This morning I attempted to sleep in, but my body is so accustomed to my workday wakeup time of 5:15am that it's really not possible to do it properly. I usually can doze for another hour or two, but I never go back into a deep sleep, plus the dogs start stirring around and wanting their breakfast before long. I don't really mind, because I rarely stay up late. I guess it's probably a good thing to have such regular sleep habits.
For once I did most of my grocery shopping yesterday afternoon after work, so that's one less Saturday chore I have today. I do plan to go to a small local farm stand I just discovered recently for fresh vegetables and fruit. They've had wonderful heirloom tomatoes, fresh Romaine lettuce (locally grown lettuce is like gold right now with all the "diarrhea lettuce" making headlines around the country) and plenty of other goodies like sweet corn, peppers, summer and winter squash, and okra. For fruit they've had heirloom watermelons, plums, and even figs a few times. Last week, I bought a jar of pickled okra for the first time. I'd never tried it before but wanted to. I love all kinds of pickles, and I like okra in all its forms, so it's no surprise that I really liked it!
When I was at the grocery store yesterday I found some nice-looking raw green peanuts, so I bought two pounds. They're currently cooking in a large crock pot with plenty of water and salt. Fresh hot boiled peanuts are a real treat every once in a while. That probably sounds strange to at least 75% of you reading this! As far as I know only people here in the South eat them, but they're very, very tasty. Especially if you like salt! :)
Beyond going to the farm stand and making a simple supper later on, today is going to be for relaxing. The past couple of weeks at work have simply dragged even though I've been very busy. It's still hot here (although now more "ordinary" hot than "extreme heat wave" hot) and it continues to sap my energy and motivation. I'm craving crisp, cool days and chilly nights where I can finally shake off some of the torpor. September can't get here soon enough!
This was a nice read, you made me a little homesick for my earlier years on the family farm where we grew, canned and pickled everything. That okra sounds tasty! But you kinda lost me with those peanuts, I grew up on the WVa border. Not far enough South apparently. 😉
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried them? If not, too bad. They're way tastier than they sound!
DeleteJennifer I haven't but I believe you, I have family in Charleston SC and they love boiled peanuts. 🙂
ReplyDeleteThe next time you visit, you should try them! Make sure they're hot and fresh. Paired with sweet iced tea, there's no better snack!
DeleteWe were just lamenting the fact that we don’t seem to have any good big public market with farm fresh fruit and veg in the city. I keep thinking I’ve missed something. (And I DO miss it.)
ReplyDeleteI'm resting surprised by that! No farmer's markets?!
Delete*really* surprised.
DeleteOf course we love boiled peanuts but in the last few years, Glen has been roasting them in the oven on cookie trays. Easy, fast, and good. Also, no salt because you roast them in the shell.
ReplyDeleteI went by the coming-soon farm stand place right down the street from me today and it looks like they're trying to fix up the exterior to look more like a farm stand than a former jail which may have been what it was. I'll check them out when they open although their proclivity for announcing their religious faith is a bit of a no-go for me. I want vegetables, not religion.
When we were honeymooning at Huntington beach I remember buying fried peanuts that were really delicious, too.
DeleteNortherner here. We would see boiled peanuts for sale when we traveled south but were always too sissyfied to try them, lol.
ReplyDeleteMy husband just planted some more lettuce seeds. We had a few salads in early spring, then it got too hot to grow. We are going to see if we can get one or two safe salads this fall.
Good luck with the salad greens! I planted some this spring but it got hot so fast they were very, very bitter.
DeleteIt's not good to disrupt your sleep rhythms too much, apparently, not that we get much chance either, with furry alarm clocks. 🐕🦮
ReplyDeleteGeorge, Poppy, and Marco are ready for breakfast every morning first thing!
DeleteI miss my salads, but I'm steaming etc, to be sure though I don't shop the suspect sources. Not taking any chances.
ReplyDeleteNever had boiled peanuts --too far north!
I love winter greens and they're readily available locally so I'm not worried about getting my vitamins this winter!
Deletesummer winding sown, we never did get any heat this summer. Glad of that because I can't do heat. I live in the right area!
ReplyDeleteOf course the pups need breakfast before dawn! They are like toddlers!
I like the sound of Pickled Okra. It's not something I would normally eat, but pickling does wonders!
ReplyDeleteThe one timein my life I‘ve been to the US (late 1990s), to Florida to be more precise, I did buy a paperbag of boiled peanuts from a roadside stall. I remember that I liked them, but strangely enough what I remember most about that moment are the faces of the couple at the stall. Both the man and the woman looked completely worn out, deep shadows beneath their eyes, unhappy expressions. They radiated poverty and exhaustion, and I felt so very sorry for them.
ReplyDeleteFreshly cooked peanuts are truly awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteMy brother dropped off dill pickles from his garden the other day and they sure are delicious. Taste so much better than store bought pickles.
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a fun, relaxing day, Jennifer!
Interestingly. It turned quite cool here in the nights. I thought the change was a fluke, but it has stayed cool and today it is supposed to rain most of the day. Quite freaky. I hope that this weather heads south.
ReplyDeleteI love boiled peanuts but I've never made them at home -- just bought them at roadside stands! Is the "diarrhea lettuce" still a thing? Hasn't that all been ironed out now?
ReplyDeleteWe woke at 7AM as usual, the Carlos made pancakes for breakfast, I wasn't feeling well--no the pancakes--and went back to be at 8:30 and slept until past noon.
ReplyDeleteApparently I needed that.
The first few years I lived here in Floriduh, I saw signs for boiled peanuts all the time. I never bought any. I saw the peanuts and thought they looked like cockroaches, so the peanuts are all yours, Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie