Somehow, summer is ending.
In just a few days the kids go back to school. This weekend was busy with trying to sort through the last of the supplies needed, washing new clothes, and dealing with the endless abundance of late-summer produce.
Our summer was busy with trips and house guests, with sleep away camp and time with grandparents in Maine, and some home improvements.
This year, the garden was more neglect than anything, but we still planted – tomatoes and peppers from my Moms, and a few things I started. I’ve managed to keep a geranium and a poinsettia alive for almost 2 years, so they join the key lime tree and the hydrangeas outside for the summer. I’ve also been planting perennials as much as possible – this year adding more tulips, a butterfly bush, a wildflower garden that is mostly Black Eyed Susans, and a gorgeous purple delphinium in the front yard.
My tomatoes here at Sithean are loaded with green fruit, and hopefully they will all ripen quickly and then I will can them for sauce. Butternut squashes are growing rapidly, and the grapes growing on the vines next door are just about ready to be turned into jam. The raspberry canes are laden with ripening fruit, and I even have one small Key Lime growing on my lime tree. The weather is glorious with warm days and cool nights.
The late summer sounds of crickets fills the yard at night, and that, plus cooler nights is how I measure the waning of summer. I’ve been a bit of crickets this summer too – so much has happened and it was all I could do to keep up. The kids are growing up so fast, and there is more independence and being apart, but also so, so much to do. And our lives are evolving rapidly, all of us.
Eli is prepping for his trip to LA, just a couple of weeks out now. And I am going through a transition at work and not sure where that will lead. But in general, all is well. My Birthday came and went, with the porch redone as my gift, including an inexpensive but very comfortable couch, so that I can sit outside and sip my coffee in the sunshine, and even when it’s pouring rain. Every time I look at it I’m delighted again – one thing I have missed since my days in Florida is the combination of indoor/outdoor space that is so standard there. This is our first step towards that.
This past week was the 12th of 20 in our farm share, and we’re starting to drown in produce, which is a simultaneously overwhelming and joyful feeling. When so many go without, to have plenty enough to share is a huge blessing.
Eli and I had a quiet Saturday – we walked the dog in some local Greenbelt land, I napped, he tended the chickens and worked. The peace was lovely. Because there is so much produce, I planned a meal – several really – around that. First, I made Panzanella since we had some bread that was going stale. And we have a lot of cucumbers, so I chopped one and threw it in. It’s really delicious, great for using up leftover bread and excess tomatoes, and my favorite part of it is that when I took the picture and titled it in the folder for this post, autocorrect turned it into ‘Pam Smells’.
I hope you enjoy Pam Smells as much as we do.
Then I made my friend Preeti’s Dal. Our friends came from Michigan to visit us recently and are assisting me in becoming more confident in making Indian food, which I love. Dal is cheap and healthy and incredibly delicious. This Dal is a combination of Chana (split dried chick peas) and Masoor (red lentils). It’s so simple, very healthy, and really delicious.
Preeti Naik’s Instant Pot Dal
You will need:
1 tomato, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
Either 1 tbsp of chopped ginger and garlic, or one large tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
1 tsp Mustard Seed
1.5 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Tumeric
4 cups water
1 cup Masoor Dal (red lentils)
1/4 cups Chana Dal (split dry chick peas)
Using a colander, rinse the Dal until the water runs clear. Lentils tend to have a soapy coating on them, and they will taste much better if you rinse them.
Using the saute function and either ghee or neutral oil, saute the onion and tomato until soft. Add the ginger and garlic, and the spices and saute for another minute.
Add the Dal and water to the instant pot and set on Manual to 20 minutes. Once the pot is done, let it self-release the pressure for another 20 minutes, then vent. Salt to taste and eat.
Add the Dal and water to the instant pot and set on Manual to 20 minutes. Once the pot is done, let it self-release the pressure for another 20 minutes, then vent. Salt to taste and eat.
Then I made crispy tofu bites, which is one of my favorites, but I will say that I have needed 1.5 times the coating mixture for a full block of tofu. I also cut mine smaller.
We ate our all-vegan meal without noticing it was. This is the thing about good food – labeling it is critical for those on diets, labeling something as vegan for omnivores sometimes makes it sound less good, and I’m not sure why that is, so I just don’t label it unless I have someone around whose diet I’m trying to accomodate. Eli and I trying to eat less meat, and eat less generally, and this meal was simple, healthy, varied and delicious. It used up garden produce, essential at this point in the summer.
So what are we eating this week?
Sunday: comfort food, despite the heat – Ravioli Lasagna, zucchini cheddar biscuits, Fattoush. I sub the radishes, which I rarely have for whatever is in the fridge and add toasted almonds and dried cranberries for extra flavor.
Monday: Rosemary Ranch Chicken (I never bother with kebabs, just slice the chicken breasts lengthwise into tenders), grilled baby potatoes, broccoli
Tuesday: The kids are with their Dad, Eli and I will eat what we affectionately call ‘bowl food’ – a protein over cauliflower rice or couscous with some veggies.
Wednesday and Thursday: I’m traveling so Eli will feed the kids.
Friday: We’re in for cooler weather rolling into Labor Day weekend so we’ll make homemade oven pizza with customizable toppings for everyone.
Saturday: Potato soup, homemade bread, zucchini fritters
Sunday: Back to the warm weather, if the forecast is correct. Gazpacho, BBQ chicken leg quarters, beet salad, butter noodles
Monday, Labor Day: Of course we’ll grill! Burgers and chicken wings, potato salad, some kind of salad
I hope your last week of Summer is filled with joy.
Little House on the Fairy Hill 