>  >  ML> We'll figure out something sometime.
>  > I'm sure we will... And just a heads up... I leave tomorrow for the Pond
>  > for another almost week, so I'll be not around either bbses or email for
>  > the duration... Then I'll be home for less than a week before I head off
>  ML> Thanks for the heads-up.
> You are welcome... 

I'd prefer it if people did so more regularly,
especially as we are approaching or attaining an age 
and condition where others have concerns from a 
substantial absence. By the way, our little field 
trip to Shirley and Burt's found them in good spirits 
and reasonably good health. We spent from 12 to 5 
there, so it was a substantial visit, and then 
decided we'd best get going eastward before dark.

>  > for my family's camping (also without internet access).... I'll try to
>  > stay as current as possible in between, and will be taking the 'puter
>  > with me both trips to be catching up on messages while away...
>  ML> We're counting on that - the echo operates on a 
>  ML> delicate balance.
> So I had a packet to upload when I got back... and then made an effort
> to read the packets right away, and am getting at least a start on the
> replies thereof... I'll take packets with me for the camping when I
> leave tomorrow... and thereby have a packet to upload when I return...
> but I will be gone for a whole week again.... I'll be home for a few
> weeks anyway after that...  

Thank you.

>  ML> I've found often enough that peaches go from unripe to 
>  ML> rotten without passing through the yummy stage.
> Yup, some fruit just doesn't do well with being picked unripe...

We feasted on Maryland peaches over the last week
- local New York ones weren't ready yet.

>  ML> Today's berries were giant and beautiful, both the 
>  ML> blacks and the blues - and they both were almost 
>  ML> totally lacking in flavor. Not sweet either. I
>  ML> think possibly Driscoll's again (they were bulk).
> Sigh... By the time I get back home, the local berries should be in the
> stores... the harvest is off by about 6 weeks, I've heard....

Something like that. I was disappointed that the
produce wasn't local even in the nearby farm stand.
At least most of it was domestic from within a
day's cartage.

>  ML> Jam is almost bizarrely easy to make, and if it doesn't
>  ML> set up, you can call it syrup.
> There is that....   But it does require some stirring over a hot
> stove.... (G)

Geeze, this is a cooking echo!

>  ML> Some people are as short-sighted in insight as 
>  ML> I am in eyesight.
> Unfortunately very true....

I try to do okay in the other kind of sight but
sometimes that fails, too.

> ... Think of it as French cuisine and go to Jacques En Le Carton!

-- quoted from a post to Hap a couple decades ago --
I was at Rover's - this was many years ago - with Benita, and
we were having a pleasant meal ... heard this amusing exchange
between Patrice, the headwaiter, and a couple of jokers enjoying
the last bits of their dinner.

P. And 'ow was your diner, 'dame, 'sieur?
J. Very good, almost as good as lunch.
P. [a bit disturbed] Euh, vere vas dat?
J. Jacques dans le Boite.
P. [very disturbed] Jacques dans le Boite?
P. [catching the big smiles on the faces of the diners]
Ah, veree guud, Jacques dans le Boite, ha ha.
-- end quoted from a post to Hap a couple decades ago --

Shaved Vegetable Salad
Categories: pescolactovegetarian, starter, Piemontese
Serves: 6

6 Tb extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
1 Tb fresh lemon juice, more as needed
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt
3 lg fennel bulbs
6 celery stalks, sliced thin on the diagonal
8 lg radishes, sliced thin
1 lg bn Italian parsley, washed, dried, destemmed
12 anchovy fillets, preferably cleaned, salt-packed
2 oz Parmesan cheese, shaved, or more tt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl or jar, whisk together olive oil, 
lemon juice, garlic, and salt to taste. Set aside.

Trim the feathery stalks and root of fennel so the 
base of the bulb is flat. Remove any tough outer stalks.

Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the bulb in half 
from top to bottom. Then slice crosswise as thin as 
possible into half moons. In a plastic bag, toss the 
sliced fennel with a few drops of lemon juice to prevent 
discoloration. Set aside.

Just before serving, in a large bowl, toss the fennel, 
celery, and radishes with a little of the olive oil.

Arrange the vegetables and anchovies on 6 plates. 
Sprinkle with salt to taste and drizzle with the 
reserved lemon dressing. Sprinkle on a generous amount 
of shaved Parmesan. Finish with pepper to taste.

after Catherine Brandel, Chez Panisse, via Julie Stillman, Great Women 
Chefs, via Corby Kummer, The Atlantic
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