Snapshot 2

Clouds at dusk. Mill Valley. July 18, 2009.

Photo by Susan Sachs Lipman

Snapshot

Altocumulus Clouds. Mill Valley. July 18, 2009.

Photo by Susan Sachs Lipman

Happy Bastille Day: Stir Up Some Ratatouille

Are you wondering how to use your abundance of mid-summer tomatoes and zucchini, and celebrate Bastille Day at the same time?

One word: Ratatouille.

This tasty, colorful melange never fails to summon summer, while providing a few helpings of vegetables or a fool-proof side-dish that works with fish, chicken, lamb, noodles, and more. Ever since I first lived on my own in college, it has been the rare period when I haven’t made some.

Food historians generally date ratatouille to 18th century France, and to the area of Provence, and the town of Nice, in particular. Its name hails from the French verb, touiller, which means “to stir, mix, or toss”.

My own ratatouille has changed a lot since the days when I cut cubes of zucchini and eggplant and set them to boil in a pot of canned tomatoes. It’s as if the recipe itself has both mellowed and allowed for more complication, just as a good pot of ingredients, over time, coalesces into an especially flavorful whole. Diehard ratatouille purists may insist on sautéing each ingredient separately, but here you get the same effect, while also saving a little time.

4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, pressed
3 bell peppers, chopped (2-3 colors)
1 large eggplant, chopped
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 summer squash, chopped
20 or so olive halves
2 14 oz. cans tomato chunks, or equivalent fresh tomatoes
2-4 tsps. each oregano and thyme
Feta or parmesan cheese, optional

Coat eggplant pieces in 2 Tbsp. oil and bake in a baking dish, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, until soft.

Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in heavy skillet over medium high heat.

Add onions and sauté, turning occasionally, just until golden.

Add pressed garlic and sauté.

Mix in peppers, cooked eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, and olive halves.

Sauté whole for 10-15 minutes.

Add tomato chunks and spices to just boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Serves 4-6 as a main course. The recipe can easily be halved or doubled. Serve plain, hot or cold, top with feta or a dry Italian cheese like parmesan, or spoon over pasta.

Photo: wikibooks.org

Sonoma-Marin County Fair Opens Today

The Sonoma-Marin Fair is here!

I love county fairs, and we in the Bay Area have an abundance of great fairs to choose from. Because it straddles two counties that each have a fair later this season, the Sonoma-Marin Fair can be overlooked. This fair, in Petaluma, has been my family’s favorite for years.

All your fair favorites are here: a midway with tons of traditional food, like corn dogs and funnel cakes, good rides for all ages, carnival games, food and animal exhibits, live music and performances, and lots of special contests. Over the years, we’ve seen sheep shearing, cheese carving, cow milking, hypnotists, and contests for everything from gathered wool to painted shoes.

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The Sonoma-Marin Fair has a down-home feeling, which is in keeping with Petaluma’s farming and historical roots. There are a lot of animals to see and activities for small children. It’s also not as large or crowded as some other fairs, making it particularly appealing for families.

The Sonoma-Marin Fair is in town Wednesday, June 24 through Sunday, June 28. We plan to be there opening day and will report back.

For directions, hours, events and more, see the Sonoma-Marin Fair site.

See you on the midway!

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

Happy Summer!

If you’re in the Northern hemisphere, it’s already happened. Summer solstice clocked this year at 5:45 Greenwich Mean Time on June 21 — a bit after midnight on America’s east coast, and 9:45 last night on the west.

The longer days and warmer temperatures, and (if we’re lucky) looser schedules just tend to bring on a sense of relaxation. Our shoulders drop a little and our lungs expand. In Summer, the sun kisses our faces and causes our children’s heights to spurt. It’s the season of wearing less clothing; leaving work earlier; seeing good friends more often, eating fresh, tree-ripened fruit; and spending nights playing games or gazing at stars. In summer, time moves just a little more slowly.

In the Bay Area, unusually warm weather brought out a large crowd at a neighborhood Friday night barbeque and music event called Creekside, where we caught up with old friends at picnic tables by a meandering creek. Yesterday, my daughter and I walked to our errands and bought lemonade from a local stand.

I wish you all a happy, relaxed, fulfilled, sensual Summer, as you enjoy warmth, family, friends, time, nature, play, and maybe a joyful activity or two that somehow gets squeezed out of a typical year.

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

First Peach of the Season: Make a Wish

Some time ago, a friend told me about his tradition of making a wish as he bit into the first peach of the season. I’ve never heard or seen anything about this custom since, but I made a point of adopting it nonetheless. It’s such a happy moment when the seasonal farmers’ markets start up again and the grocery stores start offering local berries and stone fruit in season and at in-season prices.

For me, that moment happened this morning, as I was greeted at the market with the first real deals on ripe, sweet berries and the first cherries, apricots and peaches. I chose the most local peach, California’s Summerwhite, which happened to be the one that felt the ripest. White peaches, though not the classic deep summer yellow, have a multi-colored soft peach skin, and fruit the pale yellow color of spring butter. They also boast a lower acidity than yellow peaches, which renders them sweet and flavorful, even though these first ones have a relatively short growing season.

White peaches also ripen more quickly than traditional peaches and they tend to taste sweet when picked, in contrast to yellow peaches, which sweeten over time, as they ripen and acid levels drop. Though white peaches have been around for about 30 years and are popular in Asia, it’s taken American consumers a bit of time to discover their joys.

Once home, I washed the ripest specimen and bit right in, ushering in summer right then and there. It was sweet, wonderful, and extremely juicy. The air coming through the open window suddenly felt extra warm and the leaves on the trees seemed particularly green. My wish? A great, warm, sensual summer, with lots of time to enjoy family, friends and nature, to be outside, to make and grow things, to eat healthy food and to take enthusiastic bites out of life.

Last year, we made peach chutney and apricot-lavender jam, among other delights. I sense another good canning season to come.

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman