The View From Mrs. Sundberg's Window

I put on some music for waltzing

July 30, 2010

Listened to the show Saturday and it was not bad. It's been hot, real hot, and steamy and sticky. There have been storms, too. A couple big ones. The kind where everything turns green and smells green and you feel the dark creeping over and know something big is coming your way. Didn't keep me from anything. I made freezer jam all day, and what a thing that was.

I spent the morning before the storm at the Farmer's Market with about eleven thousand other people looking for something to cook up for dinner. It was not my intent to purchase two crates of strawberries. However, when I asked the man how much the berries were and he said, "$3.00. $5.00 for two," I thought he meant per container. He meant per crate, and explained he had a truckload coming in on Sunday.

So there I was in my kitchen, apron and all, with two crates of strawberries, two big bowls and a storm rolling in. I put on some music for waltzing and got down to business. Two hours later, just after Mr. Sundberg and the kids called from the cabin saying what a great time they were having on their fishing expedition and wondering if it was raining where I was, the power went out. I lit a candle and went out onto the porch with a bowl of berries and a glass of iced tea. I watched the storm from the swing, and though it hadn't yet begun to rain, I could smell it in the air. It smelled like my life, and I liked it, and I sat there a long while on that swing, wiping strawberry juice off my chin while lightning flashed way off, thinkin' how good it feels just to be. And it does.


Blueberry Flummery
If you like blueberries, you'll love this recipe for what is, really, a pudding.
Serve it with some yogurt or whipped cream after a long, hot day in the sun.

4 cups blueberries
2 T lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup quick tapioca

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mash 1 cup of blueberries in a large sauce pan. Add remaining ingredients except cinnamon and let stand 5 minutes. Cook on medium heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and add cinnamon. Cool.

Enjoy!

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