Tomato

I don't usually re-read books, but Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle is a worthy exception. The book tells the true story of Kingsolver and her family's yearlong adventure in local eating. I read it cover to cover a few years back; this time I am reading the chapters as they correspond to the current month. The chapter on August is entitled "Life in a Red State" as it mostly focuses on summer tomatoes and how to make them last through the winter. Kingsolver points out that twenty pounds of tomatoes cooks down to 5 jars of sauce, allowing one to both enjoy fresh produce and support local farmers all yearlong. I've never bought twenty pounds of tomatoes at once but have wanted to ever since I first read the book.

My tomato fantasy turned reality at the farmer's market this drizzly morning. One of the vendors was selling twenty five pound boxes for a mere $14! Deb and I picked a box to share, and I spent Elijah's afternoon nap in the kitchen. After peeling and seeding, the tomatoes yielded about 12 cups of puree. I saved three cups for Barbecue Relish (tomorrow's project) and used the rest for tomato sauce.

The sauce won approval from my two favorite critics and I was quite pleased with it as well. Unfortunately, there wasn't all that much left for the freezer. Will have to get my own box next time!

The book fairy

I just stumbled upon a delightful children's book, The Incredible Book Eating Boy. I could not resist the whimsical illustrations and loved the story's message. I purchased a copy for my favorite little man and decided to give it to him in a special way. I have been wanting to make a treasure hunt for Elijah and thought the book would be a perfect prize. I wrote simple clues, tucked them into envelopes labeled "Treasure Hunt" and hid throughout the house. Elijah caught on right away and it was fun to watch him trying to make sense of the clues.

Elijah seemed to think his elephant had hidden the envelopes. Upon opening the book, he announced that it had been hidden by his kitty cat.

He loved the story and was especially amused upon discovering that someone had taken a chomp out of the book's back cover. It's been less than a week and Elijah is already requesting that I make him another treasure hunt. It seems that he now thinks that Mommy is the Book Fairy. I keep telling him otherwise, but I think he's on to me.

Rainy day

Elijah and I have had an icky virus all week and after much indecision, I finally recognized that flying down to Texas this morning wasn't such a good idea. Thankfully, we booked with Southwest and were able to reschedule our trip at no cost. We were so excited to see Anna, Dell and Henry, but we will just have wait another few weeks. I thought today would be a major disappointment, but in the end it was just perfect. It was very grey and drizzly outside, but that didn't keep us in. We took a long, wet walk to the park where we saw baby wood ducks and Canadian geese waddling about in the mud. Elijah learned about puddles and saw fog for the first time. Hardly anyone was out, and the park felt like our own.

In the afternoon, Elijah took a nice long nap while I snuggled on the couch with Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, a fabulous memoir by former New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl. After naptime, my sister came by for a visit. Elijah toddled down the hall to give her a big hug. We lazed around and played the little one until dinnertime. It would have been a great day, but then Amiel came home with a big smile and it became a perfect day.