Given my local sensibilities, foraging the wild for edibles is near and dear to my heart. But seeing as I live in the middle of suburbia, the opportunities for foraging are few and far between. That’s why when I spied blackberry bushes starting to flower along the walking path in my neighborhood, I vowed to keep a close eye on them.
In June, the blackberries were faring nicely. Red berries in need of some rain and sun in order to turn ripe and plump. Unfortunately, we had two heat waves and minimal rain, so when I put on my foraging hat and headed out to pick the blackberry bounty, I was disappointed.
This is my disappointed face
I searched far and wide, only to find about a half a pint of blackberries. They were measly, not at all like the large, sweet berries I picked as a child. From the looks of things, neighbors and deer also liked the idea of foraging, leaving me to fight brambles for the hard to reach berries.
I didn’t let my disappointment get the better of me. Instead I scattered the dark berries on top of Pequea Valley Farm Yogurt and added local honey.
Meager but tasty
Mixed together, the yogurt, berries, and honey made a delightful breakfast.
Who needs fruit on the bottom?
What edibles are forage-able in your area? Tell me; I’ll try not to be too jealous.
I’m currently headed to Philly and made a pit stop at the Delaware travel plaza. Much to my delight, I discovered local produce for sale right inside the main entrance. Who needs fast food when fresh cherries and cut-up cantaloupe are available?
Well done, Delaware!
If you live off of 95 in Newark or are making your way home from the mall, head over to the travel plaza to buy some of Filasky’s (Middletown) best produce. Their sweet corn is outstanding!
What could be better than buying a delicious lunch from an innovative food truck?
How about eating dinner and dessert at 18 of them at once?
If you’re in the Philly area, head to the Brewerytown Food Truck Roundup tonight (27th and Girard)! Philadelphia Mobile Food Association is partnering with Fair Food, Slow Food Philly, and Farm to City (among others) to pull this event together.
Local food, lots of choices, and live music should make for an awesome Friday night!
Tuesday I admitted to you, dear readers, my blog identity crisis brought on by my blog envy. (Is there a blog therapist out there? I need to lie down on your virtual couch.)
In the aforementioned post, I mentioned four of my favorite funny bloggers, so you can imagine my delight when I turned the computer on this morning only to see my mug on not one but TWO of these favorite blogs. It’s like my wildest blogging dreams are coming true! I pinched myself to make sure I was actually awake.
I’m on Go Jules Go!
My bloggy BFF, Jules, is awesome. So awesome that she sends her loyal readers slap bracelets. For free. No strings attached. Well, maybe one string. She does like to receive photos of the slap bracelets in action, so to speak. When my slap bracelets arrived in the mail, they were accompanied by a note written on neon green paper (my favorite color throughout middle school, only to be replaced by teal in high school). References to Bon Jovi, J-Lo, and nicknames were in abundance. Jules is like the perfect sixth grade pen pal I never had.
I owed Jules big time, so I took my slap bracelets on vacation with me. Here’s a sneak preview of what you’ll see on Go Jules Go:
Angie, a fellow child of the 80s, has a nostalgic, hysterical blog called Childhood Relived. This blog is chock full of everything you ever remembered about being a kid. Did you ever wear burnt orange, corduroy culottes? So did Angie! Did you have a crush on John Cusack or Joey McIntyre from NKOTB? Yup, Angie did, too! Do you have fond memories of your banana seat bicycle? Angie had one!
I entered this photo, along with some other oldies but goodies, in her blog’s Dynomite! school photo contest. I’m hoping that my sweet smile, crooked glasses, and permed hair will capture the heart of her readership. But just in case one of the other poor souls entrants starts pulling ahead, I’m asking you to go over to Childhood Relived’s Dynomite! School Photo Contest and vote for me! Winning this contest would make my awkward decade years seem almost worth it. Almost.
(Disclaimer: Thank you to all my foodie and locavore friends for allowing me to forgo my usual subject matter for a couple days. My itch to become a humor blogger has been scratched and I fully expect to resume my posts about food and locality pronto.)
I write a food blog. I love writing about food, especially from my perspective as a locavore. I’m passionate about my subject matter, so why, when I read other blogs, do I feel envious and dissatisfied?
To clarify, I don’t feel envious when I read another food or recipe blog (well, maybe jealous that I’m not eating the food depicted in the beautiful photos on say, Darla Cooks). I only feel this gnawing sense of envy in the innermost part of my stomach when I read HUMOR blogs.
Humor blogs are like the variety shows of the blog world. You never know what you’re going to get: jokes, embarrassing stories, polls, contests, giveaways, slide shows, and photoshopped images are commonplace. Each post is a tiny well-crafted comedy memoir (or at least a glimpse inside the brain of a really funny person).
