I went through an Erma Bombeck phase when I was a young adult (after high school, in college? I can't remember). I vaguely remember that she talked about how cleaning shouldn't be more important than people. I thought it might have been in her If I Had My Life to Live Over, but I don't think it was. Regardless, I've tried to always make people a priority regardless of the status of my house. If that's not clear on this blog, then clearly I'm doing something wrong.
When I skimmed the last few posts (which I realize span almost a year), I didn't see a mention of cleaning, mostly just lists of food, so I thought I'd add to that list and tell you some other things I'm currently enjoying.
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| Picture taken from Yummy-Books East of Eden Strawberry Lattice Pie Post -- if you like food and literature, you need to be reading her blog, NOW! |
We went to Allendale Farms this weekend and got two very expensive (and very worth it) quarts of Quebec strawberries. I discovered maplebrook farm's ricotta cheese this summer and I am currently savoring (as in my fingers are dyed red) dipping these gorgeous strawberries into a generous scoop of ricotta cheese drizzled with local honey! If you have access to some good non-commercial strawberries, I HIGHLY recommend finding a nice whole fat ricotta and some good honey STAT!
Eating these yummy strawberries remind me of the small batch jam I made earlier this summer. It was a strawberry jam made with honey and highlighted by thyme. I loved it and think maybe I should make it again and have my boy can it. My Aunt-in-law makes strawberry jam each Christmas eve for all the women in the family. I'm convinced this is why my boy got married since I've yet to get a chance to eat any of the jam I've been gifted, it's always gone before I know it's even open. We're going to be in Alaska this year for the holidays, perhaps I can carry on her tradition there (you know if I can pause at all in my current consumption of the strawberries).
I'm scared of canning, but my boy and I did some tag team canning last week with the jalapenos we got in our CSA. We tried this recipe and while we haven't opened a jar yet, the leftover sauce was quite lovely sweet and spicy in the best possible way (and, having just tried a ghost pepper chocolate ice cream that burned terribly, I can tell you there is a worst possible way to combine sweet and spicy!).
This weekend was also the tomato festival at Allendale Farms. We skipped the festivities but managed to score four pints of cherry tomatoes and some truly lovely full sized tomatoes in various hues, including some "peach tomatoes" that could easily be mistaken for the fuzzy fruit! When we got home from our trip to the farm, hanging on our door knob was a bag of tomatoes apparently gifted to us from one of our neighbors -- trouble is there's no note, so we don't know who we should be thanking. . . .
My boy and I usually consume cherry tomatoes in a balsamic salad (we add mozzarella and herbs if we have it, but more often than not it's just the tomatoes with salt, pepper balsamic and oil). I'm afraid that with the haul we brought home yesterday and the additional tomatoes that were waiting for us (and even more when we get home tonight, I'm sure --our csa arrives on Mondays) that we might need some more recipes! I don't like cooked tomatoes though, so what would you suggest?
