Beet and Sweet Potato Pancakes

Or fritters. Or whatever you want to call them. But once you start getting good stuff from the garden you go crazy on the salads, and just a drizzle of olive oil is enough dressing. But after the thrill is gone, you start to crave something crispy or fattening. Or at least I do. That's where vegetable pancakes come in. Any amount of vegetable, tubers or squash or whatever, can be grated and mixed with an egg or two, some flour (anywhere from one or two tablespoons to a quarter cup), seasoning and then fried up in some nice olive oil. Put a dollop of yogurt or sour cream and some fresh chopped herbs on top and you have a pretty nice meal that didn't take all that much time, or heat in the kitchen. You could also bake them in a 350 degree oven if you are worried about the frying, but seriously, the frying is what I'm talking about. You could grate some cardboard and fry it up and I'd be chomping on it, happy as a clam.

It's getting hot enough that I'm starting to forget to eat because I'm just too hot and lazy. I should be so lucky to forget to eat, right? Good thing there are no beaches here in the Hudson Valley. I recently had a run in with a half-gallon of cream which led me into this kind of trouble: pot de creme, strawberry ice cream, butter, etc. How about a salad with some French lentils tossed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper, a goodly amount of preserved lemon, loads of fresh parsley and scallion, and topped with some grilled chicken? To be honest, I see the words grilled chicken breast and I yawn, but it's good stuff. It's just because that's all we eat now that we bought forty pounds of local and humanely raised Murray's chickens.

I'm on my way to the fine city of Montreal in a bit, to indulge in all sorts of luxe items and to visit with some wonderful friends. How cool is that? I think I might have a cheese frenzy while I'm gone. When I get back I'm going to cleanse the dairy (and alcohol?) from my system for a bit. I'm also going to catch up on all the cool things that happened in June that kept me living, and not documenting, life. Like meeting so many can jammers that I met through Tigress' Can Jam: Sarah from Toronto Tasting Notes, Shae from Hitchhiking to Heaven, Kate from Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking, and Tigress herself, from Tigress in a Jam and Tigress in a Pickle. (I already talked about meeting Doris and Jilly Cooks here.) I've also been doing some freelance pickling for a local drinking establishment, and just took a meat curing class with Peter at Qui Si Mangia Bene. Whew. That's a lot of links. That's making me tired enough to go drink some super cold rosé. You don't drink it you say? Check out Peter's FAQ on rosé and change your mind.