Wednesday's late day storms saved me from watering in the heat, and there are new daisies and zinnias, also another, probably final, bud on the hibiscus.
The curry leaf plant is doing well.
If you've never used curry leaves in cooking, you might want to try them. If you can't get a plant, the leaves are sold in Indian groceries. Anywhere you'd use a bay leaf, try curry leaves. They're not hot despite the ill-fitting name, but they're deeply flavory.
I've given them to American friends who like cooking, and they're well received. They freeze fine.
Thursday is Misfits day
Plenty of greens this week, thinking about a spinach quiche, can of pineapple chunks for the food pantry, plums to make a Marian Burros plum torte, August specialty around here. She used to get wildly annoyed with nyt readers asking for the recipe every year, instead of just cutting it out and keeping it.
There's apples for mid mornings, pasta because I'm out, blue hake because I need a white fish meal or two, maybe fish cakes too. Graham crackers for pretend key lime yogurt, yogurt likewise, blueberries for breakfasts with granola. Chocolate salty things just for the halibut.
Nice array this week. Look at this beauty, after washing
That beautiful oversized spinach, too big for the supermarket, apples too small, I ask you. But I get the benefit, great food at discount prices.
Then, full disclosure, after all this posh food talk, Thursday's supper was a fried egg on toast with lemon tea.
It was not only hot but massively humid Thursday, so I didn't walk out. Between heat, humidity and antihistamines for the season, I've been a bit inactive for a couple of days, getting around but not exercising.
However Thursday morning I got back with A and A
This was a fifteen minute series of moves, no repeats, for thirty seconds each with 15 seconds steps between. It's more strenuous than you might think, and very good. It worked out a good bit of ache from inactivity.
Steve, of Shadows and Light, and husband Dave, just achieved their British citizenship after living in London many years. Now they're basking in the end of the paperwork and waiting. Congratulations to them.
Don't ask me to go swearing allegiance to any English monarch after Wednesday's blog, there's a history there..but it's seriously very nice for them, feeling they belong and can now vote against Farage.
When Handsome partner and I got American citizenship, six year old Handsome Son, born American, was so disappointed that we went on talking the same way as before. He complained you said you'd be American like me!
We hadn't realized he expected an accent transplant. But he was only small. No such excuse for grown people with education who seriously ask why I don't drop the accent.
I ask them what accent they think I should imitate to replace it. That's baffling to people who think they have no accent and everyone else is "just putting it on!". After a certain rather young age it's pretty much hardwired.
Since a day without resistance and sand in the gears is a day without r and sitg, I called the Texas snitchline the gummint put in place. It's for people to snitch on the brave Texas Democrats who left the state to break quorum and stop the gerrymandering from yielding several House seats to the GOP.
I chose the "other suspicious and criminal activity" function and a cheery lady answered. I said I wanted to report criminal activity in DC, in the White- and before I could finish, she broke in to say that would be federal, call the FBI. And hung up. So that was my bit of (federal) fun for the day.
Happy day everyone, on any level, however you pronounce it.
Your garden continues to be small but mighty, just like its gardener. I've had my eyes peeled for a curry plant for years, after watching yours every summer - no luck yet. May have to go the Indian store route.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the exercises - you continue to inspire me in my monthly challenge. I so envy you the small apples. Here our shops only carry huge apples, except for the very occasional bag of 'schoolboy apples'.
HS's comment on your accents had schoolboy logic. Good on'ya for continued sand in the gears.
Chris from Boise
You need to be aware that curry plant is a different thing from curry leaf plant. Maybe there will be a little care package in the mail. I have so many.
DeleteI can't use those big supermarket apples -- too much!
I just looked online and curry plants can be bought as well as curry plant seeds. Hmmm...
DeleteYou want curry leaf plants, not curry plants. That, as I said, is two different things.
DeleteCuury leaves instead of Bay? I'll try that, I really dislike Bay but do like curry.
ReplyDeleteThey're aromatic leaves better I think than bay. But they're nothing like the hot spiciness of a curry, despite the name.
DeleteYour garden is enjoying climatic conditions - its looking lush. i get the fried aegg evening - despite having been to the supermarket to day I dined on avocado toast. Avocados were cheap cheap but ripe and ready to eat so… well why not?
ReplyDeleteSometimes after you've processed and cleaned and chopped and dealt with food, you don't want to cook! Friday maybe.
