Eat a Peach.

It was hard to fit everything in our farmers' market haul photo this week, as we unexpectedly picked up a bunch of extra stuff to make Savory Peach Salad, which was the perfect Saturday afternoon lunch! Zingy!

Here's the take:

From R to L (roughly): swiss chard, arugula, cilantro, broccoli, blueberries, red onion, peaches, corn, scallions, string beans.

I have to work all afternoon today (sigh), but lunch was a nice break. That's also the reason I'm letting the pictures speak for themselves.

February in July

The leafy viney pullover has been placed into hibernation. I'd begun to lose faith in my decision to go an extra repeat, and anyway, there are too many present and future babies in my life to stress about inches upon endless inches of reverse stockinette on circular needles. Instead I started a February Sweater [Ravelry], for an undisclosed recipient, which I probably should not post here in the name of preserving surprises, but I can't resist, and anyway, I don't think the mama or papa of this recipient reads here at F & P.

Chris said this sweater was taking me longer than he expected. It's hilarious to me how much he has picked up in the way of observations like this, while claiming to have little idea of what is actually going on when I knit. I told him that lace sometimes takes longer to cover the same ground as simpler stitchery, and this sweater is no exception. It's one of those pieces that will be warm and bulky, despite being lacy. I'm a little worried about subjecting baby to 1/2 alpaca 1/2 wool, but maybe it will toughen her up.

In other news, yesterday we visited Stone Barns Center and Blue Hill at Stone Barns on the Rockefeller Estate in Westchester County. We took the livestock tour and bonded in the woods with some piglets, including this friendly gal:

Thankfully, the restaurant didn't serve us pork, though the whole idea of the livestock tour is I think to reinforce the idea that it's okay to eat animals that are sustainably and humanely raised. Stone Barns is an impressive place. My sense is they have ridden the wave of increasing interest in sustainable and local agriculture with financial aplomb. Good for them. And the meal we ate was nothing short of amazing. Here are some more pictures, including more v. kewt piglets.

On the subject of local and sustainable agriculture, two more things:

1. Our dear old friends Clayton & Kendra, master and mistress of Fail Better Farm in Montville, Maine, have started a blog and a CSA. Be sure to check it out if you live nearby!

2. I leave you with this week's haul from the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket:

From top left: chard, snapdragons, eggs, gooseberries, summer squash.

mememe

Inspired by Parikha. This is the first calm week in ages, and I have been away because of it. So here's an easy way to restart:

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

In June of 1998, one of two things. My junior year of college was spent in England at the University of Kent in Canterbury. At the end of June, I might have been preparing for or taking exams. That would have meant that after a few weeks of traveling when I should have been studying, reviewing my notes on the year's readings and trying to re-internalize all the smart things I had to say about them after the original read, which were likely more than patterned on all the smart things my professors had to say, in particular my hunky (if you count tall and pale with unwashed hair as "hunky" which I did back then) Literary Modernism professor. Trouble is, I can't remember when exactly I finished up exams and returned to the States. So the other thing I might have been doing 10 years ago was rushing back to Bloomington to spend the summer with Chris after such a long time away. He spent the season in IU's intensive Russian program (and at the Irlandski Lev), and I spent it making sandwiches and cappucinos at the Bloomington Bagel Company (and occasionally at the Irlandski Lev). I think I also saw other people that summer, including my roomates Matt and Pete and my friend Nisa, maybe, but except for Chris it is a blur, as all good summers should be.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?

1. Call Sarah to congratulate her and catch up
2. Post to the blog
3. Cancel Friday's deposition
4. Finalize Chicago travel plans
5. Make up coop shift (yeah right)

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Popcorn made on the stove, a spoonful of peanut butter, strawberries, toast with cheese, raw green beans, wasabi peas.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire (in no particular order):

Quit, start an organic farm near an urban area, start a food coop in Hammond, buy a brownstone in New York for our occasional use, buy a house for my mom, pay for my neices' college tuition, sponsor one or more innovative public schools, become a baking apprentice, repay my law school debt and C's student loans, bankroll Benita's yoga studio.

How modest all those things seem.

5) Places I have lived:

Hammond, Indiana
Munster, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Canterbury, UK
Houston, TX
Chicago, IL
Brooklyn, NY

6) Jobs I have had (I feel like I'm forgetting some, as long as the list is):

Clerk in the lingerie and plus-size department at Montgomery Ward
Telemarketer selling engineering reference books
Clerk at Gymboree (in the mall)
Clerk at The Body Shop (in the mall)
Vocational trainer
Copy editor
Sandwich and Cappuccino maker
Waitress
Third Grade teacher
Communications director
Lawyer

Consider yourself tagged, and please leave a comment if you complete this meme so I can see what you have to say!