Monday morning aaahh...

Jack was up about four times last night (and naturally came and woke me each time), and Oliver got up for the day at his normal just-before-6 hour. He'd refused to nap yesterday and dozed off during his bath. Sitting up. Bubbles all around. Surely you jest, say you. Alas no. So, he was down for the count at 5:50pm. 12 good hours before 6am the next day- isn't that nuts?! Anyway, I'm not sure what was going on with Jack because usually that kid sleeps like a hibernating animal but in any case, when they were both happily at camp this morning, I was happily quiet and alone here at home. There were (and remain) loads of cherries in my fridge just hoping to be pitted, so I finished up the sour cherry ones a bit ago. Some are in the freezer, others are macerating in anticipation of tomorrow's making of Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Apricot-Sour Cherry with St. Germain jam. Sounds fab, yes? I'm soon off to deal with the sweet cherries but am taking a slight break because my cherry-pitter arm is a mite bit tired.

This morning also found me on a mad purge of Jack's room. That child is, perhaps, the youngest hoarder ever. Gum wrappers, rocks, reams of previously-completed coloring pages that map with his passions: cowboys, police, Canadian coast guard (why Canada? not sure), Angry Birds, superheroes, and so forth. I recycled the ones that didn't have any of his precious writing on them as his notes just slay me with their hilarious messages and dear, earnest print. His room is now free of broken toys, two-year-old Highlights, Lego instructions he doesn't need. Winter clothes are put away (slightly late; better than never), and I hung up these awesome chalkboard decals which have +, -, and = signs on them. He's super interested in "equations" right now, so I figured why not keep it fun and let him feel like he's writing on his walls while also learning. Aren't these cool? I just got them on sale from The Land of Nod- such a fun kids' store!

Zucchini-feta fritters, pomegranate molasses sauce

Tonight I managed to use up the last of this morning's zucchini/squash haul by making these glorious, fabulous, delicious, pretty fritters. Three cups of grated squash plus feta, green onions, feta and lots of dill, parsley and mint. Really, really wonderful. We also plank-grilled some King salmon, and to go on top I whipped up a new blend: Greek yogurt, pomegranate molasses, roasted garlic, pistachios and mint. I am not going to lie- these was good and I'm eating the remainder with a spoon.

The only disappointment was that I made a cocoa pie crust for a French Silk pie, put it in the oven and realized I didn't have enough Tru-Whip (all-natural Cool Whip), went back out to the store to get some, and they were sold out. I had them call two other nearby locations. Sold out. So, I've got a pretty and extremely empty crust. Sigh. Is this some message??

Thoughts on local food production, just-pickled lots of stuff

I really find the whole process of buying just-harvested produce in the morning and preserving or cooking it mere hours later to be infinitely satisfying. It makes me feel connected to the Earth and to the farmers who worked to nurture these foods as they grew and then gently picked and transported them to market. I imagine they watch with pride as we head home with our purchases, perhaps wondering what we'll be cooking, whether it'd be something they'd like, if we'll treat the food well or let it go to waste. Leaving the market with a big haul, as I did this morning, always feels like a terrifically good challenge to me precisely because I feel I can't, WON'T, let their hard work be for naught. Even though I compost all our food waste, it still feels like I'm letting down the many farmers from whom I buy if I don't utilize and appreciate their wares.

So it feels quite good and quite productive to have already taken care of the garlic scapes and most all the squash. Pretty, huh?!