feeding the community

I finally filled our bird feeders a couple of weeks ago. I remember last summer when I was so sick, looking out the window and watching the birds peck at the empty feeders, but there was no way I could go out and fill them. Not this year, though. So there's one hanging off the porch, that's easy for squirrels to get into. They were the first to find it. Then the next was a raccoon!! It was extremely tame, would jump off the porch and watch me as I charged it banging pan lids together. (I had to learn to wait until I was outside to do that, because it really freaked out the cats!) I saw it about three afternoons in a row. Then the feeder was completely empty (a squirrel looked desperate), and I haven't seen the raccoon since. But I have a feeling it would come right back if I put food out. So I was reflecting on why it bothers me so much that a raccoon was there, but I'm not so bothered by the squirrels, even though technically the food is for the birds. They still haven't found the other feeders out by the trees.

In another kind of feeding, I went to our local community supported agriculture farm, the Root Connection, for the first time this afternoon. I really enjoyed it. There were big tubs of different vegetables, and for my share, I could pick one red lettuce, one green lettuce, one bunch of turnips, 2 bok choy, 1 lettuce cabbage -- I don't even know what that is. Then on the back part of the farm, you could go pick more greens. I got 2 kinds of mustard greens that I cooked with beans tonight, some chard for the African peanut and pineapple dish from one of the Moosewood cookbooks, and some mizuna, which is a salad green. I'm going to learn a lot! In the front area is an herb garden, where I picked some mint (from their selection of 4 kinds) for a Greek rice dish later in the week. When the weather's warm, I can imagine making mojitos with chocolate mint. Basil comes later too. There was a section of the garden specifically for kids, where later in the summer they can pull up radishes and pick beans. What a great way to get kids involved! Next time I won't wear sandals, though.

more on food

So I was frustrated that some of what Barbara Kingsolver says in her latest book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, because it's not practical for those of us who have to work to know where all our food comes from. Then she hooked me on the thought of making cheese. I mean, I've made crummy fresh cheese that goes in a crummy saag paneer recipe, but I found a place to buy that not far from my office. But now I'm intrigued by the thought of making cheese at home. Maybe I can get B to help me.
I now have a signature dessert -- lemon mousse, from Ray's Boathouse Cookbook. Yum! G made a great cole slaw from it, with cabbage, bean sprouts, green beans, and a wasabi-flavored sauce. Yum yum!

first week-end of summer?

A productive week-end -- Memorial Day, three days -- but not how I hope the summer will go...
Saturday we had committed to working in the yard. It felt good, weeding, planting rhubarb, transplanting other plants. G. put new steps in to the back porch. He said it's odd to work hard to make something look just like it did before (without the insect damage).
Sunday we planned to go for a nice walk with friends, but the weather gods did not agree. So we spent the day sealing and polishing our counters. Not exciting at all. But it was good to see how much better that 2ce yearly job could be with the two of us working together. In the background was "the greatest spectacle in racing," Indy 500. There was rain there too. And the Mariners game. Rain there too.
Yesterday we did more projects around here for the morning, then bought a lot of fabric on sale for a new quilt for our bedroom, then met B at the ferry dock from camp. A nice walk through one park, then to a good Mexican restaurant for an early dinner. No International Film Festival films that interested us, so we found another film that could well have been shown there -- Ping Pong. And I learned the difference between manga, based on a Japanese comic book, and anime, animated version. This was the former.

So, what I would like for my summer, some feelings of accomplishment and creativity, movies, time with people I care about, outdoor time. What I would like that this week-end did not include: more physical activity, and more time with friends. I can make that happen. What I would also like: more sunshine. Global warming, aka catastrophic climate change, seems to be taking care of that.

New foodie book

Barbara Kingsolver has just published a book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I've just started reading it and am already captured by her wonderful writing style. It's about how she and her family moved to family property in the Appalachians and ate only local food for a year. I read a review of it, and the only complaint was that they are a wealthy family who could do things most folks can't. Then I heard an interview with Kingsolver, and the interviewer asked her what they did when the year was up. She tried to explain that this was not just a stunt, but a lifestyle change -- they have continued to eat the healthy way they adopted.
I still can't imagine giving up bananas...

list update

16. Salvage and plant the vegetable garden. I bought rhubarb plants. It's a start...
26. Read or listen to the Bible. I'm listening to the New Testament in a version called the The Bible Experience. It's all done by African American actors, some I can recognize (Samuel Jackson as God). Horribly over-produced (e.g, the text says, "The people were afraid" and you hear people in the background saying "I'm afraid.") I'm up to Luke. But I think I need a break. I won't get through it all before it's due back at the library anyway. So I'll have to check it out again. And again. The Old Testament comes out in the fall.
41. Participate in community-supported agriculture. I've signed up for a regular share at The Root Connection in Redmond. Their sample boxes included kohlrabi -- I have no idea what to do with that. I guess I'll learn...
70. Do a blog. When do I get to say I'm doing that?? I think I've figured out links, although someone will have to tell me if they really take you where I think I'm sending you...

#101?

Can I add one more? If I did, it would be belly-dancing. Seriously...
Saturday before last we (people from EUUC who took OB's Balkan dancing class) went to a Greek restaurant, Georgia's, in Seattle that featured live music and dancing. We knew there was going to be another large party there -- I envisioned people of Greek heritage who wanted to dance. Wrong -- it was a retirement party for someone. A few of them did get up and dance. The music was fun, although they kept playing one style of song so we danced the same moves a lot. But given the size of the dance floor, we couldn't move a lot. On the band's breaks, a belly dancer appeared. Clothed in long drapey clothes, which she removed during the second song each time to reveal an outfit that revealed her belly. It was impressive to see how she could move, very lovely. During the third song, her male companion put a dollar bill in the waist of her outfit. Some of the women I was with said they'd never done that before. From their discomfort, it was clear that some of the men hadn't either. Anyway, we enjoyed watching her enough that several of use decided we would love to learn how to belly-dance. (But not out in public!)
Good food, but nothing in comparison to my favorite, Hoda's, in Portland.

kitchen bible

I just got my copy of Bittman's book -- in paperback, as a way to use up what I need to get cheap through the book club -- getting out of it would simplify my life (what, that's not on my list??).
So what recipes do you recommend?