Fresh-Piqued

There are some joys that the urban generation may, sadly, never discover.

Whilst in North Carolina, we had the privilege of indulging in one of them -- and I got sad thinking about how this is probably old hat to people who either live in the country (or not in smoggy LA) or who grew up with more natural wildlife in their backyard, that wasn't the Arabian desert. But for us, this is a luxury.

I have never picked fruit off the bush and then, eaten it (except for the first tomato). What joy! Especially when you don't have to PAY to pick 'em.

Granted, it would have been more joyful if the berries weren't so tart. But I had no idea that trees and bushes give off so much fruit. They certainly are generous (unlike the supermarkets who charge $5 for a punnet).

This particular blackberry bush had fallen prey to the aggressive (and beautiful in its own way I suppose) kudzu, which is so prickly that we had to hack our way through it to get to the precious bounty. The silver lining is that the kudzu had kept the critters away from the berries, so there were more for us!

Since they were so tart, Patte made these into a compote which we spooned over our pancakes the next morning.





Later that week, we spied an apple tree on a piece of property that Patte is pining away for.


Bren couldn't eat the apple without looking just a little bit like a goat.


Love you baba!

I suppose it's the realization that we are living further and further away from the source of all our food that has spurred so many people to plant vegetable gardens this year. Today on the radio, I heard about a woman who will take $1500 of your hard-earned cash, per season, to grow fruits and veggies on your lawn, so that you can eat them. Ha!

Speaking of which, our tomatoes are not doing that well at the moment -- I suppose you really can't ever leave home, nor should you grow stuff in pots. The leaves have turned dry and brown, and whilst some people have told me that's just what tomatoes do, I can't help but feel that I've let my little tomato saplings down.

However, I spied a community garden down the road that has got me fantasizing about autumn harvests: beets and squash! And figs maybe! Planted in the ground!

-x-
aarti