Ate / Ate / Ate

And so the day started with Malto Meal and maple syrup. We know one thing for sure..... baby is NOT allergic to this breakfast of champions. He ate about 4 baby bowls worth, all the while making mmmmmm, yummy noises and checking out other diners' bowls for alms. That boy LOVES the stuff!


After a quick wardrobe change for baby who was covered head to toe in warm cereal, we headed out to the magical and nutrient dense dwellings of our friends' veggie filled yard. These two are a major part of the leadership for the local chapter of Food Not Lawns. http://www.foodnotlawns.com/ The thriving edible landscape you see in their homey rental below was once just a blank and sterile lawn. Many seeds and a bunch of love later, the land has given up her fruits for all to enjoy.

Kids do their best not to giggle during our American Gothic shot as they prepare to pick green beans and other edibles.

They sent us home with this huge sunflower head that is full of yummy seeds. The head needs to dry out in the sun for a few more days and then the seeds will be ready to eat.

The kids get lessons in seed saving from the dynamic Marybeth. A dry method of carrot seed harvesting first and then a wet method of canteloupe seed saving next. We'll be planting those healthy seeds in the spring. What a great teacher she is! And a fantastic drummer!..... we went to see her band perform in a popular village square later in the evening. Those girls can JAM!

Child's play! This wise puppet reminds us that money doesn't grow on trees, but food still does!

With harvesting done we ventured in doors and out of the hot noon sun for some special smoothies and sliced canteloupe. Mary Beth whipped up some unbelievably good nettles (that's right..... fresh stinging nettles you can DRINK!) and deep garden greens smoothies while we enjoyed some fine banjo playing and mandolin moments in the parlor with Todd and the dog.

Eggplant, beets, garlic, butternut, zucchini, squash, oranges, grapefruit, green beans, fennel, tarragon, chard, carrots, tomato, new zealand spinach, tomatillo, sunflower and cucumber. All in a days work.

Deeply contented by the sense of community and nurture we enjoyed, we brought home, washed and made plans for some of the days finds. Recieve our warmest thanks and appreciation for your generosity, hospitality, and friendship. Every town should have a Todd and Mary Beth!

Now, what to cook for lunch and dinner?....

Regrettably, we would not be enjoying many of the fruits of our labor for lunch. We opened the biggest can of tuna known to man yesterday and we absolutely musn't allow it to go to waste. So it was tuna sandwiches with some chopped veggies for lunch. We did share a ripe juicy grapefruit or two, family style, from our noon harvest. Sooo juicy. Sooo good.

One beautiful and necessary summer ciesta later and it was time to prepare dinner. And what should be on the menu for tonight? Why what else? The poor man's crab cake! Yes dear ones, it was tuna all over again. However, when you add heat and fry it, it brings all sorts of neighbors out of their houses and down the lane. This was to be our second community meal of the day.

Some tuna, an egg, breadcrumbs and some fresh garden herbs in a pan with oil and little noses come sniffing round the corner. This cute neighbor friend asked," What is that? Are you making fish sticks?". "Nope.", said Aleli, "it's fish cakes". She stayed for dinner. And who should appear at our door moments later? The lovely and sweet neighbor, Sam with her sidekick Ezra...... and a dish of disappearing homemade pizza! This is that warm and funny neighbor we mentioned a few days ago who made us those scrumptious waffles for breakfast. James baked one of the butternut squash we picked in the yummiest way. Hey, it's an impromtu dinner party..... al fresco! The dollar would stretch.

Dressed for a sultry southern California evening we relax, enjoy the company and see what this "fish cake" jazz is all about. A few adjustments and next time they'll be just right. And, oooh yeah......... you bet your bippy there'll be a next time.......... plenty more tuna to go. Yikes.

The butternut squash was the hit of the night. Both James and mother nature know about food!

Fresh sunflowers and zinnia from Todd and Mary Beth's adorn our simple gathering.

Tomorrow is a big day! We will be "checking in". We'll give our weekly accounting of what we spent, what we learned, and our favorite moments. We'll be doing this every Saturday through the end of our experiment. Look for "check ins" on the 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th. But more importantly than that, a special little girl turns 6 tomorrow. Now how to do a birthday on a buck. We............... shall.................... see.........................