We’ve been in the middle of a heatwave in NY, with temperatures in the high 90s combining with a high dew point to create “feels like” temps in the mid-100s. When I got back from the pickup, the hydrangeas were wilting, and so was I. We both drank plenty of water and perked back up, but I didn’t still didn’t feel like making anything last night. Not to complain too much, of course.
The fruit share was actually 2 different types of cherries, but I managed to trade the dark red for another box of white (I’ve been calling them Rainier, but maybe that’s region-specific?). I don’t have any plans for them yet, but I might make more of the cherries in syrup again. They are so good. I was telling one of the guys at my favorite local liquor store about them, and he was really excited, so I dropped off a jar with him on my way to the pickup site. But maybe I’ll try a clafoutis or something.
Today: salad. And probably tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. There are so many greens, and I still have some herbs left over from week. I’ll probably dry this savory with last week’s. The lavender is in the broken carafe, cheering up the top of the fridge. The mint is starting to go. I’ve been trying to find a recipe for mint tea online that doesn’t use pre-made bags, but I might just end up steeping them in hot water in my own (I hope edible) ratio.
Plus someone gave me a couple of their limes (maybe for salsa?). And I have way too many carrots that I haven’t gotten through from before the CSA started that may start to go bad soon. I thought that this wouldn’t be enough produce for two people (one vegan, one omni but mostly veg) to go through every week, but now I’m starting to wonder what will happen when summer really picks up and it’s pounds and pounds of squash. I can’t can everything, or maybe don’t want to. However, there’s a community fridge nearby we donate to, plus I’m open to trades.
Tonight: crumble. Raspberry, specifically. Most of the 2 pints from last week, plus the pint from yesterday. It was definitely too hot to turn on the oven, but this was so worth it. And I’m sure will be even better tomorrow, maybe with some yogurt or chia seed pudding. I couldn’t find a decent recipe online, so I made a sort of amalgam of recipes.
berry mixture
- 5 cups raspberries (three pints less one cup taken for snacking)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (this was accidental, but it turned out great)
crumble topping
- 1 cup flour
- 1 stick butter (vegan; salted)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon chai mix (a tealess spice mix I made a couple winters ago—more on this later?)
crush berries together with sugar, lemon juice, extracts, and flour. place in fridge for 20–30 minutes until juices begin to extract from the berries. with fingers, mix together crumble topping until it gets…crumbly. uh, butter pan (or don’t, if you’re me and just dumped the berries in there). I used a loaf pan. add berry mixture, and cover with crumble topping. bake at 375 for 40 minutes, or until topping turns golden brown and berry mixture is bubbling (my oven usually takes an extra 10 minutes to bake any sweets, you could probably do it in 30).
Rhubarb Season 