Arugula and Sweet Corn Salad

With our crates and boxes and mixing bowls we were attempting to assemble the outdoor demo kitchen, but the wind had other plans. It blew hard against the back of the tent, causing the metal legs to slide against the asphalt in the farmers market parking lot. A few vendors, the community service workers, the manager of the farmers market, and even a few customers rushed over to help baton down the billowing white sides. I was reminded of those moments on the ship during extreme weather, when everyone would drop their assigned duties and focus their efforts on survival. We resigned to unzipping the sides, and allowing the wind to scamper through, forgiving the stolen cilantro that was picked up and tossed across the parking lot.

The realization that the people whom I am now working with have the same tradition of community, hard work, and the ability to set themselves aside to help with issues when they arise made me giddy. This is what I loved about the ship. It feels like I have found an identical community among the farmers. There is a common understanding that the health and happiness of each individual is imperative to the health of the whole.

Last night we went to the circus. It was mainly high school and college age kids performing, but they were accomplishing incredible feats with almost as much professionalism and poise as the performers of cirque du soleil. What impressed me the most about the show was not witnessing a 7 year old boy stand on his hands on top of a stack of chairs 20 feet high. It wasn't watching a man be carried across a tightrope on a chair balanced on top of another tight rope, or witnessing a girl swinging through the air like a pendulum, holding herself up by the back of her neck. It was the level of trust that the kids had in one another. Every time one kid lept from one trapeze to another, he knew that another kid would be there, reaching out his arms to catch him. It was the very picture of the world I have experienced at the farmers market, and on the ships. It is amazing how regular people are able to accomplish impossible feats when they understand the importance of being there to back each other up.

Arugula and Sweet Corn Salad
1 small bunch arugula, chopped
2 ears mirai corn, cut off the cob
1 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 cup sprouts
1 medium tomato

Dress with:
juice from 1 lime
1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
pepper and salt to taste
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 small red onion, cut small

Christina's vote: "Tangy goodness"