So, last week was kind of funny, because we got back from the library conference on Wednesday. I worked some on Wednesday afternoon, then full days Thursday – including going to campus to volunteer for the book sale – and Friday, and then it was the holiday weekend.
Saturday I wore myself out on food related stuff. When we were sitting in the DC airport on Wednesday, thinking I’d missed my CSA strawberry U-Pick, I ordered strawberries from the pick up market. Then on Thursday night I got email that there would be a U-Pick after all, out at the farm, which is about a 30-minute drive for me. I tried to get a late reservation for the U-Pick so I could go to the pick up market that opens at 9:30 first, but that didn’t work. So I took an early reservation, enter between 9:00 & 9:15, hoping to get back in time to get to the pick up market. And, I still had to go to the big farmers market on the square to get a few things for recipe testing (more on that in a minute). So I left by bike for the big market at 7:00, and was home by 8:15, all going pretty smoothly, except I left my phone with my grocery list at home by mistake. Somehow I remembered everything though. And I made it to the U-pick by 9:14, and filled up my buckets by 10:15, and made it to the pick up market in time to get my stuff, but not in time to drop off the egg boxes, because the driver for the pick up market called me when I was 5 minutes away saying he had to leave early and my bag would be in the cooler by the door.
The ones in the green boxes are from the pick up market, the ones in plastic buckets I picked.
The berries are unusually small this year, so it took me longer to fill my two buckets than the 30 mins. I am used to. My CSA farmer says picking was slower for them too.
When I got home from picking and picking up, I had cereal with strawberries for breakfast and biked to the east side co-op for a few more grocery items, still getting things restocked after being away for a week.
Then I made a double batch of strawberry jam (2 pints), and started the dough for sourdough cimmy buns, and ribs and some BBQ sauce for our holiday-ish dinner, and recipe tested garlic scape pesto, that was really strong stuff, and garlic scape pesto pasta salad (that tasted better the second day), and rhubarb-strawberry dessert bars (with the last of some store strawberries I got at Whole Foods, and good thing I used them too, because there were some moldy ones in the box).
Garlic Scape pesto pasta salad. I think I made garlic scape hummus last time I had scapes – the beans ameliorate the scapes – they’re strong.
Ribs with home made BBQ sauce – if a sauce that starts with ketchup can be called home made. I think I’ll pull the meat off these last couple of ribs and put it on top of mac & cheese.
Rhubarb strawberry dessert bars. Normally I’d say I prefer rhubarb-strawberry things with a crumble, rather than a custard like these have – but they’re really good.
I didn’t take any pictures of this year’s jam – here’s last year’s – this year’s looked pretty much the same.
Quick strawberry jam
I used this King Arthur recipe for the cimmy buns, and it was one of those times when I wish I’d trusted my instincts rather than the recipe. The dough had sourdough starter and added yeast, and sugar, and butter and egg. You mix it up and then let it rise at room temp folding it every hour for 3-4 hours. Then you shape the rolls – I did this at about 8:00 PM – and then they say to let the rolls rise at room temp for about an hour and then you can either bake them right away, or stick them in the fridge and bake them in the morning. My instinct was to not do that hour rise and just let them rise in the fridge, because with the added sugar, the yeast and starter are working hard, and can get worn out. The rolls looked lovely and puffy the night before but when I took them out in the AM, I think they fell. Oh well, next time.
I was really tired and sore by the end of the day.
Sourdough cimmy buns Sunday AM. We ate them with strawberries.
I think they fell
The recipe testing is for a new Farmers’ Market cookbook that Terese Allen is putting together, and most of the recipes are from market vendors. You can find out more and submit recipes here. Friday I made this Rampakopita, quite tasty, although I had to sub spinach and shallot for the ramps (as suggested in the recipe) since the ramps are done for this year.
Sunday I made zucchini carbonara. It’s got a bit of a scrambled egg thing going on – must’ve had it too hot when I added the egg – but tasty.
Monday the 4th, that feels like Sunday, Steve & Heike came for brunch and we had zucchini breakfast burritos on home made tortillas and strawberry cake. I put together Nigella’s and Smitten’s recipes and made a half batch. It’s Nigella’s cake and Smitten’s shape and strawberries.
On Morning Edition, instead of reading the Declaration, NPR did a piece called What does equality mean?
And then this evening they played the descendants of Frederick Douglass reading his July 5th, 1852 speech, “What to the slave is the 4th of July? That I think was recorded in 2020.