Visiting the Country

I don't know if you know, but living in California spoils you.  You get accustomed to the temperate and gorgeous weather (Yeah, yeah, I know, there is something to be said about beautiful fall foliage and white Christmases. I mean, I did grow up on the east coast!).  And you start to demand the freshest produce possible.

My in-laws live in the Central Valley, where Californians get a lot of their vegetables and fruits.  My husband's family comes from a farming background, although most of them do not actively farm anymore.  When I first visited my in-laws, this city girl was surprised to see the size of people's "backyards" and how much produce people grow in these yards just for personal consumption.  Count my in-laws in this group.  They grow oranges, tangerines, avocados, cherries, and until recently, plums (sadly, their plum tree bit the big one).  Right next door to my in-laws, my husband's grandmother grows Chinese long beans, eggplants, persimmons, pears, and tons of flowers.  I think I might have left some stuff out, but you get the picture. 

Every year, my husband and I share in the bounty of my in-laws' crops.  Right now, it is orange, tangerine and avocado season:

Delicious!