1. I recently bought a bunch of fresh cilantro at the supermarket. Organic cilantro mind you. (OOOhhh. Who cares right?) Well the reason I tell you this is the cilantro was filthy dirty. (I can still hear my mom say, ” You need to take a bath. You’re filthy dirty”. Double the dirt. Double the emphasis on dirty.) The cilantro was covered in brown grit. Upon returning home I washed said cilantro twice in cool water and laid it in my dish drainer. (I love to let vegetables drain there too.) Now for the reason I tell you this: organic does not imply clean. Organic produce is still grown in dirt or brown grit as the case may be. So whether your produce is organic or conventional, always, always, always wash it. And yes, sometimes you might even have to wash it twice.
2. This time last year my kids finished their bumper-crop tomato sale in front of our house. This year our tomatoes, grown in a raised vegetable bed in our back yard, have been anything but bumper. What’s the deal? I chalk it up to more rain, less sun, more cooler weather. Not the best for tomatoes. This is why a farmer’s market is so great. This weekend I have a bunch of recipe testing to do for my upcoming cookbook, and another project, and need to fresh tomatoes. I know what I’m doing on Saturday morning.
3. I’m not much for excessive kitchen gadgets. That being said, over the past month, much to my surprise, I’ve purchased, and am very much enjoying, two new kitchen gadgets: a citrus reamer and an immersion blender. Lemons, limes, smoothies, and milkshakes watch out. Last weekend I even made hummus with the immersion blender and sometime before that a fresh parsley sauce. Love them both and I highly recommend either to any one who wants to squeeze more juice from a citrus fruit or to blend more soy and fresh berries together for a most delicious breakfast drink.
4. For some reason I’ve been wasting a lot more produce lately than typical. (Just keeping it real here.) I’ve told you many times that I grocery shop once a week. One caution to those of you who might be trying this routine: watch the produce purchases. By shopping every week I have the tendency to “stock up”, but as you know produce has the tendency to not last one week. Bananas, avocados, and salad greens are particularly troubling. I’m probably wasting in produce what I’ve saving by not eating out. Excuse me while I go cry in my dish towel.
5. Have I told you lately that I love the weather in my area this time of year. Cooler days (no AC needed) and cooler nights (windows open) are a beautiful thing. We even replaced the window in our full-view storm door with a screen. I now have a cross-breeze from the back to the front of my house. Fresh air makes me tick whether I’m cooking, cleaning, writing, or anything in between. Gotta love September.
6. ps: Did you notice we missed Tip Tuesday? The holiday on Monday messed me up. I’ll make it up to you next week.