Cold Buttermilk and Shrimp Soup

I was just reminded of this old favorite- it was first published in Gourmet Magazine in 1944, I'm told. It's a superb summer treat.

Blend together:

1 quart buttermilk
8 oz. cooked shrimp, finely minced
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely minced
1 T dry mustard
2 T minced chives
1 t salt
1 t sugar

Chill thoroughly, and serve in bowls garnished with a whole shrimp and a slice of cucumber.

I'm going to wait until it's hotter outside to serve it.

Torta de Aceite, part III

No, I still haven't gotten around to making another batch. But last Saturday I did find them at Morgan and York, on Packard- usually not the cheapest place for anything- at a very attractive price: $4.95 for a large package. I didn't see the savory version there (although they may well carry it), just two sweet versions, one with almond flavoring.

I also picked up a couple of the wonderful bread sticks they carry. These aren't the little crisp things found in the bread tray at the local Appleby's, but rather a ficelle-size twisted loaf of dense bread, flavored with olives and sunflower seeds (my favorite) and other seasonings.

For those who like to eat very locally

Most of the vegetable and herb garden went in today, along with the drip irrigation system. I've got two kinds of parsley, four kinds of tomatoes, thyme, basil, loveage, ancho peppers, beets, leeks, Greek oregano, rosemary, and three kinds of Chinese vegetables- mustard cabbage, gai lan, and another, the name of which I forget but that's sort of like gai lan. There's also the giant patch of Chinese garlic chives, and a few other herbs I've lost track of. We'll be seeing more photos as this progresses.

I chose the selection planted in my limited garden space based for the most part on two considerations: Things that I absolutely need to get fresh for most of my cooking (the various herbs), and things you simply cannot find at the grocery (good tasting tomatoes, Chinese greens). If I had more room, I'd plant more tomatoes and peppers, but I'd also plant salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, rhubarb, onions, potatoes... well, a lot of stuff. This is what I can comfortably fit in my suburban back yard right now.

If you've never used drip irrigation in your garden, there are a number of reasons you might want to try it. It's cheap, it really conserves water, and by delivering the water directly to the plants rather than spraying it over a wide area, it discourages weed growth. And with a timer, you can go on vacation for a week and not worry if that kid you hired is going to remember to water the garden.

I have multiple zones and timers delivering water to my vegetable garden and a number of the thirstier plants in the yard, like the arbor vitae. I use cheap (under $20) timers that I turn on or off depending on the weather, or just leave on if I plan to be away during hot weather. If you'd prefer a higher level of automation, you can buy reasonably inexpensive timers with rain sensors that only turn on if they're needed. (Of course if you already have a built-in lawn sprinkler system, you can simply add your garden as another zone.)

Home Depot and a few other retail outlets carry a small range of drip irrigation products, but I usually order mine from Dripworks.