Edge of the Hollow: August 2010

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

On the fringe of insanity...

Meine Oma.

Anna von Birnbeck Knodlseder and my great uncle Otto Knodlseder in Munich early in World War II. This is the only surviving picture of my Oma that we have. When ever my mother sees this photo she always whispers how her mother washed the clothes with her jewelry and nice dress. She had to scrub the clothes on the old pine table and hang them up to dry in their cramped court yard in the city, as did billions of other women all around the world, from the beginning of time. My mother studied, stared at, and cherished this photo. Munich had been bombed 75 times in the war and sadly my grandmother died alone on a stretcher in a crowded hospital corridor from lack of medicine.

The reality of life and heartbreak on the fringe of insanity.

This picture has become part of our family legacy, a piece of the story, the saga of strong women, surviving, flourishing,
living and dying...

honored, loved and not forgotten.

Peaceful beauty... I wish you joy.

Namaste.

So much to share, so little time...

Our first sunflower of the summer...

My neighbor Emily brought me some glads. Her father raised them and they are the same tubers from his garden. Emily is 78 years old, the glads are pretty amazing for being that old...

I had to blog about this amazing bean... I bought the seeds from Seed Savers, Fin de Bagnol. Wow. They were slow and tempermental to germinate in this summer's climate (hot, humid and then cold, rainy and then hot, humid) but once they got going, wow. The plants are a bush variety and produce so well. I have been picking them since mid-July. I pick them when they are tender and small. They get long and lean and fill the bush, they are so tasty! I highly recommend this bean. Boutique bean for sure...

We love them lightly steamed with butter, sea salt and Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar...

All I can say is, wow.

I get a ton of Fin de Bagnol

beans off of a tiny bush and every two days I get a huge bowl.

It doesn't look like much in this dish as leftovers, but what a wonderful dinner it was.

Frittata!

I used 9 duck eggs, 3/4 cup of half and half, 1 1/2 cups of wonderful cheddar, salt, a bunch of chard, 3/4 cup squash, 3/4 cup zucchini, 1 onions, 3 garlic cloves, and 1/2 of a small sweet pepper from my garden lightly sauteed and then a large sprig of fresh cut basil, I sprinkled freshly grated Parmesan and Asiago over the top. Baked in a large dish at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes and a wonderful dinner...