Saturday Segments: Flowers and Food

There's a little story behind this picture...it starts out with my mom, who, during a visit in September, bravely waded into the grassy clump this bed had turned into, and cleared it out. Amazingly, the grass didn't grow back in immediately, leaving us with an actual piece of landscaping that looked good.

But then, something very unusual happened a couple of weekends ago. Something that hasn't happened in at least five years. It was Halloween, a Saturday. Shortly after noon, Miss Chef and I were madly carving our jack o'lanterns before she had to leave for work at one o'clock--she managed a 20-minute carving, then headed to the shower.

Then the phone rang, and everything changed.

It was Chef Adam, saying that, between trick-or-treating families and predicted rain, things were going to be super slow that night, and was Miss Chef interested in having the night off?

On a SATURDAY???? ON HALLOWEEN??? Are you KIDDING?????

I was literally jumping for joy after she hung up the phone; I've been having to face the trick-or-treaters alone for years. Finally, Miss Chef could be there with me! Not only that, but this meant that, for the first time in... yeeeeaars, Miss Chef and I had a whole... weekend... off.... together. Not just two days, cobbled together with holidays or vacation time, but an honest-to-God, Saturday and Sunday, just-like-everyone-else weekend.

I can't remember all of what we did, but it would probably sound pretty boring...like taking down decorations, cooking dinner, watching a dvd... together, for once. The point was, we didn't have to cram it all into a morning and a day. We didn't have to choose between using our together time for rest or for chores; we could do both!

All of which is going a very long way to say: look! I finally planted pansies this year! Thanks, Mom!

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You know, I've come to realize that a lot of the truth in our blogs exists in what we don't write about. Like, say, have you read anything here recently about the farmers' market? Nope! For several months, that was because I had to work Saturdays. But for the last six weeks or so, it's only been because it's so dark in the mornings, and I didn't want to drag myself out of bed.

Well, this morning I was actually and fully awake before 7:00, and the sun was finally up before I was...so when Miss Chef said, "Do you want to go to the market?" I said, "Yes."

Of course, the market is hardly the bustling mini-city it was during the summer. Only about 2/3 of the vendors are still there; the other empty stalls have a sad, abandoned look to them. And the ones that are open no longer overflow with vast quantities and varieties. Since we have realized that this is mostly a social visit, though, it doesn't bother us. We still got some tender arugula, pork sausage and some baked goods for breakfast.

Our shopping was cut back a little, however, when we stopped by the cooking demonstration. This week, it was Chef Bonaparte from the Art Institute where Miss Chef graduated. I described him a bit in my "Meeting Chefs" post back in March; suffice it to say that Miss Chef and I both think the world of him. So, when he was looking like he needed some help, Miss Chef was more than happy to step in! Which left me wandering the market alone for an hour or two...but I'd kind of suggested it, so had to keep my whining to a minimum.

(The attentive crowd...testament to Chef Bonaparte's teaching talent!)

Of course, it's hard for me to stay lonely at the market. Chef Adam showed up, wearing jeans for the first time since I've known him. Didn't stop him from lending a hand here and there, though! I also chatted with Michele from Bosky Acres for a while; she and Miss Chef helped organize a cheese-making workshop this past week that turned out to be underwhelming.

And I stopped to talk to Mindy of Tega Hills greenhouses. They didn't have the fennel Miss Chef had been hoping for, but I found out that Mindy's a language geek, too! She thought I was super cool for having an MA in French! It was a nice reminder that farmers are interested in more than dirt and fertilizer.

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And speaking of local farmers, there was another exciting phone call this past week. Carl of Carlea Farms left a message saying that he has a turkey for us! That's a picture from their website of last year's, erm, crop of heritage bronze turkeys; aren't they gorgeous?

We had been too late to reserve a turkey this spring (in May, we were too late!), but Miss Chef put us on the waiting list, and it paid off! I don't know what would make somebody change their mind about a turkey they'd been waiting on for 6 months, but who cares now? I'm just delighted to know that my Thanksgiving dinner is still alive within 50 miles of my table, and will be until November 23rd. How much fresher can you get, without wielding the axe yourself?

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The pecan harvest is dwindling; the recent spate of winds from Ida's remnants probably blasted the rest to the ground. But I'm still delighted at the full bowl I've harvested. And I have to tell you, I'm nuts about these nuts! I don't know if I've never really paid attention to them before, or because these are so crazy fresh, but these pecans taste aMAzing.

Unfortunately, they're not a papershell variety, so I've been unable to get entire halves out, or I'd have Miss Chef cooking up a batch of candied pecans! She made some a few weeks ago, and I went through them like, well, candy. So I bought her a package of pecan halves from the grocery store, and as soon as she gets a spare moment, she'll candy them for me. And maybe, if I'm alert enough, I'll be able to tell you how she did it!

In the meantime, I'm happy enough gobbling up the bits and pieces I pull out of my own gleaned pecans. Glad we already have another gobbler to stuff & serve!

Continue reading below for my short report on our Renaissance Festival visit last weekend!