hrj

I think I've mentioned before that I have this reflexive drive, when going out of town, to get the perishables in the fridge down to a minimum -- even if I'm only going off for a long weekend. (For some reason, long-weekend SCA events don't create the same impulse. It's something about flying places.) In addition, I needed to Do Things with the weekly produce box, since it tends to be more perishable than grocery store produce. (This is, of course, one of the attractions -- it's delivered ripe.) I'd already skimmed off the peaches and grapes for lunch today and tomorrow. So the two melons were cut into chunks, packed into lunch containers, and frozen. I had the green beans tonight (steamed and sprinkled with ground sesame seeds). Tomatoes got shared out into tomorrow's lunch, plain sliced-with-salt for the ripest two, and the rest combined with the onion, a couple of the peppers (the rest will keep), some garlic, and the rapidly-wilting remainder of last week's basil for some stir fry accompanied by a couple pieces of rex sole. Other than that, there was yet another head of garlic (which goes into the rotating garlic stash at this point).

In theory, I have time for dinner before heading off to the airport tomorrow evening, but since I'm taking public transit (because I like to, as long as I have the time and it's a convenient flight time) I know that I'll end up wanting to set out earlier rather than later and it makes more sense just to plan on eating at the airport. (There are actually some nice places to eat at SFO, as long as you aren't worrying about running late for a flight.)

So the only other to-do item for tonight is "pack". (The last item -- get haircut -- is scheduled for right after work tomorrow. It's my back-up excuse for leaving work promptly.)

Considering June Crown is as low-stress a camping event as I think could be imagined (no serious deadlines, enough committed responsibilities to keep busy but not so much as to be overwhelmed, relatively short drive, left the car mostly packed from last weekend, and am getting fed Sat. eve. in exchange for some butlering) I feel like I've been rushing around all week. Monday was staying late at work to finish up an investigation report to turn in (the original goal had been to get it finalized and closed Monday, but the fall-back was to have it out in e-mail before I left). Tuesday evening was sewing night at etaine_pommier's. Tonight was shopping and packing. Thursday kareina shows up to crash for the night before being picked up to go to Crown in the morning ... but in the midst of everything it had slipped my mind that Thursday evening is also Romeo & Juliet with Cal Shakes. So after a brief e-mail consultation, I went over to the Cal Shakes box office during lunch and managed to pick up another ticket. It's only vaguely in the same general section as our existing block, but given past experience, there's a pretty good chance there will be a vacancy closer by, due to no-shows. Of course, this also meant that I had to wrangle the camping gear sufficiently so that the passenger seat could be slid back a little. People do have this preference for not sitting cross-legged in the front seat of a car.

Next week, all I have to deal with is floor installation and the parents showing up. Should be a breeze.

The CSA box had no lettuce this week! Horrors! And since I had now accumulated two weeks' worth of carrots, this means carrot salad for lunch. (Grate carrots; mix in a handful of currants, a generous sprinkling of "Mrs. Dash" type seasoning, and a big glop of unflavored yougurt.) Garlic for the second week in a row, so I guess I don't have to ration it. Also now have two weeks worth of potatoes. Hmm, maybe potato salad for lunches? Not a bad idea! Assorted summer squashes for the second week in a row, which I hope continues indefinitely. They've been one of my staples of the summer for the last couple of years. Apricots! Yay! And an onion. A pity I can't swap them my potatoes or carrots for more onions.

I rather enjoy the "menu planning by what's ripe" aspect of the CSA box, but this week I'm getting it from all sides. I did a brief pass through the backyard yesterday when unloading the new roses and discovered that one branch of the cherry tree was perfectly ripe. (The cherry tree is a triple-graft and evidently the three varieties ripen at different times.) So tonight I'm having as much cherry pie as one can make with 20 cherries (and a few raspberries thrown in for make-weight). I also noticed that the sorrel had sent up some flower stalks, which had to be *ahem* nipped in the bud. So I had a good double-handful of sorrel leaves from those as well. Thus, the addition of sorrel soup to the menu tonight. The CSA contribution was a root vegetable dish that I've adapted from Anthimus nos. 52 & 53. ( To wit ... )