Thursday, June 21, 2012

Pavements Are Burning

This morning some blueberry cake came out of nowhere and launched itself into my mouth. And lo, it was delicious. Not as good as my grandmother's blueberry cake, but that goes without saying, and that applies to just about any food. But the memory of that cake in particular, and blueberry pie, and blueberry muffins and strawberry rhubarb pie and zucchini bread and apple tart and--I think I'm establishing a theme here--is a big example of what I hold dear from growing up. It got me thinking that, thanks to the people who cooked for me in my formative years, I was part of the locavore movement before there was any such thing. Berries grow in the summer, you make use of an arseload of berries that maybe came from Aunt Fannie's yard. Your neighbor's zucchini problem is out of control, bingo bango, scrambled eggs with zucchini (YUM, dudes). Of course it wasn't a conscious thing, and we didn't eat fresh local foods all the time (I thought cream of mushroom soup was a food group, didn't you?), but what was available in any given season was a major part of our diet, and now that I have such fond memories of seasonal eating, I hope to pass the same off to my son. We forewent a CSA this year, but Mike and I are still pretty committed to getting what the best each time of year has to offer, agriculturally. I know it's a matter of making a big effort now, where in the past it was just necessity. But it makes sense. And besides, peaches in November are no good, and I won't even bother with a tomato before July. A good tomato is as rare and valuable as a diamond, in my opinion.

Oh, summer. Now that you're officially happening, it's time to make a list of what I'm all about this summer, besides food.

-Turner Classic Movies - old movies are good for what ails ya any time of year, but there's something about watching musicals that means summer to me, especially when it proves to be too hot to even leave the house. My cable company mysteriously withheld TCM from me until recently, but now that I have it, I sha'nt squander. First up, fittingly: Summer Stock with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. COME ON.

-A really good IPA - I'm back into beer as my summer refresher. Last year was all about the sparkling rose, which I still adore, but now that I have learned to avoid heartburn when indulging in IPA (the trick: limit consumption to two at a time, genius), I've been really back into crisp, cold, hoppy beers like I haven't been in years.

-Reading the crap out of Rookie online. Thanks to a hot tip from my friend, I'm obsessed with this bit of wonderful, and feel like, finally, Sassy has a rightful heir. Or more accurately, if Sassy were still around, it would have morphed into this multimedia celebration. I'm too old for the whole lot of it, and I'll never be ashamed that I'm still reading. It gives me hope.

-Getting sun-tired. The post-beach or post-pool feeling - there's nothing like it, and I'll be chasing it until Labor Day rolls around.

All right! Enough sun-dappled daydreaming while I chill up in the A/C, I'm ready to start doing. Let's go get some fried bivalves and corn on the cob already!



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