Hello fellow fruit lovers,

Here in Seattle we’ve had a stubbornly late summer, with lots of rain and many cool cloudy days even through mid-July.  The positive aspect of this is that thimbleberries (one my favorite wild fruits) are doing exceptionally well, since they love water.  I’ve been feasting on them every other day, allowing a day of ripening between harvestings.  If you’ve never tried thimbleberries, there probably isn’t a fruit that is better indicative of how well adapted the human body is to the gathering of fruit.  That’s because thimbleberries are extremely fragile and require great manual dexterity and control to pick without being smooshed.  Thankfully, that’s probably the reason why nobody else seems to care about them — they are not practical to market or transport. 

Apart from those, I’ve been enjoying nectarines, melons, Valencia oranges and apricots.  Btw, when picking out nectarines, a good general guideline is to look for dark color and sugar dots!  Brownish lines, specks or splotches (called “russeting”, as in potatoes) are good too and are an indicator of sugar.  Buy them hard and let them sit in a warm place for a couple days, just till they give when you press your thumb into the flesh.  

Ever since I had wild apricots from some trees in a pasture in eastern Washington, I have avoided store bought apricots.  There’s no comparison, no matter how successful growers have been at making them look beautiful!  However, this year I’ve found some sources for apricots that let the fruit get fully colored before harvesting and don’t over-refrigerate (which makes the skin tough and chewy).    

The figs coming from California have been sporadic and disappointing.  But I have found lots of local trees (owned by loony people who don’t eat figs, go figure) here in Seattle and although we have only one short season, I manage to keep myself fed on figs pretty exclusively for a few weeks.  Fig season here is still a few weeks away. 

I have also been enjoying lots of iceberg lettuce, with its sweet watery taste and pleasant crunch.  I was eating lots of celery in the spring but lost my taste for it quite suddenly and started eating only fruit for many weeks, until I recently picked up a head of iceberg and re-discovered its fine qualities.  I’m so glad that I can now enjoy the subtle but delicious flavors in these kinds of foods, without the need for accompaniment.  I never thought that would happen.  It was a long time coming.

Please notice that I’ve added a “subscribe” feature to the website, so if you want to be notified of new blog entries, all you have to do is sign up.  Thanks to those visitors who suggested this!

I will share more in my next post!  If there are any topics you’re burning to discuss or questions you’re dying to ask, just leave a comment and I’ll be happy to respond as time allows. 

Until next we ‘meet’,

Nora