Itinerary for the Prague contingent. Also, foraging
(In case you are one of the people who might benefit from this information)
Arriving late on the night of the 24th of July
Returning to Prague on the 19th of September
so if you wanted to meet the one or see the other again, you have almost two months to manage it.
Meanwhile I am very far behind in readying the house and attempting to write a bit of a thig for the day of porn, except it appears to be shaping up as a "mysterious appearing and disappearing curiosity shop, bookstore variety" fantasy, and maybe the porn isn't going to be the action but the Mysterious Item. I believe the action will be fluff.. . it's not as if my starting point was less ridiculous: I had imagined another zelenik story, which I think it still is, but I'm sure writing a lot of things about a fantasy "race" (more of a "population") that nobody else has ever heard of or cares about . . . yet.
I had my eye on these madrone berries around the corner, once I discovered that they are delicious, but I saw these very young folks out there picking them, andthey said their aunt was going to use them but I should ask another time. I will give it a week or so to let another round ripen (they are quite prolific), and then ask.
Meanwhile I collected about a liter and a half or two liters of pretty maroon crabapples which I was debating how to use (dry them to use like dried cranberries? They might or might not be nice like that, it's a risk . . . Sweet-pickle them the way people used to do? -- but I hated that crabapple ring garnish that used to show up on your plate all the time at certain types of restaurants when I was a kid! -- or jelly? But plain crabapple jelly is a bit boring . . .), but I have figured it out! Of course! Pepper jelly. At the store I saw no habaneros, which would have been Frank's pick, but I don't like them anyway, so the choice was serranos or jalapenos. Serranos would have pleased Frank as they are hotter, but the jalapenos were pretty and the serranos weren't, so I went with the jalapenos, especially after I smelled them and they smelled very nice and green. The jelly will be very red, and it will have a really complex flavor, as the crabapples have a bit of a bitter undertone and together they may taste a bit smoky.
Also, Zack loves beet greens, better than chard (they are a bit earthier and wilder tasting), but he doesn't care about beets that much, so -- I made borscht! It was lovely and I ate a lot of it. I had a lot of radishes from Grey Bears and no turnips (which I remedied later because I'm going to do a thing with the Grey Bears cauliflower and the turnip, one of three or four different things I have to decide about), so I put radishes into the borscht and that was fine. Radishes are more fiddly than turnips because they are smaller, but modern radishes aren't even sharp, so they sub in very well. I think old fashioned sharp radishes would sub in very well also, but the only way to test that is to grow an old fashioned variety yourself and my garden isn't back yet.
Arriving late on the night of the 24th of July
Returning to Prague on the 19th of September
so if you wanted to meet the one or see the other again, you have almost two months to manage it.
Meanwhile I am very far behind in readying the house and attempting to write a bit of a thig for the day of porn, except it appears to be shaping up as a "mysterious appearing and disappearing curiosity shop, bookstore variety" fantasy, and maybe the porn isn't going to be the action but the Mysterious Item. I believe the action will be fluff.. . it's not as if my starting point was less ridiculous: I had imagined another zelenik story, which I think it still is, but I'm sure writing a lot of things about a fantasy "race" (more of a "population") that nobody else has ever heard of or cares about . . . yet.
I had my eye on these madrone berries around the corner, once I discovered that they are delicious, but I saw these very young folks out there picking them, andthey said their aunt was going to use them but I should ask another time. I will give it a week or so to let another round ripen (they are quite prolific), and then ask.
Meanwhile I collected about a liter and a half or two liters of pretty maroon crabapples which I was debating how to use (dry them to use like dried cranberries? They might or might not be nice like that, it's a risk . . . Sweet-pickle them the way people used to do? -- but I hated that crabapple ring garnish that used to show up on your plate all the time at certain types of restaurants when I was a kid! -- or jelly? But plain crabapple jelly is a bit boring . . .), but I have figured it out! Of course! Pepper jelly. At the store I saw no habaneros, which would have been Frank's pick, but I don't like them anyway, so the choice was serranos or jalapenos. Serranos would have pleased Frank as they are hotter, but the jalapenos were pretty and the serranos weren't, so I went with the jalapenos, especially after I smelled them and they smelled very nice and green. The jelly will be very red, and it will have a really complex flavor, as the crabapples have a bit of a bitter undertone and together they may taste a bit smoky.
Also, Zack loves beet greens, better than chard (they are a bit earthier and wilder tasting), but he doesn't care about beets that much, so -- I made borscht! It was lovely and I ate a lot of it. I had a lot of radishes from Grey Bears and no turnips (which I remedied later because I'm going to do a thing with the Grey Bears cauliflower and the turnip, one of three or four different things I have to decide about), so I put radishes into the borscht and that was fine. Radishes are more fiddly than turnips because they are smaller, but modern radishes aren't even sharp, so they sub in very well. I think old fashioned sharp radishes would sub in very well also, but the only way to test that is to grow an old fashioned variety yourself and my garden isn't back yet.