Summer's Harvest

While on my bike, I was caught in a downpour.

Whenever I thought it couldn't torrent any more, it did! But the rain was fresh; the humidity broke though I wasn't cold. My eyes were water logged but when I finally made it back to my driveway, I just had to dance. I began twirling and throwing my arms, the weight of the water in my clothing increasing the perpetual motion. But then I stopped, because the neighbors across the street sketch me out. I moved to my pool deck and sat for a bit, admiring the sounds and the lushness of the yard. It was one of those moments where my body felt so tingling and alive, that I was numb. It's exhilarating.

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So you may or may not recall the post I did about my overwhelming addiction to the magic of oatmeal (' Your Stomach on the Line ' check that out if you want to review my madness).  Well, here I am to rave about the power and versatility of the vegetable that is present in gardens everywhere: zucchini !!!  Here's some cooking suggestions to try if you haven't:
- grilled; my parents prefer olive oil and dill, I always use oregano and lots of pepper, though brushing it with some honey or maple syrup is amazing
- sliced into strips, salted, drained and boiled like noodles
- breaded with crumbs, an egg, some flour and spices then fried in butter or olive oil
- shredded and cooked the same way, as a sort of zucchini latke/fritter
- tossed in olive oil and herbs with other garden vegetables and roasted in the oven (350-375 degrees) with some cheese until they're tender and golden
- sliced and cooked lightly to use in omelets, egg scrambles and fritattas
- RAW.  Younger, smaller zucchinis have a sweet, soft texture.  A lot of people love lightly frying the blossoms, but I have to admit that I haven't tried it yet.  Anyone?
- Searing the zucchini with curry powder, a bit of cumin and turmeric and chili powder.  I like doing that with rice noodles for an Asian-influenced meal.
- Zucchini cakes, breads and cookies

Yes, cookies!  This vegetable has a magnificent moisture content and mild flavor.  My mom always makes spiced (cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) cookies that people can't resist.  These are the ones I made the other day.  In my effort to improve the nutritional content, I only used egg whites and substituted apple sauce for a lot of the butter... and they fell flat!  This time, my mom wins; some things just shouldn't be changed.  I placed dark chocolate wafers in a few of them, though.  I'll just leave the cookie-making to her next time.  Let me know if you'd like the recipe, they're super easy!

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In other news, my friend Tucker bought a bus.

Yeah, that's what he keeps calling it anyways.  After Craiglist hunting, phone calls and even driving to Ohio, last weekend he finally drove to Pennsylvania with his Dad and brought home a 1970's white (ish) Volkswagon Westphalia ' bus ' (i.e. hippy van).

 

I guess the owner before him lived out of the van with his son for three years, and who knows where it's been before that! The inside was plastered with Grateful Dead stickers and this cool tapestry, though he's been very occupied with cleaning, purging and reupholstering.

Nonetheless, Tucker is happy and that much nearer to fulfilling dream of being a road tripping vagabond.  And he paid for the entire thing himself; definitely something to be proud of.

Listening: "Every Morning" by Sugar Ray

Photos from Home

While I'm awake, I figured I would double post (omgz!) and share some photos that I took Thursday. I passed these sights when I was riding my bike, made it home, grabbed my camera, then pedaled back. The day was hot but too glorious to pass up a photo shoot. Sometimes I take for granted how beautiful it is where I live.

I adored this giant bumble bee because it seemed to be lolling about the pollen.  Us, the neighbors and many others have these bushes around their yards (I'm blanking on the name of the flower, of course).

 

 

 

 

As I was climbing back onto my bike to head to my next destination, a man was pulling into the driveway at this field and asked me if I was lost.  I smiled sweetly and replied, "Nope!  Just taking pictures of the hay bales."  He nodded skeptically then continued onward.  Hey, why not?  There's something about their spiraling textural madness and shimmering gold straws that I could not pass up.

 

 

Yup, I really am loving my camera.  Looking around, what's your favorite part about home?

"Wasting is an art

like the nights we spend in backs of cars."
- "End of a Spark" by Tokyo Police Club

I distract myself way too late on the internet.  It's usually after I've finished closing at work and I come home and foolishly convince myself that I can restrain myself to 10 minutes that turns into 3 hours.  But there's a lot of blog browsing to be caught up on, and photo-bragging of course.  I will say that I've had a few fantastic days with my friends that make up for the long hours at work.

Exhibit A: A free concert on Sunday evening.  My friend Jenny, who goes to college with me, came to my house for dinner (I went to her house the last time).  She brought a freshly-baked peach pie (♥), then we saddled up and went to a park a few lakes over for a free concert.  Chairs were sprawled on the grass, grills were going, and loads of boats and family's were parked in the harbor to revel in the summer ambiance. 

It was the Sim Redmond Band (http://www.simredmondband.com/), who are a few decades ahead of us, but they're folksy serenades about love and living fully were definitely to be admired.

 We were entertained just by watching the hippy parents with their barefoot children.  And the crazy beards!  (Jenny insisted upon taking this... sorry for whoever you are... :B)

Exhibit B: Another free concert!  In the summertime, you don't have to look hard or far to find decent music in public spaces.  In this case, we kinda went far, but the ride was worth the spoils of seeing one of my favorite bands up close and for free.

Tokyo Police Club !!!

They're an indie-rocking post-punk progressive quartet from Toronto: David Monks on vocals and bass, Josh Hook on guitar, Graham Wright on keyboards and Greg Alsop on the drums.  I was so unbearably happy that they came across the border to play a free concert because I was screwed out of seeing them back in April at Ottawa.  I was probably ten feet away from the stage; it was crowded, but not sardine-jammed so I wasn't slick with other peoples' sweat for once.  Their music was so passionate and real, yet... better.  AH :D

 

The lead singer, Dave Monks, used to have very shaggy hair.  As you can see, he cut it!  Did you know that these guys are one of the privileged bands to be pictured at the bottom of my blog?  Ehhh, bet you didn't know that!  Please, I beg you, if you haven't heard any of their music please take a quick listen to the following and let me know what you think : "Your English is Good", "In A Cave", "Breakneck Speed" and my personal favorite, "Bambi".  Maybe I'll post one of my videos-- at a decent hour of day.

Yeah, I can't lie, my friend (not going to point him out bahaha) can be temperamental with me from time to time, but he really pulled through with this one.  He drove us out to the concert and was happy that I had such a good time :).  Those boys really knew how to jam.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  Tell me about the fun things you're doing!