Dibs and dabs


Summer produce, yummy eats

The local peaches are outstanding this year; I'm assuming it's because of the mild, wet spring and mild, nearly-as-wet early summer. Whatever -- the local grocery is putting out some brilliant freestones from right across the river in Illinois and we're snarfin' 'em up quartered the minute they ripen (I buy 'em hard and brown-bag them at home; the bag-boys are a little rough on 'em.) The children would probably rise up en masse in protest should I actually try to bake with them.

Tomatoes, OTOH... We're getting them in from the truck farms at the nursery produce stand, which is a step above the central-Floridian cardboard they sell at the supermarket, but still isn't up there with the ones you find on a card table at the end of someone's driveway along with a coffee can and a hand-lettered sign with the price and "Honor System" on it. The folks four houses west have huge ones on the vine (see: wet spring and summer, above) but they're still completely green, when they should have started ripening a month ago. They were set out late because it was wet, and we just haven't had enough completely sunny, really hot days to get them to turn. Whaaaah! I want homegrown tomatoes!

On the OTHER other hand (whut, you don't have three?)... the man at the aforementioned produce stand had cantaloupe that were starting to go overripe on the belly and offered one to me for $1 with the caveat that I had to take it straight home, cube it, and stuff it in a zip-loc, which I did. The car smelled like melon all the way home and the house smelled like melon all night, warm and sweet. Better than sweaty kids any day.

We went to a Shakesville blogger meet-up at Waveflux & M's house Friday night, and the eats were light, summery, and sooo delicious. They served a cold red-pepper soup which I will be doing at home as soon as I get the recipe from them, albeit with vegetable broth instead of chicken in deference to Daughter, and a grilled chicken and pasta salad that used several of the fresh herbs from their garden. Being the rude, greedy-Gus that I am, I begged a baggie of sage from them when they harvest in the fall, since I used the last of Gran's a few years ago. I took over a mixed-greens salad with the aforementioned truck-farm tomatoes, and the creamy white-wine-vinegrette from the Clementine, Apple, and Spinach Salad (I use half-and-half, not heavy cream.) (Ooh, I had forgotten all about that pumpkin soup -- I should read my own back entries once in a while.)

I'm seriously considering grabbing one of those $4 live potted basil plants at the grocery store, simply because I spend that much on fresh basil every time I make Roasted Tomato Soup. If it weren't for the fact that it's about the only thing I use fresh basil for (I see y'all shaking your heads in disgust; stop it) I've have grabbed a plant earlier. Can I keep it going in the southwest-facing window over the sink all winter, d'ya think, or would it be happier under the gro-bulb on the plant stand?

Posted: Sat - August 9, 2008 at 02:14 PM   Home         | | View Technorati reactions

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