DeleteI jokingly asked Steve what his new accent would be. I love that HS expected you both to immediately speak differently I can’t believe (well, I can) adult-like people actually think your accent should change. My sister was married and lived in England for 9 years before she died. She was a sponge (like me) and very quickly spoke with a mixed English-American accent. It was entertaining and she couldn’t help herself. On the other hand, I have a cousin from NYC who speaks with the thickest NYC street accent I’ve ever heard. She’s lived in Florida for 40 years and the accent hasn’t changed. I suppose it could be worse. She could have added a Southern drawl to that.
ReplyDeleteYes, some people are more fluid. It's not a matter of choice though. My Canadian immigrant sisters used to ridicule new arrivals who tried to sound Canadian right away. Especially the brother in law who, within six weeks, started referring to the UK as "the old country"! In a way I guess it's a desperate need to fit in. But aside from adopting new to me terms and phrases so as to be understood, it's a lost cause.
DeleteI’m happy to hear your accent (it’s always fun to read words in British-speech) is that why I have Canadian blog friends? Who knows. Good looking produce. Thanks for the laugh for the phone call!
ReplyDeleteI don't have an accent😉
DeleteThe phone call was at least logged in, I hope!
Misfits look so fresh and appealing - a great still life.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful food, so appealing. And it smells so good.
DeleteYour Misfits delivery looks excellent. May I ask what such abundance costs you? And more interestingly, what is your accent like now? Still English or a cross of American and English?
ReplyDeleteI usually spend between $50 and $60 weekly plus I add a tip to the driver. These items bought in a local supermarket, would be at least 50% more - I live in a pricey region.
DeleteI have no idea how I sound, except American to brits and British to Americans!
"Why don't you just drop the accent?" Hahahaha, people are such idiots sometimes.
ReplyDeleteLittle did she know my efforts to slow down, adjust the cadence and a lot of words, just to be understood already!
DeleteAt least when people hear a British accent they assume the speaker is of great intelligence, unlike when people hear an American southern accent which causes people to assume that the speaker is the child of two first cousins, did not wear a pair of shoes until the age of sixteen, and hasn't read a book in their lives.
ReplyDeleteOkay. Not always but my eyes were opened when I moved from Florida to Denver.
I was made fun of so often and literally asked questions about whether southerners really like watermelon and fried chicken. To which I would reply, "Yes. And do you?" Of course they did.
Except when the listener is another transplanted Brit usually a southerner hearing my northern accent, assume I'm barely literate, need etiquette instruction and need to fix my vowels. I don't go out of my way to meet Brit transplants. I wonder why! I have never really grasped why people get so passionate about vowels!
DeleteYour plants look so healthy!
ReplyDeleteThey love the blistering heat and humidity. So I admire them from indoors.
DeleteI got a chuckle out of dropping your accent. It's interesting (at least to us Canadians) to note that there are differences in the 'Canadian' accent between different regions of the country, as I know there are in the US as well as England.
ReplyDeleteAs always, your food box looks delightful and who care if the apples are small or the spinach is large...it all tastes the same.
Also got a chuckle out of your latest resistance call. Well done!
And what's funny is that it's hard for someone from a different country to hear the nuances region to region. My hon gd once said you may have noticed my Alberta accent. Well, no, most North Americans other than Texas and deep south sound about the same to me!
DeleteRural Minnesotans often have a slightly different accent than urban. I think there may be a few similarities to our Canadian neighbors. HS had high expectations!!
ReplyDeleteHe did. But he was young. I used to have a colleague who'd say Minnesoooooota, imitating Minnesotans. She thought.
DeleteThanks for the shout-out! Yes, after a certain age, the accent isn't going anywhere. I've found (as I may have said before) that my word choices have changed since moving to the UK, but my accent is exactly the same.
ReplyDeleteThose apples and spinach look amazing, regardless of non-standard sizes! Your plants are still looking amazing.
All the spinach went into the quiche, really fresh and with that crispness you get fresh picked.
DeleteAccents are usually fixed in adolescence. After that you have to be Hugh Laurie to be convincing.
I can’t believe that apples can be too small to sell. I used to spend ages picking the smaller apples for my kids. They were able to eat a whole apple that way. If they were too big they would eat half and then throw it away.
ReplyDeleteI have seen all the protests going on in the states. It makes me happy to know that the people are rising up.
I agree, small apples are just right for kids. High end retailers dealing in organic produce have size requirements, and apples too large or small can be declined. I think the measurements were agreed on long ago, for uniform sales.
Delete