Well, being sick is not recommended, especially for someone as vital as you.
Went to our local farmers’ market this morning and managed to snag two quart baskets of ripe strawberries, which I will convert into jam after lunch. Wish I could share!
Feel better soon! The air quality has been pretty awful for close to a week, and I don't think Midcoast has been spared! Hope it and the damaging thunder storms pass soon! We head up in a week for time in Port Clyde with the whole family. We will be enjoying Maine's bounty of wild blueberries, sweet corn, tomatoes and whatever fresh seafood and fish we can find. Meanwhile, my little garden has yield 10 sweet cherry tomatoes from its 3 gangly plants, 3 shishitos and tons of basil. Between these and the farmers market, we enjoy in abundance that is July. Be well!
Make pesto? Make basil flavored tomato sauce put up in jars for winter? Make basiloncello (I made that up—limoncello flavored strongly with an infusion of basil)?
I may have exaggerated a bit. I do make pesto, but with walnuts instead of pine nuts. I freeze portion size jars of immersed in olive oil and don’t add grated cheese until defrosted and ready to use. I also make tomato, basil and salty cheese side salads for any meat meal.
Nancy, we're pullin' for ya. When my wife is feelin' not so snappy, she finds comfort in a good book with a glass of wine. Or, maybe a cup of her tea. I keep her stocked up with six different teas. Another antidote we employ is a massage followed by a nap.
As for what I'm cooking... it's been pretty simple, since we're in middle of moving out of the home we've had for 25 years (and getting rid of a LOT of unnecessary stuff, and packing up maybe a hundred cartons of books, and setting up our new library). I put in the last of the bookcases in yesterday.. ta-DAAA!.
Anyway: I've been playing around with upside-down cakes lately. Today's will be peaches and blueberries... and I think I'll add either cinnamon or cardamom to the brown-sugar topping.
I once made a sensational peach cake with a streusel topping that was made with crushed amaretti biscuits, which gave a very splendid bitter-almond flavor to the topping. Highly recommend. You remind me, I must write about pineapple upside down cake, a fave of my mother’s.
Get well soon. Down here in Atlanta there is a lot of winter cold symptoms going around that seem to drag out for a good 10 days. Stay healthy, drink some broth and take lots of vitamin C😀😀😀
Wishing you well and the summers bounty upon you and yours. Today's haul from the Union Square Somerville farmers market included, purslane, amaranth, basil, corn, peaches, and cousa, with scallops and summer flounder from the Cape. I met with old friends and made new ones. The continuing plight of Gaza and the Middle East were discussed outside the market area. No politics allowed within the boundaries of the market.
How great that there’s a farmers market in Union Square, Kristi. I used to live on Prospect Hill just above there and shopped for fresh pasta at Al Capone’s. Is he still there?
I live about five doors down from Capone's and across the street from The Neighborhood. Al is still there but his daughters are there frequently to help run the place. His sauces and pasta are still excellent. You wouldn't believe how much Union Square has changed. We started the Farmers Market 21 years ago. The farmers tell us that it is the best in the Boston area. The restaurant and bar scene has grown with Bronwyn, Celeste, Ebi Sushi and several others. We now have Bow Market in the old Union Square furniture building on Somerville Ave which contains a number of pop-ups, a brewery and several small restaurants. The What the Fluff Festival attracted over 30,000 last year. We now have more coffee shops than hairdressers. There are tons of families living on Prospect Hill. The Flag-Raising on January 1 has also grown to be a fun ceremony.
I’ll have to pay a visit next time I’m in the neighborhood. it was more than 30 years ago that I moved back to Maine so I missed all that. Elephant Walk opened their first restaurant while I was living there and I took Julia Child to it. The owners were completely bowled over when she walked through the door.
I loved Julia Child but only met her a couple of times when I worked at the Harvest. We moved to Union Square in 1990. I do remember Bob Perry well. I was involved in starting the Union Square Task Force, STEP, and Union Square Main Streets and hence the farmers market and the Fluff festival. I was Preservation Planner for Somerville for almost 20 years. Don't visit during Fluff. Bow Market has events on weekends and is quite lively. The courtyards are very nice with mature trees shading them.
Kristi, I’ll be in touch with you if I manage a visit to Somerville—my son, when he worked in Harvard Square, bought a T shirt from a street vendor that said: “Somerville: Gateway to Mefford!”
People that can't afford Somerville move to Medford these days. They blame it on the Green Line. I blame it on the end of rent control. I would love to meet you some time and introduce you to modern Somerville.
wishing a rapid recovery- we love your postings
Well, being sick is not recommended, especially for someone as vital as you.
Went to our local farmers’ market this morning and managed to snag two quart baskets of ripe strawberries, which I will convert into jam after lunch. Wish I could share!
Nina
Feel better soon! The air quality has been pretty awful for close to a week, and I don't think Midcoast has been spared! Hope it and the damaging thunder storms pass soon! We head up in a week for time in Port Clyde with the whole family. We will be enjoying Maine's bounty of wild blueberries, sweet corn, tomatoes and whatever fresh seafood and fish we can find. Meanwhile, my little garden has yield 10 sweet cherry tomatoes from its 3 gangly plants, 3 shishitos and tons of basil. Between these and the farmers market, we enjoy in abundance that is July. Be well!
