One of the things that breaks my heart the most about my grandmother’s death is that I used to be extremely dedicated to sending her items in the mail. Letters, photos, cookies, postcards…anything would do. My mom was shocked to see how many postcards my cousin and I had sent her over the years. She kept them all in old Pot of Gold boxes. So nostalgic!

In any case, to fill the void, I’ve signed up to Postcrossing. It’s a service that connects people who love to get and send postcards, randomly. My first card is going to Finland, I can’t wait to send it!

I’ve also started ordering more items on the internet instead of buying them in the store. It takes a bit more patience and trust sometimes, but the rewards are high. My most recent purchase is an apron from Etsy. I had a hard time deciding which one to get! Boojiboo, who I ordered from, stocks amazing fabrics and also does a number of styles. In the end I got the vintage inspired “Bella” apron in a blue cupcake material, which she made specially for me after I thought the fabric was sold out.

I came SO beautifully wrapped!

Very Susie Homemaker, non? I then made some soft ginger cookies, to christen it. It’s almost too nice to wear.

Paris is not the city of lights. via manganite on Flickr

I am told the best way to deal with ear worms (i.e. songs that get trapped in your head) is to listen to the full song.

Lately, I have been pining for Tokyo. I’m not sure why, exactly. It’s been a long August and as Mike so kindly points out, I haven’t been on my quarterly vacation this quarter. Anyhow, in attempt to clear it out of my brain, I’ve been browing Flickr streams for photos from Tokyo.

It’s not really working in the way I want it to, though.

It was a very real “Oh, we’ve grown up, haven’t we?” moment for me, as Tory and I discussed and sipped wines with our parents and “aunt and uncle”, Rick and Lori.

Previous summer trips to their place had been spent doing summer things; running to the corner store, playing Nintendo, watching the Simpsons. But what else do you do when you’re 11 years old?

I guess run through the sprinkler.

From left: my brother Tory, our “cousin” Jenna and myself.

courtesy: Rick Guzzell.

Yes. That is me. I think I’m about 12 or 13 in the photo.

This is sort of like when a celebrity releases any embarassing photos ahead of a scandal being revealed, just to have the upper hand. LET US NEVER SPEAK OF THIS AGAIN.

Anyhow, it was money well spent for I got to try two new things, one I’ve been wanting to actually see for quite some time and the other something completely new.

This gorgeous green plate is made up of (from bottom left) sea asparagus from the West Coast, romanesco and fresh Calimyrna figs.

A close up of the baby romanesco. You ask: What the hell is this, cauliflower on LSD? Well it’s a member of the Brassicaceae family, meaning it’s similar to, you guessed it: broccoli and cauliflower. However, the way it grows is into a logarithmic spiral and so, it’s a fractal vegetable.

How nerdy.

Of course, I wanted to try eating it, but I also wanted to use it for it’s other clear use: a photo op. My  mother would chide my brother and I not to play with our food as children, but I am not sure where this lies in that realm. At a $1.79 EACH I sure as hell wasn’t going to pitch it after I snapped it’s photo.

Okay, I mostly bought this for the name.

And the lovely typeface usage and overall design.

It was an odd, slightly alcoholic tasting brew. I want to try the ginger beer and “curious cola” but at $3.50 a pop, I’m not sure I can stomach buying another.

I steamed the baby romanesco, then draped it in butter, topping it with Tellicherry pepper and Maldon finishing salt. Don’t they look like little Christmas trees all gussied up?

They were also tender and delicious. I think kids would really get on board with members of the brassica family if they were as cool looking and delish as these.

Of course, more shots.

The sea asparagus was very similar to fiddleheads. It’s extremely salty (as are many things that come from the ocean, surprisingly) so I blanched it, then sauteed it with garlic, butter and a touch of vinegar. Crunchy and crispy, with a salty flavour. I’m definitely going to buy some more.

The all-vegetable dinner was a huge success. I also made some steamed baby potatoes with tarragon.