for finishing off your own arugula abundance.

Spring abundance salad

8 cups arugula (or mixed baby greens)

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup caramelized pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (you can buy these at the supermarket or make your own)

8 oz goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

3 Tbs red raspberry syrup

salt and pepper to taste

As always - dressing ingredients' amounts are a question of taste. Play with it until you get just the right combination of sweetness and tartness that appeals to you. The dressing has to have a distinct sweetness, though. 

1. Whisk dressing ingredients together well.

2. Toss arugula, strawberries and dressing together.

3. Divide among 8 plates. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of nuts and 1 oz of cheese.