July 1 Market Report

Basil! Basil in abundance is my favorite thing about the farmer's market. This entire bunch at the market costed me only $2. A lot better than grocery store prices upward of $3 for a few sorry, often moldy sprigs crammed into a crappy plastic container.

It is now basil pesto. I froze the first batch of the summer in an spare ice cube tray, will pop them out today, bag them up, and have homemade pesto on hand for months to come.

I'll be making more pesto before summer's out. And basil fried rice. And I'll tie 2 or 3 bunches up with twine, hang them in the sunroom window til they're dry and crunchy, and later, crush them in mortar and pestle. I'll be set for great dishes until next summer.

In other market news, Corn's in! Come 'n get it! "Knee-high by the 4th of July," they used to say, back in the day. That must surely have been when they were using man and horse-drawn plow to work their fields. I imagine it took them a bit longer to finish planting back then.



Sour cherry season! When I was a little kid, when Mom asked me which birthday cake I wanted, each year I asked for cherry pie. "Birthday Pie it is then!" Mom declared. It's still my favorite, and I make a mean one (with store bought crust).


It was a scorcher yesterday, 93 degrees outside. This guy seemed to be keeping relatively cool, despite his fur coat:



Floral booths were gorgeous at always, I found these bouquets-in-a-mason-jar quite charming:


Zinnia's were stunning:


Most exciting, someone tapped my shoulder, and I turned around to yell, "Mama!" and before my eyes, my best-friend-my-entire-life's mother popped up right behind her! "Two Mama's!!!" I squealed! They'd bumped into one another, and set out to find me, when my sister told them she knew I was there. Lori's brother, Dennis, was also there, visiting from Texas! It's a reunion!! yay!

That's my mother on the right. On the left is Lori's mother, Jean. After meeting Lori and her family when we were 10 years old, I spent practically equal time in Jean's house as I did my own.

I write this on a Sunday morning. After I hit "Publish Post" I will go pick up my mother for lunch and some shopping.

Then this evening then, I am having dinner at Jean's house, with Lori's family.

Two Mama's indeed.