Permaculture, Homesteading, and Community Building // A Farm to Fork Watermelon, Arugula, and Celery Salad

Hi friends! Today I want to share my original farm-to-fork recipe. Part of having a farm and growing my own food involves having a lot of fresh veggies to cook with. My favorite dishes to make are when I go out to my veggie beds, pick whatever is ready, head back into the kitchen, and figure out what to do with the ingredients on hand. It becomes an art form, creating different combinations and melding flavors! Personally, the act of regenerative farming is a way for me to heal the soil, and the act of cooking is a way for me to heal my body, and I think combined they have the capacity to heal community and relationships.

I am also passionate about creating farm to fork recipes to share with the wider community. I did not know how to cook for myself until a few years ago, and an astonishing amount of my friends still do not know how to. This is a problem, because no matter how well I grow organic beets and fennel, if my community members do not know how to cook with them, all of my efforts to provide healthy and sustainable food goes to waste. The farm to fork movement is a critical part of regenerating and healing our earth as well as our bodies and communities.

The ingredients that I used in this recipe were all sourced from my farm or my housemate's rooftop farm, with the exceptions of the watermelon, olive oil, sunflower seeds, and salt. This is an in-season salad (minus the watermelon), with veggies that can be grown through the winter, so we do not have to depend on importing veggies from the southern hemisphere. Here is the recipe!

Ingredients

• 4 cups of watermelon
• 3 cups of strawberries
• 3 cups of arugula
• 3 stalks of celery
• 1 cup of sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of orange juice
• 1/4 cup of lime juice
• 1 tablespoon of dried dill
• 1/2 tablespoon of salt

Directions

1. Cut the watermelon into 1/2 inch pieces and add to a large bowl
2. Quarter the strawberries and add to the bowl
3. Chop up the arugula and add to the bowl
4. Slice the celery into 1/4 inch pieces and add to the bowl
5. Toss in the sunflower seeds
6. Add the olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, salt, and dill into a mason jar (or another container with a lid) and shake well
7. Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and toss well

Fun Facts of Ingredients!

• Celery lowers blood pressure
• Celery contains an antioxidant (coumarin) that increases the activity of white blood cells
• Celery is used to cleanse the body of excess body fluid because it is a diuretic
• Watermelon contains an amino acid called L-citrulline that helps soothe sore muscles
• Dill has a flavanoid, quercetin, that prevents inflammation
  Source 1 // Source 2 // Source 3