Jamming. Literally.

The canning time of year has commenced, and so I find myself with dozens of jars of newly preserved treats.

Ataulfo mangoes make a wonderful fruit butter while strawberries every way are ever-delicious (strawberry-cardamom, and strawberry-rhubarb-lemon below, as well as strawberry-lavender muffins in the oven). Rhubarb is always a beloved friend too. These will make  terrific gifts for my boys' teachers and also bring our breakfasts to greater heights.

mangoes cooking with orange, lime and lemon juices and cardamom pods

strawberries and rhubarb headed for an overnight maceration

Aren't those gorgeous? I set them to macerate on Monday, just a day after picking them up at the farmers market. On Tuesday, I canned them. Love the farm-to-pantry in 48 hours thing!

from left: strawberry-cardamom; strawberry-rhubarb-lemon; citrusy mango butter

Last night, I attended the first get-together of a supper club I was asked to join. The theme was Spring. I decided to make a shaved asparagus salad with hazelnuts, mint and pecorino, with some of the asparagus I bought on Sunday morning at the farmers market. 

One dish was prettier than the next, and I found it absolutely lovely to take a break from this hectic time to simply sit back, meet some new people, drink great wine, eat great food and relax. Food does bring people together in such wonderful ways, doesn't it?!

beets, crab salad and avocado with arugula

a trio of soups: green; minty pea; beet-carrot with lime-parsley creme

Tornado-like Tuesday

That's just the best "T" word I could conjure to describe the marathon that has been today thus far. It all started this morning, somewhere in the mid-5's when I heard Jack rustling about and then felt his breath warm on my face. I pretended to remain asleep but he actually gave my nose a gentle poke and asked permission to search for coloring pages on my computer. Assuming it was after 6:15 -his official you-may-now-wake-us time- I said sure. I couldn't quite get back to sleep so finally glanced over the my clock. 6:01a. Awful. I was not pleased. I must have then dozed for about 3 minutes, because the next thing I knew, Oliver was jumping around in the hall with a ginormous poopie diaper and wearing his red felt cowboy hat that kind of makes him look like an organ grinder monkey. Apparently, he had climbed out of his crib, gleefully donned has hat, left his room but not yet mustered the courage to enter our room. It still wasn't 6:15, and I felt pretty sure I was in for a longish day.

Jack was a sleep-deprived hellion this morning and within 30 minutes of getting out of bed, the zen I was feeling over the weekend was squashed like squirrel hit by a Mack truck. During this downward spiral, strawberry-lavender muffin making commenced, and really, that was the high point of the morning until a friend and I went to a party warehouse to get supplies for a faculty appreciation lunch. This was fun, but then it was over, and Ol and I trucked off to the market and then home to finish up the strawberry-rhubarb jam I started yesterday. It is beautiful but because I am still so unpracticed with my new camera, this picture is the pits. At least the jam itself tastes fantastically.

Speaking of my camera, session 1 (last night) of the photography class I'm taking was terrific. I definitely know what aperture, ISO and shutter speed are now, and that's a good start. I've diagnosed that my white balance is off but haven't a clue what to do about it. Hopefully that's a topic in class quite soon.

As I've successfully plowed through the enormous amounts of rhubarb and strawberries I  bought at Sunday's FM, I now turn to the gorgeous chard I also acquired. Fortunately, in my Mother's Day state-o'-peace, I had the presence of mind to wash and dry the chard. This will really help this evening when I know I'll just want to park it on the couch with a huge honking glass of calm. I'm thinking about a greens and leek pie in a cornmeal crust, but we'll see.

Funny story: I asked Jack what kind of party he wanted for his birthday - police, wild west, whatever. He said "Titanic." Can you imagine anything more depressing? I said, "Jack, we cannot have a party about a ship that sinks and lots of people die in freezing water because idiots didn't pack enough life boats."