Hood and Albion strawberries. Washed, drained, in the frig now. I ate some of the Hoods already--the young lady I bought them from said she believed them to be the sweeter of the two, that the Albions would keep a bit longer, a factor that I took into consideration as I enjoyed those juicy bits of red. I bought two pints of Albions, one pint of Hood.
I took these photos in the kitchen with a mixture of fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. Not the best quality, but I had no where to go to get better light.
Yellow zucchini. Green zucchini. I love squash. These are stacked on the revolving shelf that slides out of a piece of office furniture that I bought years ago at a thrift store over on SE Hawthorne Blvd. I believe it started out as a storage cabinet/work surface piece in either a doctor's or a dentist's office. It's metal, on casters, has one drawer and a door that opens to reveal a storage space split into two areas by a horizontal shelf. The brown lamintate-covered revolving shelf may be raised up and locked in place at the same height as the top of the cabinet, not that I do that because I like it just the way it is. I use this daily and repetively. When Mama died and my brother came up from Jackson, Mississippi, to help move me, he wondered why I even had it, much less why I wanted to move it--it's pretty heavy. I knew how important it would be in my new kitchen which included absolutely no counter space and not one drawer. My good sense prevailed.
The new potatoes. I cannot wait to eat some of these beauties because I know just how they're going to taste, smooth and buttery. I've decided to cook some of them with some of the zucchini, along with a bit of onion that I already have, saute the onion first, then saute the potatoes for a while, followed by the zucchini, all in the same skillet.
Turnips, chard, lettuce. I believe I'll add some turnip to my saute skillet. You can see the
green front of the cabinet drawer, my smaller skillets hanging over my
electric stove, and the right edge of my frig. The tray holding the
three pints of strawberries sits on the top of the cabinet which is
covered with the same brown laminate as the revolving shelf.
I ate some of that lettuce at lunch, washed and shook and rolled up in my fingers, straight to my mouth. So fresh, so good. Thanks to all of the farmers who work so hard!
Carrots, kale, spinach, asparagus. I believe some of this will end up in the saute skillet, too. Notice the small metal rod towards the right of the photo, beside the towel hanging on the cabinet's towel bar? That's what you turn to loosen the shelf where it's attached to the rod so that you are able to raise it up to even with the top of the cabinet. Once it's loose, you push on that thumb-shaped lever at the top of the rod and pull upward on the shelf for all you're worth. I suppose if I were to decide to move it up often that I would spay WD40 on the rod so that it would slide easily. I really don't like the smell of WD40.
In this photo you see the metal support for the revolving shelf and the lever you push which releases the grip on the shelf so that you are able to raise it up; you can also see the vacant space where the revolving shelf disappears when not pulled out for use. That pink, white and black bag on the floor is what I brought most of the bounty home in--the top zips shut. That white cabinet is an Ikea one that I had at the other apartment, our first Ikea piece. The photograph in the brown frame is a favorite of mine. I sat at the bar at 3 Doors Down Cafe on a visit to Portland prior to our move. At the time, both Lamont and Leland cooked at what I consider to be the best neighborhood restaurant in the city. The plate was set in front of me with a steak knife. "What's this?" I asked, surprised to learn that it was a scallop, something I'd never even thought about trying. Atop brandade potatoes, sauteed to a satisfying sweetness, meaty enough to require that steak knife, my first ever scallop, a memorable delicacy that I thoroughly enjoyed. I framed this photo and kept it on my desk while working as librarian at an alternative middle school in Jackson. I titled the photo "The Zen Scallop" because all I had to do was look at it and a calmness came over me at the memory of each perfect bite. There's a Cafe du Monde coffee can on top of the Ikea cabinet--my dearly departed husband LeRoy loved that coffee. I don't drink coffee.
My strawberries wait to be washed, sitting beside the best-ever-Goodwill-find for a fan like me. I adore my Portland Trail Blazers and, most mornings, I enjoy this mug filled with hot Twinings English Breakfast Tea. I sweeten it with sugar cubes which are in that blue and tan box in the background. My kitchen's just the right size for me, comfortable and efficient, when I'm not lazy.
