There is a quote from M.F.K. Fisher that I love: “First we eat, then we do everything else.”
As the days grow longer and we are graced with extra hours of sunlight in the morning and evening, I happily have found myself with even more time to eat, bake, and lounge for just a little while longer with friends over cocktails in backyards and on restaurant decks. I seek out more new places where you can only eat in the earliest (I’m talking about you Crumble & Flake) or latest hours of the day. No matter the time of year though, eating always comes first for me as I prioritize my days.
Let’s talk about rhubarb:
It first called out to me from the shelves of the West Seattle Produce Co from among the abundance of fresh, local vegetables and fruit they have to offer. I answered the siren call of the bright red stalks despite never having purchased or even given rhubarb a second thought before and filled a big bag. I knew that Food52 (James Beard Foundation’s Publication of the Year!) would have a great idea waiting for me.
They did, of course. That night I set to work on Ann Dimock’s Straight-Up Rhubarb Pie and it emerged from the oven with the rhubarb and sugar bubbling up through the vents in the crust JUST like the recipe said it would. I was pretty proud of myself. I served warm slices of it accompanied by big dollops of Whidbey Island Ice Cream Company’s vanilla to a group of friends. The evening also included homemade mojitos with mint from our backyard sipped out of old milk jugs made by our fantastic neighbor Chelsea.
You have to make this pie.
While it’s baking I strongly suggest going outside with a big mason jar full of sparkling water and a wedge of lime and spending some time with a great book. I’m almost done with Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant by Jenni Ferrari-Adler and it has been such a treat.
A few weeks ago a big bunch of my family got together on Vashon for dinner. It’s amazing how hard it is to make this happen as all the “kids” (the youngest of whom is now 22) get older and are all off living their lives. It was wonderful. The dish above is Yotam Ottolenghi’s Turkey and Sweetcorn Meatballs with Roasted Pepper Sauce from Ottolenghi, The Cookbook.
Picnics in the grass at Golden Gardens have also begun taking place with more regularity. A bottle of white wine (and coffee cups to drink it out of), some soft cheese and La Panzanella croccantini are our go-to basics.
A few weeks ago we made the drive to Walla Walla for our annual wine tasting weekend. We get a group of about 13 friends together every May and head east for a weekend on sunshine, phenomenal wine and food. This year did not disappoint and the 2 full days we were there included visits to Dunham, Buty, Amavi, and Va Piano accompanied by more eating than I want to admit. Breakfasts were had at Olive & The Colville Street Patisserie followed by dinners (and second dinners) at Sweet Basil Pizzeria and The Green (which has the best fish tacos I’ve ever had in my life). We bought huge Walla Walla sweet chicken burritos for the drive back to Seattle from my favorite taco truck.
I hope that your longer days have been wonderful so far.








































































