Tall Tales from Kansas

perhaps for the rest of the summer

Last week when Sister was telling me about the fabulous grain bowl she had recently eaten, I got the idea that I could throw one together for lunches for the week. I mashed together a few recipes and it went like this.

Firstly, I did a quick pickle of cucumbers, carrots, and red onion.

Cut up a whole mess of kale.

Cooked some brown rice that I added raisins, parsley, and sunflower seeds to.  Plus a bit of olive oil after cooking. AND some of the pickling liquid from step #1. 

This was followed by a quick wilt of the kale with a clove of garlic and yellow pepper. 

Finally it was all in thrown carefully spooned into containers and a jar of chopped roasted almonds was added to the bag to put on right before eating.  I also layered some black beans between the rice and the kale.   

Verdict:  Most excellent.  I am repeating the whole thing again this week.  And perhaps for the rest of the summer/fall. 

but then he had to smile and wave

It has come to my attention, while flipping through posts about the farmers market, that the pictures of people outnumber the photos of food.  While it is a "farmers market" and the farmers ARE as important as what they are marketing, this week wares will be featured. At least that's the goal.

As you can see there is a LOT to choose from.  

High marks to the woman above for her flower toting method.

Yes, I had to include the duo who supplied my cucumbers for the week.   

And while I am at it, Madeline (of Zinnia fame) is leaving for college soon and I had to take a picture of she and her friend.  She is off to the 'little apple', with plans to study architecture because "I like math, scientist, and art".

I was not going to take this photo, because they are buyers not sellers, but then he had to smile and wave.  How could I resist?

inside they take on a slightly lime undertone

Because I always show you zinnias that are a riotous explosion of color, like this bunch that I ran outside yesterday and cut willy-nilly, then stuffed in a vase, because they were falling over from all the storms...

...I think it is only fair to show their subtle, quiet side too.  

Outside they look more white.  Inside they take on a slightly lime undertone.

Or maybe a butter yellow.

Whatever it is, I like it.  These are from seeds - White Wedding Zinnias.  They did not get quite as tall as they were supposed to (12-16 inches), but I pinched them back after they started flowering and they did get a bit taller.  

This morning Harvey came by and we sat together on the porch and discussed the relative merits of zinnias.  He is of the mind that more space for cat mint should be allotted in the garden and less space for flowers.  But he was willing to concede the point as long as I continued to pet him. Which I certainly did. Happily.   

where the light makes them sparkle and shine

I am not sure what it is about "collecting" that appeals to us humans. Looking. Finding. Gathering. Joining. Collating. Re-arranging. What I do know, is that very small collections give me the most pleasure. Nothing to weigh me down.

Easily sorted by color.

Arranged with little effort on the small, slightly rusty, metal tray Aunt Critch told me was a family heirloom.

Mixed up and reformed into a circle, 

then back into a square,

and finally into an atypical blooming botanical.

Then back in their tiny containers, in front of the sink, they go. 

With the flowers, where the light makes them sparkle and shine. Just like when they were in the cove on Glass Beach rolling in and out with the tide.  

Yes Yes Yes

Dottie shared this poem with me when we were on our Moss Sisters trip. I recommend printing it off and placing it someplace easily accessible. Then, when you are faced with a decision, let this philosophy guide you in making the proper choice.

God Says Yes to Me
    by Kaylin Haught

I asked God if it was okay
to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was
okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could
wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish 
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
and is it even okay if
I don't paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I am telling you is 
Yes Yes Yes

P.S. I am going to suggest you keep it especially handy when looking at dessert menu's.  Particularly if you are at the Trillium Cafe in Mendocino and there is a peach tart among the selections.  

the headlands

Before leaving for Mendocino, when telling people where we were going, it became evident that the village of Mendocino on the northern coast of California is relatively unknown, in Kansas anyway. Then I would say "we are going to walk on the headlands", also met with quizzical looks.  Tonight I give you a tutorial on the headlands.

From the Oxford American Dictionary:  headland: (hed-land) n. a promontory.

I can do better than that. With no words.

 

 

There will not be a test over this material. Consider it an invitation to visit and experience it for yourself. 

the quintessential good guy or "the bruce", you decide

We went to see The Art of Racing in the Rain today.  

Oh. My. Sweet and sappy, about love and loss, complete with good guys and bad guys, and one great dog.  There.  That's all you need to know. Take a hanky. Milo Ventimiglia is the quintessential good guy which you probably already knew, but you may not know that Dustin O'Halloran does the music. And it is wonderful.

If sweet and sappy is not your thing, I also watched Jaws this weekend.  It was on someone's list of "summer movies to watch again", and I bit. Plus, after hearing on NPR this past week about Bruce (the shark), and how he has been restored to hang in a new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, I couldn't help myself. 

It was as scary as I remembered in some spots, but I had forgotten much of the story line and parts of the ending. Definitely worth a re-see, unless your name is Dottie Moss, in which case DO NOT WATCH IT.  EVER.   

tomato eating season is upon us

With all my recent travels, I have been away from the farmers market for many weeks.  Today it was wonderful to see all my friends. They may not know they are my friends, but they are.

There were flowers and peaches and honey for sale. Along with amazing tomatoes that I was too busy examining to photograph while I was there.

Plus kale and baclava,

and a girl selling bouquets while wearing a pretty dress she made for twirling in.

I loved these friends with zinnias from Madeline. They were most cooperative when I arranged them according to height for my photo. All smiles and nary a complaint. 

The nicest people anywhere can be found at the Lawrence Farmers market on Saturday mornings.  

I am off to reduce balsamic vinegar, for drizzling over those heirloom tomatoes along with fresh basil and mozzarella for dinner tonight.  Tomato eating season is upon us and it is essential that we all do our part. Happy weekend friends.

recounting of stories to Chris

Re-entry activities included a nice sunset from the plane,

garden rounds, 

walks, that though not along the headlands, do include unusual specimens,

curating of found items, along with new (old) vase procured at Lost Coast in Ft. Bragg,

and more zinnia admiring.

There was also tennis shoe washing, coffee drinking on the porch, recounting of stories to Chris, and a good night sleep in my own bed.

there are 83 I am sparing you from

Between us, and our 4 cameras, we took exactly 87 pictures of the three of us.  This one is my favorite.

I will try not to post more than 3 more of the remaining 86. That would mean there are 83 I am sparing you from. 

Today we are fanning out to the south, the southwest, and the west. Foibles associated with travel have already begun. I am doing my best to be mature about it.