What's New

For tonight's dinner shredded kale and sliced leeks will be stirred into fried potatoes and sausage. That will leave the sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, spaghetti squash, baby salad greens, spinach and onions for later in the week. I really love planning meals around the weekly CSA harvest, but I suspect this may be our last season as members. I have to drive round trip 50 miles to pick up the vegetables each week and soon a year round farmer's market will be opening at about half the distance. Fortunately, I expect my favorite farmers (Curtis and Sarah Millsap) will be participating in the new market -- don't know for sure, haven't checked it out with them, but I'm jumping to that conclusion based on press coverage about the new market involving some of the Millsap kin.  

Please note the new and enhanced setting for my vegetable photo. I replaced my old kitchen table and six chairs with this smaller table and four chairs. Our dear departed pet, Cinder (AKA Chainsaw) had gnawed on the legs and seat of each of the old chairs and every time I looked at them, I got mad all over again. So, the new arrangement accommodates my notion of downsizing, extinguishes my anger, and provides a back drop for my handiwork -- the table runner, place mates and napkins which I'll use for the month leading up to St. Patrick's Day. I'm just finishing a set that will take us from March 17th through Easter. If I can keep the momentum going I'll finish up next spring with twelve different table top ensembles. We'll see.

In weather news, we came safely through last night's dramatic storm. Tornado damage occurred just 30 miles to the south (Branson) and 30 miles north (south of Buffalo). The boys spent the night sleeping on the floor of the torndado shelter while I risked sleeping in the bed in the adjoining room. (It's a basement room and the bed is below ground level, so I feel fairly safe and very comfortable.) I got out of bed about one A.M. and very unsafely watched the storm from a window. The lightning was amazing with magnificent branching seemingly over the neighbor's house and so close together you could read by it.