I not only envy humor bloggers, but I also admire them. Mainly because they laugh in the face of reality:
So I just split my pants in front of the entire conference room whilst bending over to pick up a dry erase marker?It’s okay, because I have a blog.
So I just “let a few fly” (in quick succession) during Downward Facing Dog at my 6:30 yoga class?Great! Fodder for the blog!
So I just spilled an entire caramel macchiatto with extra caramel all over my dangerously attractive co-worker while trying to press an elevator button AND lick the extra caramel off the side of my cup?No problem! I’ll put it on the blog!
So I just went on the worst date in history, which included being trapped in a dark room and consequently being forced to develop film for the university newspaper?All is well, because of the blog!
The dark room story actually happened to me, but unless I can somehow relate it to food or a local restaurant, you will never hear the tale.
Do you see my dilemma?
While I don’t foresee myself abandoning my food blog any time soon, sometimes I dream of joining the mirthful ranks of my favorite funny bloggers at Go Jules Go, Childhood Relived,The Good Greatsby and The Byronic Man. These bloggers make me LOL with each post they publish. I nod and chuckle when Angie from Childhood Relived mentions Cabbage Patch Kids or New Kids On The Block. I find myself laughing like a fool and wishing I could take a PowerPoint class from Jules over at Go Jules Go. Each time Paul at The Good Greatsby is mean tomentions his kids I have a fit. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought to myself, “Oh Byronic Man, you dapper devil, you are so very clever” while giggling uproariously at his observations. But not only are these bloggers funny, they can also WRITE with wit and creativity. (I know that some, if not all of them, are in the Freshly Pressed club. It’s kind of a big deal, for those of you not familiar with the WordPress world.) I have blog envy on so many levels!
So what’s an aspiring humor blogger writing about local food to do? Can I inform and inspire as well as entertain? Should I attempt to write a funny food blog or a foodie humor blog? Can a blog even be two things at once? Does my blog have an identity crisis? Or do I have an identity crisis?
The morning after partying with Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Yoda, Princess Leia and a variety of Ewoks, breakfast needs to be simple and involve mostly coffee. You can imagine why.
May the Force Be with You
Darth poses with an Ewok
So I put a pot on and decided to whip up a local-ingredient dessert for breakfast. This recipe is adapted from my favorite cobbler recipe on Saveur.com. I say adapted because I didn’t have some of the ingredients (mainly milk and cherries) and didn’t want to use corn starch or vegetable shortening. The original recipe is excellent. I suggest making the Saveur recipe for dessert one summer evening and my recipe, which is less sweet, for a weekend breakfast.
Peach Blueberry Cobbler Even Darth Vader Would Love
4 Tablespoons butter plus more for buttering the pan (I used local, Amish-made butter. So good.)
6 local peaches, peeled and cut into chunks (the peaches I used were on the smaller side)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup half and half (or milk)
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8″x8″ baking dish or a pie plate; set aside. Whisk 1/3 cup honey and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add blueberries and peaches.
Local peaches and blueberries mingling
Cook until thickened, about 5 or 6 minutes. If you want the fruit to have a thicker “sauce”, add a couple tablespoons of cornstarch to the honey (or use cornstarch and sugar instead). Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and almond extract (my secret ingredient in so many baked goods). Pour filling into baking dish. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. With fingers, work butter into the flour until course lumps form. Stir in half and fhalf to form a dough.
I hesitate to use my blog as a vehicle for personal stuff…
Who am I kidding? I LOVE to use it as a vehicle for personal stuff, especially when that personal stuff relates to my darling husband. Today he turns 30! Tonight we celebrate his 30 years on this earth at a local spot with local food (see, I’m relating it to the blog!). I’m celebrating in earnest for two reasons.
The first reason is a bit selfish. Thanks to his 30th birthday, we are now BOTH in our thirties. I’m not THAT old anymore!
The second reason for celebration can be easily seen in the following photographs:
When the husband and I met, he looked like this:
Rockin’ the aviators at kindergarten graduation
And I looked like this (a photo you already know and love):
I get peeved when people, regular American people, speaking English, say Italian food words with an Italian accent. You know what I’m talking about if you’ve ever seen Food Network star Giada de Laurentiis in action on her show. Now I understand that Giada is very Italian. I’m sure she even speaks the language fluently (she was born in Rome after all). But let’s be real here, Giada is basically a California girl; she speaks English with an AMERICAN accent. So why must she say spaghetti like she’s in the Old Country?
You can imagine my utter delight when I found this clip on You Tube. Here Giada talks about HER pronunciation pet peeves. Jackpot!
So apparently we should ALL be saying spaghetti and prosciutto just like Giada. I’m part Polish for goodness’ sake! You don’t see me walking around expecting everyone to say pierogi and kielbasa with a Polish accent. Daj spokój!
