Merry

Today I went to the Watertown, CT Farmers' Market after tending to a merry morning of herbs and art. I came home with a perfectly ripe-off-the-vine cantaloupe which is chilling nicely in the refrigerator. I came home with gorgeous blackberries which I promptly rinsed, added to a quart jar and opened up a bottle of Melissa Mead (Lemon Balm Honey Wine, to the uninitiated) and covered the berries with this merry elixir. These are chilling nicely near to the cantaloupe.

I came home with beautiful hot peppers from Dineberg's Farm that were washed, sliced, salted and weighted down in a colander to allow the excess water to release for several hours. They've now been packed in jars with garlic, oregano, olive oil and added salt. These will join our other friends in the refrigerator to be enjoyed over the coming weeks with pasta, pizza, bread, with meats or vegetables, or just by the merry spoonful right out of the jar.

And cherry tomatoes … blessed fruits of summer … also from Dineberg's. I cut these merry gems in half and tossed them with items from my own garden ~ two types of cucumber, sliced thin and minced garlic, a sprinkle of sea salt, a drizzled with an extra virgin olive oil and now they sit at room temp awaiting the garnish of sweet basil before serving.

Now I'm just waiting for the birthday boy to get home from work so we can eat, drink and be merry. Not necessarily in that order.

That's what I made today.

Peace.