First Tomato

That most spectacular of summer moments has arrived. So many tomatoes (and other plants) have suffered with the deluge of rain, but skilled farmers of the Hudson Valley are still managing to produce fantastic food. I just enjoyed my favorite supper of sliced tomato, sliced cucumber, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper. It's perfect just as is.

War Pickle

I'm too young to have thought about this, but a large number of men in the U.S. associate kimchi with their time in the military.

The heads of napa cabbage are lovely right now (there was one torso sized one I should have photographed but didn't). So I've been making a lot of kimchi. I love spicy food, and the people who come to wintergreens seem to really crave spice and sour and layers of flavor—it fits. When I mentioned to my father that I'd made a batch, he remembered his time in Korea, and the kimchi being fermented in holes in the ground. Interesting, noted. Because M*A*S*H was my favorite tv program as a kid and there was one kimchi-pot-mistaken-for-landmine plot line, I should have connected the U.S. military to kimchi in the American mind.

Then at the market yesterday three or four men mentioned having not tasted or smelled kimchi in decades, and having such fond memories of it from being stationed in Korea. It's interesting how war and colonization affect our relationships to food—of course they have dramatic effect.

I can be small brained, I guess, but I'm glad to be expanded a bit by interactions over this particular food and its expansive flavor.

Food Art

Remember Polaroids? Apparently iPhones now take pictures that look like Polaroids. My sister was in town visiting, and nearly threw her phone across the market shaking it while they "developed." I found it to be a hilarious cross of the new and the old: I'd missed those wacked out colors!

Pickles on Tables: Hello Beacon

Woodworker/furniture maker Jessica Wickham is opening her studio (578 Main St.) to visitors this coming Saturday, July 11th, from one to five o'clock. Besides gorgeous wood, Jessica's other interests include local food. And because both aesthetics and flavor are important to her, she's asked wintergreens to supply food for the event.

Since we think our pickles are truly high art, we're thrilled to comply.

Beautiful handmade art furniture, beautiful food, beautiful company. See you there?