saturday farmer’s market and misc #4

No farmer’s market today, unfortunately. I got up a little late this morning, and I think the late morning hour (after 11) and the gloomy weather had driven off most people. There were a handful of stands left, but nothing that I needed or wanted. So instead I went to Harry’s and picked up some misc veggies for this week. I’m craving stir fry for dinner, so that’ll probably be Monday’s meal.

Here’s an image from last weeks veggie haul, in lieu of the regular farmer’s market bounty:

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Not food related, but the cat is being an affection sponge today. No matter where I go, she follows me and flops at my feet. When I sit on the sofa, she presses as close as she can to me and curls up. This is highly unusual, so I’m enjoying it while I can. By this evening I’ll be the 3rd most important person in the house again (after herself, and then H, of course).

I haven’t restarted the limoncello yet, but I need to get on that soon, if I’m going to have time to test it before deciding if I want to make enough for Christmas gifts.

Along the same lines, I need to get some small bottles for the vanilla so I can share that out. The 1/2 gallon jar in the pantry is so dark now that you can’t see through it. I think it’ll make great gifts. I’m thinking I might try making some ground up vanilla bean paste as well.

The preserved lemons look great. I opened the jar today and poked at them – they liquid is getting syrupy and the skins of the lemons are soft. I think another week and they’ll be ready to use in something. I’m thinking orzo, asparagus, and … something. Another flying by the seat of my pants recipe in the making.

The homemade green Tabasco went well (post coming) – made from store bought green chiles. I can’t wait until my cayenne peppers come in so I can make the red variety.

Dorie’s Tartest Lemon Tart is a fantastic summer dessert. I really like it and will make it again for sure. Stay tuned for Tuesday’s post to see the finished product.

Finally a great tip if you have ant issues as we seem to do every year at this time. Powdered cinnamon will keep them out. I tried it today, lining the kitchen windowsill with a thin line of cinnamon, and … voila! … no more ants. Now that I know it works, I can use it in the living room as well and not worry about the cat getting into it.