Nostalgia and plums

I skipped out on the market last weekend and went instead at my five year college reunion. It was one of those almost vacations, like a large family holiday gathering: no work, but so socially and emotionally intense that I came home wanting a weekend to recover from my weekend. I spent the days stumbling from one emotion to the next—heart-bursting happiness at seeing old friends, pride in the lives they're building, wonder to be sleeping again in the prairie, under the rumble and flash of Midwestern thunderstorms, and the abrupt grief of the airport when I realized I was about to lose it all again—unable, unwilling to slow down because the time was so brief. And now I'm back in Bellingham, and the people I love most are once again scattered wide across the country and the world. Maybe I can convince them all to move to Bellingham. Some of them to move to Bellingham? How do I tempt the young intelligentsia to this sleepy town?

Anyways, on to the bit your really care about: I have two new treats for the market tomorrow! I've been raiding ornamental plum trees for their tart, juicy, impossible to pit fruit, and now you can taste the fruits of my labors (ha!) in a frangipane and plum galette, and a cardamom sourdough plum cake, aka pflaumenkuchen. I also recommend you go eat some plums, hot off the tree. They're used everywhere in commercial landscaping, and the fruit is puckeringly good. And free. Don't forget that it's free!

I've also be introduced to the best summer drink ever. Hands down. I challenge anyone to top this: frozen watermelon, mint, and water, blended till frothy. Try it. You'll never drink anything else again.

Enjoy your breakfast watermelon slushy, and then come to the market!