Cow Hill spring

Many is the day hereabouts when I have to wonder why anybody would be addled enough to decide to stop here on their migration west in the 1800s.

"Wagon must have lost a wheel-Or they lacked ambition, one." -- James McMurtrey

July and August are hellishly hot. The vegetation on the verge of the highways is always toasted dry and often ignites, probably the result of a cigarette tossed from a car. Late summer heat here can be truly depressing. You just want to hunker down and ride it out.

The seasonal plague of crickets each fall is enough to make that season disgusting alone, leaving the rains aside.

January and February are usually gray, damp and chill. The whole world seems colored in a palette restricted to minor variations on muddy butternut. By the first of March, I'm usually locked into a steady "what's-the-use?" mentality that takes weeks to sweeten even a little.

But then comes spring.

Today is probably the last really cool day for months. Tonight's low is predicted to dip to 39. But yesterday we had sunshine and a high of 82. It's heaven on earth. The sage is blooming. Culinary sage, that is. The thyme is blooming. It's blooming time! The peach tree has baby drupes a-drooping already. The fig trees are wholly leafed out. My basil seeds have sprouted. Ditto shiso. The lemon grbutt stalks I've had in a glbutt of water for weeks are finally developing enough roots that I can imagine setting them in the ground after the next rain.

And with this last bit of coolness, I'm doing a last batch of beef stock. The bones are roasted and simmering in water with roasted vegetables, pepper corns, thyme. Spring stock! I plan on simmering it all evening and setting it in a 200 oven overnight. Tomorrow I'll strain it, skim the fat, and slowly reduce it with minced shallots till I have a demi glace of sorts.

D and I drove to the next county to a Mexican-run produce market this afternoon and picked up a mango or four. Spring produce! And they smell like sweetened love! We also got jalapenos (going to try to recreate Matt Martinez's roasted jalapeno vinaigrette for a chicken salad tonight), onions, cilantro.

Here's what the vinaigrette plans look like at present:

2 jalapenos, roasted on a gas grill and steamed in a bag till the skins pull off easily 2 Cloves of garlic juice of a lime (maybe more) scant handfuls of cilantro, chopped pinch of sugar salt pepper enough olive oil to emulsify maybe an egg yolk (still contemplating that one)

I'll partially seed the chiles to control the heat. Toss it all (but the oil) into a blender and buzz. Add the oil a little at a time with the blender running to form an emulsion.

It might work.

modom

Only superficial people don't judge by appearances. -- Oscar Wilde