Back in Brooklyn

I’m back from my working trip to Switzerland. I have to say some of the trip was pretty spectacular. One evening my temporary landlord Herr Arnold and his wife took me out on Lake Constance in a boat that has been in their family since 1924.

We ended the boatride at sunset,

which was pretty awesome.

While I was in Switzerland my fellow forager Kat Morgenstern took several trains from Germany to spend a day with me. I hadn’t seen her in person for five and a half years, and it was lovely to reconnect. It was also fun to walk with someone who recognized the valerian growing by the side of the path and who suggested that we might have elderflower fritters for dinner.

Back in Brooklyn, the elderberry shrubs are in flower here just as they were in Switzerland when I left. I’m not picking any because I’m greedy for the berries that will come in August if I leave them alone now. I’m hoping Ellen will be up for the same deal we struck last year: I contribute berries, she brews them into wine, we share the result.

To say that my garden looked lush after my absence is putting it mildly. There was some major weed control required. However, I’m practicing selective weeding. The lamb’s quarters gets to stay until it’s big enough to do something with (it’s a lovely mild, spinach-like green), the chickweed can stay to contribute to my salads until summer’s heat hits and turns it stringy, and the burdock is safe until I’ve had several side dishes worth of its roots and succulent flower stalks.

I went to the farmers’ market this weekend and it looked pretty much the same as it had when I left, and pretty much the same as the markets in Switzerland: asparagus and strawberries are still the stars. The green garlic was a new appearance though, and is going into my dinner tonight.

It’s good to be home.

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Botany, Ballet, & Dinner from Scratch: A Memoir with Recipes by Leda Meredith