A Day on my Feet

Good morning, my friends. August is winding down. Did it seem as if it went fast? It did to me, but then the weeks before a trip always seem to fly by. It was a busy kitchen day here yesterday, and there was no time for sewing. I don't have much news to report, but a few things happened that caused me to reminisce.

After my morning slow-stitching, I went to work hoeing the garden. It's probably the last time I'll hoe this garden. As I've mentioned, Erik and Mae are coming up for dinner this evening. They are avid gardeners, and we're always interested in one another's gardens. I wanted it to be relatively weed free for them. After this, though...all bets are off. The only things I'm harvesting now are a few more cucumbers, corn, and tomatoes. When I finished hoeing, I harvested some cherry tomatoes, plums, and a couple of apples.

As I've mentioned, I was hopeful the plums would be ripe enough to make the Original Plum Torte for our dessert tonight. After tasting one of the plums, I decided to make an alternative dessert. This one is just as good, but I had to choose between the two. The plums are acceptable, but still a little on the bitter side of tart. I decided instead to make the Magic Apple-Plum Cobbler. It takes just two apples and a couple of plums. The fruit is sliced, and so I believe it will have a better chance of sweetening up while it bakes in the oven. 

Regarding the apples, I picked them from our tree. Here's where the reminiscing starts. In April of 2004, we planted several fruit trees: two cherry trees, a plum tree, a nectarine tree, and our apple tree. (The nectarine tree didn't survive, and we didn't replant.) The apple tree was supposed to produce five different kinds of apples. At the time, I created this "tree legend" diagram so that I could remember what kinds of apples were on the tree and where they would be located.

And, as often happens with this kind of "Frankentree," it never really thrived. Eventually, only one branch was left of the original five. It was one of the two growing on the right side of the "map" above. The tree never produces much fruit, and we usually leave it for the deer. Last year, however, I actually harvested two apples for this same dessert. It worked, and so I harvested two more for this year's dessert. Then, just now, I wondered if I could figure out which apple it is. So, I looked up each apple. The Gravenstein and Melrose are both red apples. This one is mostly green with just a slight red blush on one side. Of course, the Golden Delicious are yellow, and "Red" McIntosh was really all I needed to know about that apple. So, I've narrowed this down to the Lodi apple. That is what we're getting. 

Here's what The Google tells me about the Lodi apple:

This dependable, productive apple tree provides an early-season harvest of yellowish-green apples. The soft, white flesh and sweet-tart taste make the Lodi great for pies and applesauce. While not a long keeper in the refrigerator, these apples will freeze nicely.

Okay, then. We never get more than about a half dozen apples on the tree, but if it only makes this one dessert, then it is a hero in the garden. 

And all of that to tell you that I'm making the dessert today. Pictures tomorrow.

Also on yesterday's agenda: two salads. Erik's favorite is the Seven Layer Salad, and so that was a must-do.

And then, I made a Tangy and Creamy Macaroni Salad. It was just a few months ago that I made this for the first time. I love macaroni salad, and this one is a winner. Now, here, I have to pause to reminisce about the bowl you see there.

This was a gift from my dear friend Debi when we traveled south last time. It's from the "Hall's Superior" collection. They're considered vintage collectables now. Here's the label from the bottom.

Just now, I was looking for information about them when I came across these 17 Facts. The reason I'm reminiscing about this is that my mother had a set of nesting mixing bowls. Because of family crap, I ended up with none of her things when she passed away. There wasn't much I wanted, but I would have loved to have her mixing bowls. One day, I found a set like hers in an antique store, and so I bought every piece. When I visited Debi on our trip south, she had scads of this stuff, given to her by [someone]...I can't remember. Anyway, after hearing my family story, she gave me four of her pieces.

That was very sweet of her, and I especially like this particular bowl. It's a good size and shape. So, thank you, Debi. I treasure these for lots of different reasons.

Okay, and here's one more bit of reminiscing. When I retired from social work in 2004, it was because I was experiencing a life-threatening illness. It made it impossible for me to work, and so I retired earlier than I was ready. For a couple of years, I couldn't decide what to do with myself. One day, in a casual conversation, Mike suggested that my new job was to maintain the day-to-day of our household, plan menus, keep the home-fires burning...that sort of thing. It was a bigger conversation, but it gave me an idea to turn my kitchen into a little restaurant. I was visiting a farm store one day, when I came across this little chalkboard. 

From there, I started imagining myself doing a Food Network show and creating my little "cafe for two." I started sending very elaborate descriptions of the night's fare to Mike via email. And I wrote up the day's specials on my little chalkboard. Fast forward nearly 20 years, and I only write up menus for get-togethers now. But it gives me a chuckle when family members turn to the chalkboard to see what's for dinner. Pictured above is tonight's menu. Also, the Fig Habanero Jam was Mae's creation made with figs from their very productive fig tree.

Okay, so if you read through all that...thank you. You are a true friend. Let's get back to today, shall we? I left Mr. Smithers taking his morning sunbath. I'm happy to report that he's stopped sneezing and sniffling, and appears to be over his most recent bout of Feline Herpes Virus. 

Let's hope it doesn't get reactivated when we load him into the camper and drive him across several state lines to Colorado and Utah. Interestingly, his last case of this was almost exactly one year ago. It makes me wonder if it's something seasonal that sets him off.

On today's agenda are the usual things I need to do when we have people over for dinner. Also, I need to harvest some corn as our side dish. Mike is grilling a Smoke N Grill flank steak. Already I have it marinating in the refrigerator, and I've made the chimichurri that goes with it. There might be some time for sewing today. It was nearly 4:00 by the time I finished everything yesterday. By then, I just wanted to sit and relax. I'm hoping to get in a little bit today since the next couple of days will be devoted to tomatoes and pasta sauce. It's a busy life...end of summer...prepping for a trip...there's always lots to do.

Enjoy these waning days of August. I'm off to get a start on my day.