Two food things. Wait, three.

[mrissa]

I said this in e-mail, but I'm saying it again here because it is true: our house smells like someone cares about it again, which is to say it smells like sauteed garlic and onions. It's not that I never cook in the summer, but my cooking is a lot more interspersed with markgritter grilling, which is tasty but does nothing to make the house smell loved.

Also, this morning we introduced my Onie* to kiwi and mango. She had never tried either. She liked both quite a lot. She's 94. I really hope that I'm finding new things just as delightful when I'm 94.

It also highlights for me how much the world has changed, that she could get to 94 and never try a kiwi fruit before, or a mango. I don't remember the first time I had either. They've just always been there. "Always" is apparently a lot less than 94 years.

I lied to ellameena on e-mail this morning, accidentally: I thought we had more green tomatoes on the plants than we do. We still have a fair number, but the peak is clearly past. The next step will be to harvest the basil and make pesto until it comes out our ears. The cilantro never got happy this year, and I don't know what to do with the chives in bulk, as chive pesto does not appeal. But probably there will be fresh rosemary enough to make a few batches of rosemary buns, and it's getting to be the greyer, cooler season when rosemary buns are just the thing.

It's very hard for me to be modest about my rosemary buns. Especially with that tomato goop Byerly's sells.

*My Onie is my oldest great-aunt, for those of you who did not buy the souvenir scorecard at the gate. She's widowed and has no children, so she has her holidays and so on with us. "Onie" is from "Aunt Leona" becoming "Annie Ona" and then "Onie." It's also Japanese for "demon," which is not entirely inappropriate. But not in a bad way.

Comments

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

I've read that in the 1950s, bratwurst was a bit too exotic for Twin Citians. At a German festival.

When I was born, pizza was exotic to most Americans who encountered it.

Now? I could get injera at Cub if I wanted to. (That's the Ethiopian bread which looks gray and spongy.) And I'm not far from at least one store which has camel meat. (The store on Franklin near Chicago which had West African microwave dinners seems to have given them up, unfortunately.)

[pariyal.livejournal.com]

Mmm, injera. I only get that (and its associated meat and vegetable delights) at christenings at our Eritrean friends' house; fortunately their sixth is on the way.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

"Umm...can you have another baby? I haven't had injera forever." Heh.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I think Byerly's has West African microwave dinners, actually.

One of the stores I pass at least weekly has signs for torsk and (this is the part that gets me) halal Swedish meatball meat. Halal. Swedish meatball meat. I love this city.

[pariyal.livejournal.com]

It's very hard for me to be modest about my rosemary buns.

Recipe, please!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I have put this on my to-do list.

[ellameena.livejournal.com]

Your aunt Onie sounds cute. I'll forgive your unintentional exaggeration of tomatoeyness. I'm hoping for a few more hot days to finish off the green ones we have. I don't know why they were so late this year. We planted them at the normal time.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Ours were late, too. Very strange.

[(Anonymous)]

May I suggest chive dumplings? I have a recipe that I like very much for essentially chicken dumpling soup, but the dumplings have chives in them. I think on the order of 1/4 to 1/2 cup, but I don't remember for sure and the amount would vary based on how many dumplings you want, etc.

Take care.

Heathah

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Would you send the recipe?

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

During my trip to the grocery store this morning, I decided to make chicken soup today or tomorrow. (They had som for sale, packaged by a loacal restaurant, for eight dollars for mall container. It may well cost me nealy that much to make it, but the recipe makes a lot more than their container. Plus, I've had the soup at that restaurant and miine is way better.)

Nothing makes the house smell better than chicken soup, not even baking bread.

I'll probably freeze some of it. I wonder how well it would work, aromawise, to reheat some wheneverwe have potential buyers coming to see the house?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I'll probably make chicken soup one of these first days, too. Fall Stuff.

I still prefer baking bread, as far as house smells go. Even when there's enough garlic in the chicken soup.