Fresh.

I never take for granted how lucky I am to live on a farm. I have chickens, and I have land, and I have passion that drives me to experiment with the food one can obtain on the farm. Not that we are farmers. We have a few egg layers, and we have a small garden. There are a few things that are well worth growing if you have the time, the space, and the inclination. I am not talking about money, I am talking about quality that, really, money cannot buy.
Locally-sourced ingredients are such a buzzword today that even the odious Mark Zuckerberg is doing it. But self-sourced ingredients are a thing unto themselves. There are certain things you can grow yourselves that deserve to be explored, analyzed. And, finally, appreciated, savored, remembered. I will run through some but not all of these and give them criminally short descriptions, but I invite you to try each of them, not together, but one at a time.

Eggs. Fresh eggs are markedly different from their supermarket counterparts. The flavor is very eggy. The best phrase I can think of to describe same-day eggs is "egg to the egg power." When you really want the flavor and texture of eggs to come through, as in a souffle, you need to source really fresh eggs. For those of you who live in towns and cities, if you drive to an egg-producing farm they will sell you a dozen eggs straight off the line for a supermarket price, and they will be incredibly delicious.

Lettuce. These are easy to grow from seed but can be highly fragile if weather conditions are not right. Experiment with different kinds of lettuces: watercress, Bibb, spring greens, arugula. See what grows well. You'll find that lettuce freshly picked from the garden needs almost nothing. A little oil and/or vinegar, a very light peppery vinaigrette, but very little. The greens themselves when fresh have such flavor that you won't want to mask it.

Potatoes. Now, these are a bit difficult but well worth the time. Potatoes have to be buried at the right depth and in the right soil, and the soil must be mounded around them as they grow. But, when they are ready, look out. I have found that freshly dug potatoes are so delicious it is almost impossible to keep them in the refrigerator--they are eaten immediately. Preferably baked and topped with a freshly laid fried egg. You think I am joking?

Peas. Another incredibly flavorful vegetable that is absolutely top-quality when fresh. This is something you will never eat in even the finest restaurants.

Beets. For some reason, beets lose a lot of their quality once they're out of the ground. See Potatoes. I used to hate beets: all the beets I had been served tasted like dirt or salty pickling liquid. But fresh dug beets, covered in oil and roasted, are simply amazing.

Lastly, milk. In Denmark they sell fresh sweet unpasteurized milk even in the 7-11, called "Sødmælk." In the USA, most dairy farms are required by law to pasteurize their milk, which largely destroys the taste. If you encounter a small dairy farm that is allowed to sell unpasteurized milk, it is well-worth the premium price. They are also likely to make some fantastic unpasteurized cheeses, so check those out as well.