Settling in

We'll be here at home in Western North Carolina through the summer, I'm thinking now.  The squash is growing well as are the beans, tomatoes, and peppers..  The gardener will be home to harvest, it looks like. 

Asheville is a lovely place to be, regardless, even as I wish we were in Quebec now.  I remind myself that these are first world, privileged concerns, even as I grieve over the loss of circumstance.

I ground up the spelt berries that were my "emergency" flour backup for my homemade bread this evening.  It'll be ready for homemade loaves, made with sourdough starter, just as the cranberry pecan loaves made today are delicious.

whole grain bread with Bob's Red Mill flour, spelt berries to be ground, and coffee for romorrow

I didn't think I need the spelt as berries at this point, as my favorite Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat flour is available sporadically at local groceries.  (And there's certainly more spelt available, too!)

So, thinking we'll be here through the summer, I'm building back up more unusual staple seasonings, too.  Interestingly, pomegranate vinegar leaped on the list (I'd just used up the last of it a few days ago).  Tamarind paste, hardly a staple, but delicious, came to mind.  I'm getting really tired of stir-fried greens with garlic and balsamic vinegar, although roasted cabbage and collards, as well as using up the frozen vegetables that were back-up pandemic foods provided an uninteresting diversion.  Frozen vegetables are not appealing, aside from frozen spinach or stir-fry peppers, both of which are OK.

Alas, I don't think restaurant dining in our (food-centric) city will be back on our list.  And I'm just not that interested in take-out.  I've been buying nice chicken, fish, and wild NC/SC shrimp, even as I'm trying to be more creative with vegetables, etc.

It's all about surrounding ourselves with sustaining, if unusual, practices, whether with food or breathing exercises.

We are fortunate, indeed.