Okra and the 4th

So I realized last night that in my crisper drawer were the okra that T bought last Sunday. So fresh were they when purchased that they'd maintained their proud shape and verdant green hue. No need to risk missing the window: part of dinner they would be!

Do y'all know what okra love? Not gumbo, but bacon! Okra smothered in bacon drippings? 

There is NO slime in well-prepared okra: fried, smothered, grilled... Don't wash before cooking, and you're in great shape. 

So last night: bacon, okra, corn and more bacon. Delicious!

And watermelon and feta and watercress. And tomatoes and pea tendrils and blue cheese. And bourbon shrubs. And there you have it. 

I freaking love okra. Love it.

Today I spent large swaths of time either running (6.25 miles; legs now crying) or putting together the three-layer ice cream cake Jack requested for his birthday. My oldest baby turns 9 in the morning, and I just can't believe it. I mean, I can, but at the same time, wow. 

He does not like regular cake, and I enjoy learning something new each year as I make a new, celebratory, non-cake dessert.

Let me tell you the main thing I've learned so far: do NOT make your own Oreos. Accept the fake-o, chemical shit in the Nabisco ones and love them. They are the best. By far.

Tom bought Jack an inexpensive drone for his birthday and is playing with it right now like he's a seven-year-old who just received the most awesome thing IN THE WHOLE WORLD. It is crashing repeatedly into the windows, and the pets are vexed out of their minds. Men = boys = always kids.

Happy almost-4th, y'all!

Canning season is now!! Here's how you can join in!

Y'all simply must start canning. It is a simple way to save a season for later in the year. I know you can do it!!

Here are two video tutorials that will help you along. You should definitely watch the jam-making one, not least because Oliver's voice is the most precious thing in the whole world, and you will die and fall in love with it and him. You will understand why several people have suggested I figure out a way to bottle his voice. 

Oliver and Emily make Shiro Plum & Basil Jam

The only update I wish to make is that Ball says you no longer need to heat the lids in hot water to soften the rubber flange. They are using a new rubber blend that doesn't need pre-softening.

Emily cans tomatoes

Here too is a list of canning equipment that will make your preservation efforts
more fun, easier and safer. 

• Freshest possible ingredients- Don’t use substandard ingredients; taste will suffer!
• Canning pot- a tall pot which can accommodate your jars and enough water to cover them during processing
• Canning rack- a pot insert that holds your jars safely in place during processing, preventing anxiety-producing sounds and cracked jars
• Jar lifter- silicone-covered tongs which make putting your jars into the pot and taking them out much safer and easier
• Stainless steel ladle- You need a ladle to fill your jars; stainless won’t leach or melt.
• Stainless canning funnel- A funnel reduces the chance that you’ll spill valuable jam over the sides of the jar; this makes a mess, is sticky and you risk burning yourself.
• Bubble remover- I use a chopstick, but you can also buy tools made specifically for bubbling your jams.
• Jars- aka Mason jars, popular brands include Ball, Kerr, Weck, and so forth.
• Lids and bands, or rubber rings if using Weck
• Pectin- liquid, powder, all-natural (Pomona’s); I use pectin very, very rarely. 
• Thermapen, candy thermometer, or the like
• Food mill- useful and/or necessary for certain recipes
• Jar labels- label what you canned and when 

Don't you want to have a magnificent stash like this?? You can! Hah!

Eggshells, eggplant, a concert

Great news for all my gardening readers: eggshells again save the day. Not only are they great in compost but also they have saved my Mexican Midget heirloom tomato from blossom-end rot. That Mexican Midget seems an awfully un-PC name is a different story but for now, if you too have watched with dismay many a beautiful heirloom tom blacken from the flower end up, go stick some crushes eggshells in the dirt around the plant stem. I was not scientific or neat about this at all; I literally crumpled eggshells with my fingers, used a dinner spoon to scoop up divets around the base and shoved the shells in. 

Eggplant. I do love eggplant but sometimes tire of baba ghanoush and involtini. Last night, inspired by nothing more than the desire for something different, I heated my trusty Lodge and added some grapeseed oil, minced garlic and ginger, hot chiles, fish sauce, ponzu, Thai chili sauce, brown sugar an the gorgeous melanzane T picked up at the farmers market for me on Sunday. 

The skillet was so hot that the eggplant cooked quickly and were lacquered in the reduced sauce. It looked like ebony caramel. I served it over sushi rice and dressed it with chives. Bellissima!

I desperately needed to do something with the summer squash and fill languishing in the fridge, so tossed them with freshly shelled peas in a hot saute pan and afterwards added feta and mint. Tom loathes dill so loathed this dish, but I found it pretty and pleasing.

I woke up tired this morning, probably because I heard Jack tiptoeing downstairs at 5am. I chose to think it was Nutmeg but knew better. I found my dear son eating a can of room temp black beans ("I made them myself, Mom!") and working on the computer. Uh, no. To bed, sir! 

Busy day, my energy really waned around 4, but I rallied and for good reason: T and I are at Wolf Trap, a lovely outdoor concert venue, waiting to hear John Fogerty play.  

What's nicer than a gourmet picnic al fresco, on a beautiful night in the middle of the week, with the spouse you don't see enough of in grown-up contexts?

Cheers to eggshells, eggplant, trying new things, CCR and making time!