What do you do with a ton of basil! :)
Make pesto? Make basil flavored tomato sauce put up in jars for winter? Make basiloncello (I made that up—limoncello flavored strongly with an infusion of basil)?
I may have exaggerated a bit. I do make pesto, but with walnuts instead of pine nuts. I freeze portion size jars of immersed in olive oil and don’t add grated cheese until defrosted and ready to use. I also make tomato, basil and salty cheese side salads for any meat meal.
Please stay safe.
Feel better soon, Nancy. I will miss your brilliant and biting banter.
Feel better soon Nancy. Hope to cross paths soon. I will be picking blueberries at Beech HILL this coming week.
A sign to take it easy. Wishing you a quick recovery, Nancy, and lots of Maine blueberry pie when you’re feeling up to it. Un abbraccio!
“0ut of sorts” is most appropriate to your situation. In the 16th century when a printer ran out of letters it was said that ‘he’ “was out of sorts”.
When can we expect the next Nancy ‘sortie’?
Nancy, we're pullin' for ya. When my wife is feelin' not so snappy, she finds comfort in a good book with a glass of wine. Or, maybe a cup of her tea. I keep her stocked up with six different teas. Another antidote we employ is a massage followed by a nap.
Feel better soon!
Cheering for you!
Hoping you are better soon, Nancy, and looking forward to reading when you are!
I hope you're feeling perkier soon!
As for what I'm cooking... it's been pretty simple, since we're in middle of moving out of the home we've had for 25 years (and getting rid of a LOT of unnecessary stuff, and packing up maybe a hundred cartons of books, and setting up our new library). I put in the last of the bookcases in yesterday.. ta-DAAA!.
Anyway: I've been playing around with upside-down cakes lately. Today's will be peaches and blueberries... and I think I'll add either cinnamon or cardamom to the brown-sugar topping.
Whaddya' think?
I once made a sensational peach cake with a streusel topping that was made with crushed amaretti biscuits, which gave a very splendid bitter-almond flavor to the topping. Highly recommend. You remind me, I must write about pineapple upside down cake, a fave of my mother’s.
That sounds perfect (I briefly considered adding almond extract to the cake batter... then forgot to do it).
I was going to do a pineapple upside-down cake (it is the classic, right?)... but my wife doesn't care for pineapple.
Get well soon. Down here in Atlanta there is a lot of winter cold symptoms going around that seem to drag out for a good 10 days. Stay healthy, drink some broth and take lots of vitamin C😀😀😀
Feel better soon, dear Nancy! ❤️
Wishing you well and the summers bounty upon you and yours. Today's haul from the Union Square Somerville farmers market included, purslane, amaranth, basil, corn, peaches, and cousa, with scallops and summer flounder from the Cape. I met with old friends and made new ones. The continuing plight of Gaza and the Middle East were discussed outside the market area. No politics allowed within the boundaries of the market.
How great that there’s a farmers market in Union Square, Kristi. I used to live on Prospect Hill just above there and shopped for fresh pasta at Al Capone’s. Is he still there?
I live about five doors down from Capone's and across the street from The Neighborhood. Al is still there but his daughters are there frequently to help run the place. His sauces and pasta are still excellent. You wouldn't believe how much Union Square has changed. We started the Farmers Market 21 years ago. The farmers tell us that it is the best in the Boston area. The restaurant and bar scene has grown with Bronwyn, Celeste, Ebi Sushi and several others. We now have Bow Market in the old Union Square furniture building on Somerville Ave which contains a number of pop-ups, a brewery and several small restaurants. The What the Fluff Festival attracted over 30,000 last year. We now have more coffee shops than hairdressers. There are tons of families living on Prospect Hill. The Flag-Raising on January 1 has also grown to be a fun ceremony.
I’ll have to pay a visit next time I’m in the neighborhood. it was more than 30 years ago that I moved back to Maine so I missed all that. Elephant Walk opened their first restaurant while I was living there and I took Julia Child to it. The owners were completely bowled over when she walked through the door.
I loved Julia Child but only met her a couple of times when I worked at the Harvest. We moved to Union Square in 1990. I do remember Bob Perry well. I was involved in starting the Union Square Task Force, STEP, and Union Square Main Streets and hence the farmers market and the Fluff festival. I was Preservation Planner for Somerville for almost 20 years. Don't visit during Fluff. Bow Market has events on weekends and is quite lively. The courtyards are very nice with mature trees shading them.
Kristi, I’ll be in touch with you if I manage a visit to Somerville—my son, when he worked in Harvard Square, bought a T shirt from a street vendor that said: “Somerville: Gateway to Mefford!”
People that can't afford Somerville move to Medford these days. They blame it on the Green Line. I blame it on the end of rent control. I would love to meet you some time and introduce you to modern Somerville.