Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Odd Thought

The "R Word" is back...the wind blew in last night and the rain started about four this morning.  Neither the trash truck guy nor I were in any hurry to rendezvous today in the downpour, but we are both responsible people and did that which is expected.  Looks like another day in isolation for Stumpy.  Pearl has been out and back in, demanding, "Fluff me NAOW!"  I'm glad I got the laundry done and dried on the line yesterday.

I've got to get some help, counseling or something, for that distraught bird deserted by Rod-RI-go, before we both go bonkers.  She called incessantly yesterday, adding an "Oh, oh, oh," once in awhile like a swooning Victorian maiden.  She got to realize that it's over, he's gone and he's not coming back. 

The subject of volunteer plants has come up (as do some plants, like it or not).  I once planted New Zealand spinach.  Not good raw, it's pretty good steamed, but once planted, it's nearly impossible to get rid of and comes back year after year.  Tomatillos are another vegetable that you'd best get used to because the seeds must have a half-life of a thousand years.  In addition to varieties of squash, I planted a number of gourds of different kinds.  A niece came for a visit and I ran out to the garden and picked what looked like young zucchini, sauteed it with garlic and fresh herbs, and served it for dinner.  We all ate it, noting that it was a little pithy...stringy, in fact.  Giving it some thought, I realized I'd served the family a luffa sponge from a previous year's seed. 

In the grocery store, goat cheese is sold in five-ounce packets.  I make chevre in two-pound batches.  Eggs are piling up at an alarming rate.  Well, they would, wouldn't they, when I pick up twelve to sixteen a day.  Using odds and ends from the fridge and cupboard last night, I made a corn, cabbage, chevre, onion, and barley "pudding" with lots of fresh thyme from the herb garden and lots of eggs.  It was so darned good!  Tonight I plan to make a sauce with tomatoes frozen from a prior garden and make several baked penne casseroles layered with chevre (like riccotta) to freeze for future dinners.  It's wonderful to have such bounty to use with abandon.

2 comments:

Cally Kid said...

The caution oft heard in summer was “If you leave your window down you’ll come back to find an 8 pound Zuchinni on the seat”. At FarView I guess it would be eggs and cheese on the seat. Yea, squash and melon volunteers yield unpredictable tasting food. You’re right about Tomotillos. It’s a good thing I like making fresh green sauce. Now I have to figure out a useful purpose for a yearly bounty of sunflower seeds. Your description of hours spent in the kitchen causes me to conjure up an image of a rolly-polly Goat Lady who leaves the house with her bib pockets stuffed with food. It’s a good thing you have so many chores to do that help keep the pounds off!

Anonymous said...

FYI: luffa is a vegetable commonly eaten where my mom is from