PICNIC

My sister and cousin Katy went to Per Se last week. Katy writes:

‘We had a little cherry tomato salad – as pretty as it was delicious. Two fish courses – I loved the lobster. Two meat courses, then a cheese course – burrata cheeses with zucchini blossoms and tomatoes. The official dessert was fine, but the chocolates and many other confections after were SO good. My favorite was the coffee semifreddo with donut holes (they were so, so yummy we forgot to take a photo until there were only a few left!). I thought it was all over when the waiter then brought over a bowl of homemade tiny, wrapped candies and chocolate covered hazelnuts. I looked at him and said, ‘this is it, right? No more?’. He smiled and assured me it was all over. There was no more room in my belly.’

This last weekend I flew out to Minneapolis to see some family. I took the light rail to my aunt Elly’s house. She has a garden done in what I would call the french intensive style. We picked purple beans, squash blossoms, arugula, nasturtium, and chard for a lunch salad.

Elly made a batter for the squash blossoms and filled them with blue cheese. I pan fried them and she covered them with a dash of salt and parmesan.

My grandmother organized a party up north to Gull Lake for 4 days. I sailed. My parents kayaked.

Elena has been trying to send me a birthday presents for weeks. Today it arrived. It was a heavy package, the shape of a large lump of charcoal. I unwrapped it. Thick grease covered the inner wrapping. It smelled like a half baked swamp.

But inside was a pristine lump of fresh crystalized salt!

In a strange coincidence of events, my father sent me from Afghanistan military grade gatorade…

… and I have just returned last week from a mineral scouting expedition.

Left to right; chalcedony colored from red cinnabar; the more common crystaline chalcedony; a fossilized leaf from the town of Fossil.

The arugula in the garden is just ready to eat. The leaves are small and thick and soft, tasting sweet and mildly peppery. The radishes are being eaten by ants. They chew into the tops, often biting the leaves off. But fortunately they are just ready to eat as well.

For helping Lindsey and Elle move into their new house, Lindsey’s mom made pizzas for us. They were really good and quite unique. She made a spicy barbecue style tomato sauce with sausage, and also a thick dill paste sauce for another. I’ll have to try some of this next time I make pizza.