Stephanie says

 Swiss chard                                                        First cutting resulted in 8 ounces of large chard leaves and a couple Pak Choi.  So now what?  Should use that organic ground beef languishing in the meat drawer. Swiss chard bundles it is.   Blanch the chard for a few seconds in boiling water.  Cool in ice water bath while making filling. Saute diced onions in a splash of oil until limp.  Add hamburger and brown.  What's with that scritchy sound hamburger makes while stirring?   Remove from heat.  Add quinoa, chopped chard stems, chopped basil (fresh from the garden!), tomato juice. Salt.  Don't forget the salt.  (I forgot the s...

 Vanilla ice cream with apricot syrup, raspberries (obviously I beat Moose to the berry patch today) and a sprinkling of chopped pistachios.  Molto Bene.  The syrup is apricot tart and not too sweet, a perfect counterpoint to the sweetness of the ice cream.  Waffles tomorrow?  I'm over the top with fruit vinegars this year.  Last years blackberry was so delicious I decided to expand my horizons.  Planning to deglaze the pan using apricot vinegar after cooking a thick pork chop - that sounds like an amazing combination. To make vinegar, pour 5% acidity white vinegar over fruit.  Make sure fruit stays beneath the surface of the vinegar.  Let stand for a long time - the jar pictured at left has been sitting for two weeks.  It's beginning taste of apricots but I've giving it a while longer.  Strain and bottle.  I had great success with the blackberry by adding a small amount of sugar and cooking it down, by about a third, ...

I’m on the phone with Terry tonight.   We are of an age although he is three months older, a fact I never let him forget.   He is telling me how he hurt his back this morning bending over to pick up a dropped towel, he who is in the "best physical condition ever", (his description).   Okay, one hears that people like to share their physical ailments so I figure turnabout is fair play and describe my (one and only) ache.   “It’s below my knee, but not the knee itself.” “Does it feel like deep tissue?” “Maybe.   I don’t have much to base this on.   It doesn’t hurt when I ride my bike, it just sorta aches sometimes.” His advice:   “Put some Absorbine Jr. on it – that works miracles, like Windex in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” “I don’t have any.   I think there’s a bottle of aspirin around here somewhere.” “Well Steph, you’ve reached the stage in life where you need to stock up on those kind of products.” He rambles on ...

I awoke from a nap with a fully formed plan to load up the dogs and go spend the night with my mom at the 20 th street house.   Long naps leave me disorientated, no understatement that.   I had richly detailed visuals running through my mind of the steeply pitched roof, red door, towering laurel hedges lining the backyard, Mom waiting for me in the kitchen.   My mind was addled between past and present but gradually realized I was missing a key point.   We didn’t own that house anymore.   Our family home for 27 years, sold long ago. Mom bought that house in 1970, the first house she ever purchased on her own.   It was an act of courage and a step toward new beginnings.   Dad died suddenly the previous year leaving her, at age 37, with three teenagers to rear.   She was petrified at the financial commitment of a $28,000 mortgage.       She was barely functioning when we first moved into the house, sleeping away th...

It's official - I'm enamored with rose water.  Yesterday I ate a bowl of raspberries macerated in sugar and rose water.  These were so delicious I decided to use the same method with apricots, a use for some of a 22 lb purchase.  Apricot season is very short and I have the most flavorful recipe for apricot jam - recipe to follow when I cook them up.  I have four, possibly five 2-1/2 lb. bags of sliced and pitted apricots in the freezer.  I'll make jam when the weather cools off.  Act fast if you want to make jam.  Be sure and save the pits, the magic ingredient.  I sprinkled a bowl of sliced apricots with sugar and a dash of rose water, covered the bowl in plastic, and waited a couple hours to eat.  They were magnificent.  The rose water added another element to the flavor of the apricot.  Mmmmm.   It's not really syrup - now there's a thought.

He is a serious man Who creates with his hands Intent on fractions and wood cuts Jigs and clamps and levels A solemn man Seemingly. With a playful streak That erupts while telling a story He jumps up from his chair And performs an improv dance To illuminate a point A cappella In the middle of the office To my astonishment and delight

The plant is massive, towering over my head.  It's said to taste similar to an artichoke.   The stems are edible looking much like celery.  I considered cooking some but it's way too labor intensive requiring gloves, (because this plant is a thistle and is very thorny,) and a lot of time to destring, and lemon so your hands don't turn brown.  I'll just admire the flowers instead.