Over on Facebook, several of my friends were posting this meme of ten favorite albums, “no explanations.” The “no explanations” aspect of the record meme made it just a bunch of random covers someone posted.
Since I have an eclectic, arguably terrible music tastes, I started my own un-meme using fruits an vegetables. I’m also going to add some recipes and original photos (except for the cartoon):
Day N of Y days. In no particular order, Y all-time favorite fruits and vegetables that really made an impact and are still in my daily diet, even if only now and then.
After laboring to post it, I was thinking how the content gets lost because there’s so much stuff on Facebook. Fuck that. I’m going to be back-posting stuff I should have put here in the first place, and then maybe post more than once every nine months.
But back to the fruits and vegetables:
Green beans: Wash and pat dry. Toss with a little bit of oil and schmancy French grey salt, roast at 400F (200C) for 20-25 minutes.
Heirloom tomatoes: Slice thick and alternate with fresh mozzarella and basil. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic. Sprinkle French grey salt and fresh pepper to taste.
Beets. Golden, orange or red, as long as they have greens. (Not. Canned.) Wash them well, remove inedible parts, and cut into halvsies. Heat 2T oil, juice of one lemon, a chopped green onion, 1/2 teaspoon dill weed, 1/2 teaspoon tarragon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a clove of crushed garlic in a pan with a tight-fitting lid. Add beets, greens and 1/4C water. Cover and steam over medium heat until tender.
Cherries! During peak season (late June – July), Bing and Rainier cherries are sold along roadside or the farmer market*. The only way my rate of pitting can approach consumption is through specialized kitchen gadgetry.
The cherry dutch baby: 3/4C flour, 2T granulated sugar, 3/4C milk, 3 eggs, 1/4t salt, 4T butter, 2C of pitted, Bing (*not Google*) cherries, and powdered sugar. Preheat oven to 425F. Combine flour, sugar, milk, eggs and salt in a blender until smooth. In a 12″ cast iron frying pan, melt the butter. Add the pitted cherries and cook 2-3 minutes until warm. Pour in the batter. Bake 18-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Dust with powdered sugar.
(*Despite working a block from Pike Place, I still adore my local farmer’s market.)
Bananas. They’re delicious, full of carbs, available year-round, and also facing the bananapocalypse.
Or worse:
Winter Squash are awesome enough that they would merit their own 10-day meme, but I’ll spare you that. Uchiki (red kuri) squash make great pies. Below are photos of the Tamal Pie (https://wapo.st/2Khz8I2) made over Thanksgiving. Somewhat easier to make is the Khoresh-e kadu Halvai-o Alu ba Morgh, learnt during a PCC demo class last fall.
Broccoli (mini-trees) goes well in soups, while Cauliflower (zombie brains) can add depth (and fiber) to macaroni and cheese. Both roast exceptionally well and are essential ingredients in one of my favorite staples: Hippie bowls.
Lemons, sometimes known in the more polite geocaching circles as “absolutely not a durian,” add a wonderful tart flavor to desserts, keep guacamole and apples from turning brown, provide 99.97% of the flavoring in lemonade, and, in much smaller quantities than shown in the photo, can even be used on pizzas. Avoid the mistake I made in my youth of not knowing how the zest could be flavorful (a zester is inexpensive ). They’re also great with Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.
Hi! I’m the owner of the blue banana and I’m interested in using your photo. Can you please be in touch 🙂