friday night is alright.

casey is really working on his mint julep. he's got piles of mint in his front yard and seems to think it's fun to use the mortar and pestle. and i've got a bottle of woodford reserve.

this past friday, he got it right. absolutely. i think it's the simple syrup.

we also ate sauteed cauliflower + dinosaur kale + vidalia onion, roasted turnips + beets + yukon gold potatoes, quinoa, sliced tomatoes, and topped with a fried egg. oh, yes, this CSA is a good one.

drive-in.

alex and i have been going on about sonic for at least a week. we learned that there is one in mebane (pronounced meh-bin, not meh-bane) and have scheduled a visit.

but casey and i went hiking in the uwharrie national forest on saturday and passed one in siler city on the drive down. and he was not so excited about it at the time, but i wanted soda immediately. with all that perfectly round ice that's like sno-cone ice and fancy flavors you can have added. casey had never been to a sonic (they aren't so common in the north) and so he had no idea what he was missing.

i waited. there's no need for a flavored soda at 10am before a planned hours-long hike.

but on the way home, we stopped. for vanilla coke and tater tots and grilled cheese, which we ate in the car like good americans.

now, a dairy queen blizzard and we are in business.

mixed up.

shira's flight on wednesday was canceled so she was surprisingly home for dinner. it was a CSA pick-up day so there was certainly a bounty of goods! and i had just bought provisions in the asian market. and it was too hot for hot food, which means spring rolls.

 and lots of prosecco. (once you open a bottle, you have to commit to the whole thing, y'know.)

small spring rolls with beets, carrots, spring onions, basil, and vermecelli. with peanut sauce and sriracha and lime.

all gone.

yes, there are no more strawberries. we ate 2 buckets full in under a week!

well, shira made a strawberry-rhubarb crumble, but still.

it's hot.

i am eating popsicles and drinking mint sun tea. and reading about school gardens and composting and soil, as well as workers in the food system. it's going to be a long summer.

i am also trying to contain my excitement regarding the 2 baby birds in the nest in the bush in front of the house. soon, i'll get close enough for a photograph. but! i have named them.
mama bird = bonnie
baby birds = francesca and mabel

EDIT, may 27: after some research on the internets, i think francesca might really be frank. 

EDIT, june 1: i found the third baby bird on monday and named her henrietta lou. but they all flew the nest by tuesday. this is where the story ends.

h o m e m a d e

absolutely delicious homemade pizza.

we followed smitten kitchen's pizza dough recipe (we'd both made it before and think its the best + the easiest). the pizza on the left has sauteed kale, roasted pinenuts, and burrata, with a bit of olive oil and pepper. the pizza on the right has parmesan, mozzarella, tomatoes, spring onions, herb olive oil, and fresh basil.

you completely missed out.

oh good gracious.

a short story. 

shira and i went strawberry picking yesterday. in effland, north carolina.

there were SO. MANY. STRAWBERRIES.

 

we came back with 2 buckets full.

and stopped at maple view for (strawberry!) ice cream on the scenic drive home.

the end.