Plum Tart

We joined an organic veggie and fruit co-op this summer. Every Tuesday Rex and I drive to a relatively nearby park to pick-up our share of the week's produce. Usually we bring home some tasty greens, squash, peppers, cucumbers, green beans and tomatoes. We have also been treated to eggplant, Japanese turnip and hearty greens such as collards. The fruit share gets more and more tasty each week. The first few weeks provided us with blueberries and strawberries, but the past couple of weeks brought plums, peaches and nectarines.

The first week that I brought home something other than berries was a few weeks ago. After I unpacked our produced we were faced with the daunting task of consuming 2 pounds of yellow plums before they became overripe. I searched the internet for something to do with our plums and came across a plum tart recipe. I made the tart on a Wednesday afternoon while Rex napped and he was the first to try it that night for dessert. It was quite a hit with him as well as the adults in the house.

Tonight's dinner will consist of an open-faced eggplant, tomato and mozzarella sandwich. The eggplant and tomatoes are from the co-op. We have become a bit giddy about cooking and eating our co-op produce. Planning weekly menus based on the surprises in our weekly share proves to be a fun summer activity.

I have been in the cooking doldrums for quite some time and this co-op pushed me out of it. Thankfully the co-op continues into November so my cooking skills should stay sharp. Once it is over I will have to break out the slow-cooker and hunker down for winter.

Mango Lemonade

In our eternal quest to find cheap entertainment to offset the pricey entertainment we so dearly enjoy, we spent an hour or so at the street fair hosted by the Harlem Dance Theater. The fair took place one block away from our home so it was easy to get to and admission was free. When we arrived the dignitaries were staring to speak on the stage that extended into the middle of the street. Charlie Rangel, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, spoke first. He was followed be a few other prominent men from the Harlem neighborhood. Afterwards the dance theater performed.

Our son, Rex, was not exactly into the speeches so we strolled through the street fair and checked out all of the wares that were for sale. A NYC street fair usually consists of the following vendors: the tube sock guy; the onesie lady; the evening wrap guy; the cheap artsy jewelry booth; and the bag guy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tube sock guy and the onesie lady had sat this fair out. In their respective places were the dress lady whose dresses could be worn a variety of ways, sort of like a moby wrap, and the H&R Block table that gave Rex a balloon. Rex was enthralled with the balloon. A couple of days later it became clear that Rex favors inflated balloons. When he saw his quickly shriveling balloon on Monday he was pretty freaked out.

After our stroll we took a break from the fair and put Rex in a swing at a nearby playground - again, free. J also got to watch some of the kids' basketball tournament that was taking place - free. Eventually it came time to spend some money. J tried the fried shrimp and an iced tea and I had a mango lemonade. I was quite happy with my beverage. The shrimp was good, but had been fried earlier in the day. We also picked up a t-shirt to help support the dance theater so we could leave feeling a little better about ourselves.

Freezer Jam

Early in July mo mother-in-law stayed with us for nearly 1 week. I somewhat recently realized that one of the "benefits" of living a seven-hour drive away from family is that when they visit, they tend to stay awhile. Anyway, when mother-in-law arrived for this, he most recent visit, she stashed 2 jars of something in our freezer. A couple of days into her visit I asked her what she put in the freezer. She responded in an incredibly exuberant tone, "It's freezer jam.". Other than thinking, "What the FUCK is freezer jam" my mind was a total blank. I managed to follow-up and ask the dear woman, "what is freezer jam". I was hoping to find out the flavor and whether or not I could ever transfer the jars to the refrigerator. Her response was "freezer jam isn't cooked". I still did not have either of my questions answered. We had nothing else to do that afternoon so I decided to delve deeper into into this Freezer Jam issue. I began by asking the flavor, "grape, strawberry, raspberry?" She said it was strawberry which was great in my book because I love strawberry jelly/jam. Next, I asked if it had to stay in the freezer. Mother-in-law assured me I could move it to the refrigerator when we were ready to open it. Great! I finally had my answers.

Why has this month old conversation come to the forefront of my mind? I opened our first jar of freezer jam two days ago and it was quite tasty on our breakfast toast.

However, this whole Freezer Jam issue brings me to another pet peeve - mason jars. People who give me things in mason jars always want their jars back. These people do not live near me and I live in Manhattan with finite storage space. I fume every time I come across an empty mason jar that I am supposed to return to someone "the next time I see them" - like next Christmas, you want me to hold on to this for a year? I really wish there were regional depots for mason jars. People like me could return them and people who make things could pick some up. Doesn't this make sense?

A name is a name

So, what's the deal with grilled cheese and martinis?

They are only 2 of my most favorite things, although not in combination. As a child I loved a grilled cheese sandwich. It was a staple weekend lunch item or even a midweek dinner item in the 2 working parent home I grew up with my younger sister. It was common to make a grilled cheese with either mustard, peanut butter or tuna fish in my family. Apparently, my grandfather, mom's dad, introduced these combinations to his 8 children and the tradition carries on as I now serve my 18 month old son grilled cheese and mustard for dinner once per week. You may think these additions sound obnoxious, but anyone who has tried one at my request has been won over. I recently learned, after my grandfather passed away, that you could also make the sandwich with marmalade. I tried one, but found that the marmalade allowed the sandwich to "slip" too much in my hand and that the sweetness wasn't to my liking.

As for the martini, it is one of the pleasures of adulthood that I most enjoy. It was the drink I missed the most when I was pregnant and the first drink I stashed breastmilk away for so that I could imbibe. My husband and I typically enjoy martinis on Friday nights. They are a nice capper to the week and tey let us relax and catch up. Some people say they like martinis, but what they really like are the fru-fru "martinis" at chain restaurant bars that are just a few steps up from frozen daiquiris. When I say martini, I mean Hendricks's/Bombay Sapphire/Ketel One up with a twist (or cucumber if it is Hendrick's). I guess I am particular about my martinis.

I am reminiscing about my childhood and adult favorites because as a mom of an 18 month old I am engaged in an endless search to have an adult-life. I love all of the mom stuff, but I also need the adult stuff - where is the balance? Date nights with my husband, J, are planned months in advance so that we can orchestrate getting a sitter and a reservation and/or tickets to something that adults do. Daytime outings are carefully planned around naps and tot meals. How I totally underappreciated those weeknights when J and I would just meet out for dinner and come home as late as we wanted, never worrying about getting a sitter home or paying a sitter for an extra hour while we indulged in a nightcap.

So grilled cheese and martinis are my life for the time being. Hopefully Rex's palate will mature soon and I can pair two things that I can have at the same meal.