In honor of saying Italian food words WITHOUT an accent, I made this dish with those amazing cherry tomatoes John gave me.
Such beauties!
I call it Cherry Tomato Bruschetta Pasta. Say bruschetta however you want, but please don’t use an Italian accent.
Cherry Tomato Bruschetta Pasta
For the pasta:
1 pound thin spaghetti
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small white or red onion, chopped (I used two tiny white ones from my farm share)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 generous handfuls fresh basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano (or really good Parmesan Reggiano)
Balsamic Vinegar (optional)
For the breadcrumbs:
2 slices old-ish wheat bread (I used Amish-made honey wheat)
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Put a pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti (now I can’t stop saying it with an accent in my head. Curses!). Don’t forget to salt the water. The sauce cooks quickly, so while the water is boiling, get everything ready to go in the pan. Chiffonade the basil into pretty ribbons, halve the tomatoes, chop the onion and mince the garlic.
Ribbons of basil
Yellow and red tomatoes, sweet and delicious
Perfect little onions from Bayberry Farm
Get the breadcrumbs in the oven, too. (This was my first attempt at breadcrumbs. I realize now I could have toasted the bread in the oven to dry out BEFORE putting it in the food processor with the other ingredients. But this is the way I did it and it turned out great. I just had to keep a careful eye on it.) Turn the oven to broil. Cube the bread and pulse it in a food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs on the coarser side. Add salt, pepper and oregano. Mix together. Place the crumbs on a sheet pan in an even layer. Making sure to stir a couple of times, broil until browned and crunchy. Set aside.
My mini-food processor comes in handy for small jobs, and it’s yellow!
Ready for the oven
When the pasta is almost ready to come out of the water (al dente), drizzle the olive oil into a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic. Saute until softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes plus a little salt and pepper. No need to cook for long, maybe 2 minutes or so.
Nothing like tomatoes in the summer
Drain the pasta, reserving about half a cup of the cooking liquid. Place the spaghetti in the pan with the tomato mixture and fold everything together. Add a bit of the pasta water to make it a more “saucy” (this pasta does not have a traditional sauce. It’s really all about the fresh texture and flavor of the tomatoes). Remove from heat. Add the cheese and basil. Give it a stir.
I drizzled a bit more olive oil on mine. As an afterthought I added balsamic vinegar once plated. My favorite local Italian place drizzles thick, rich balsamic over their bruschetta and it’s fabulous.
Top with a couple tablespoons of your freshly made and crispy breadcrumbs and enjoy! Mangia! (Fine. Go ahead. You can say that one word with an Italian accent.)
This pasta’s so good it’ll make you want to slap your Mamma Mia
After two weeks away and finally catching up on work stuff, I paid John a visit to see what’s good in the garden.
When I arrived, John was in the watermelon patch trying to untangle a soaking hose. I helped him out a bit and we transferred the hose to a different part of the patch. In the process I spied at least eight good-sized watermelons on their way to emodying summertime goodness.
Because the garden changed so much in my absence, John took me on a tour. I snapped some photos with my iPhone to share. First we stopped at the blue bird house. The baby birds flew the coop! But a new family moved in to the house across from the corn stalks. John, ever the attentive landlord, gave them a new roof to keep out the rain.
Side view of Mrs. Blue Bird’s neat little nest
New roof courtesy of John
From there we checked in on the strawberry patch. The new plants are producing a tangle of runners, and we even found a few tiny berries to share.
The pumpkin patch is thriving. Two huge pumpkins made an early appearance.
Pumpkins in July
In the adjacent plot, light green cataloupes soaked up the sun, looking delicious already.
Cantaloupes ripening
Next we turned our attention to the potato rows. John got to work with his shovel while I helped loosen the dirt with a pitchfork. White potatoes appeared as if by magic on top of the upturned soil.
Dried up potato plant means potatoes are ready for harvest
I speared a potato with my fork
Red potatoes, harvested and looking rustic in their baskets
After pulling a few weeds (including poison ivy) from around the blueberry bushes, I checked in on the corn stalks. John and I picked a few ears for my supper.
Corn Jungle
Perfectly sweet and picturesque
I’d been looking forward to seeing the tomato plants in full swing since John and I planted them. They are flourishing! Bag in hand, I jumped into the tall plants to find a few. John told me to look low as tomatoes ripen on the bottom first. We found some beauties!
Fried Green Tomatoes, anyone?
Perfection
John picked these cherry tomatoes for me ahead of time. My favorites!
As usual John sent me home with a bounty of vegetables; I had to make three trips to the car!
Impressive!
I promised to be by next week to help water the garden and admired Kathy’s flowers on my way out.
Apparently, at John’s house, EVERYTHING’S good in the garden this summer.
