P I C N I C

Well, the little lunch booth at the letterpress fair went very well. I think the sandwiches were pretty popular, people seemed to really like them. The ham and cheddar and also the garbanzo and tomato were popular, but I didn’t sell a single nut butter and jelly. The sign simply read ‘peanut butter and jelly’. The descriptions were all made last minute and were very simply. Originally the ham sandwich was listed as ‘ham and cheese,’ but then Kate changed it to read, ‘smoked ham with cheddar,’ at which point it began to sell better. I’m not really good at thinking about the public image and the marketing and all that.

My experiments for the upcoming lunch on Sunday are going well. I figured out how to make veganiase. The thickening and stabilizing agent is xanthum gum, this prevents the vegtable oil and tofu from seperating. I even figured out the flavor of product mayonaise; mustard powder, distilled vinegar, and a little honey. I’ll try just tofu, olive oil, and zanthum gum though, to see if it works for regular mayonaise.  The garbonzo cake came out well, and along with tomatoes and sourdough makes a good sandwich.

The PBJ tests are all successful. Roasted peanut, hazelnut, and pecan is really good. I don’t have a grinder, so I have to make it by hand, with a pestle. The jelly is from blackberries from Mount Tabor. Lindsey mentioned that Pamonas pectin creates a gelatin texture which I was worried about, but this jelly is quite jammy.

Some people have expressed concern about sprays being used on the blackberry bushes, but I called up Parks and Rec, and they spray only after the fruiting season, in the fall. That sounds safer… if not totally kosher.

Fruit picking has certainly become an addiction for me. I can’t go a week without wanting something sweet and low hanging. I heard from an acquaintance (thanks John!) about the profound thornbushes on Mt. Tabor and how they were certain to be ripe right now. I biked up to the top of the volcano and walked along the southern slopes. There certainly were a lot of berries,  but only a few that were ripe. I was still able to collect 4.5 pounds. Interspersed among the bushes were sweet peas, also not quite ripe but tasty nonetheless.