SURPRISINGLY, LIVING OFF THE FAT OF THE LAND, as George and Lennie aspired to in Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” isn’t too hard on my small island in the summer. Having the fertile Skagit Valley as a neighbor doesn’t hurt.
Returning from a visit with friends in Portland and Olympia earlier this week, I stopped at two favorite purveyors of such “fat”: the Hayton Farms berry stand on Fir Island, where freshly picked organic berries of just about any variety are offered from June to August, and the Pleasant Ridge Farm stand, a short distance north of the North Fork of the Skagit River.
I picked up a four-pack of fresh raspberries at Hayton Farms and a couple of summer squash and some kale at Pleasant Ridge, a self-serve farmstand that Barbara and I patronized for years. Besides offering bins of some of Skagit’s best sweet corn it has the added charming feature of a field of you-cut zinnias (50 cents a stem) behind the barn. Somehow I got into being a fanatical zinnia grower when I was about 10, and I’m always cheered by these simple, vividly colored blooms ranging from lemon yellow to rich claret.
The squash I supplemented with a pretty orange pepper from my neighbor Monique, proprietor of the Under Sail Produce Stand on Center Island. (The name derives from the old Hobie sail she and husband Chris have rigged up as a shelter for the stand.) Together the summer vegetables went into a tray bake I contributed to a Wednesday dinner with neighbors Carol and John “The Mad Birder” Farnsworth. It nicely complemented the Mad Birder’s salmon cakes and Carol’s pasta dish.
The raspberries are also for sharing. An hour ago I pulled a raspberry-apple crumble out of the oven, my intended contribution to a family barbecue tomorrow in Seattle. Back on the water taxi for me and Galley Cat in the morning.
The dessert is my second outing at baking berry crumbles, a simple treat that my brother Tom liked to create while he was visiting. Barbara was always the Nuthatch’s baker and head chef. I was glad for Tom’s inspiration.
So, the Nuthatch is perhaps a bit like George and Lennie’s dream of a little place where they could live “off the fatta the lan” and maybe keep rabbits (Lennie’s idea). But I don’t need rabbits. Galley Cat, who ducks in and out of my writing hut for another kitty treat every five minutes, even as I write this, keeps me busy enough. Bless her fuzzy little heart.
Cantwell's Reef 
Looking forward to some of that raspberry apple crumble tomorrow! 😋
LikeLike
I can smell that raspberry crumble all the way to Portland. How about a recipe?
LikeLike
I have a treasury of family cookbooks and recipe binders and I love to use them, but for this I found just what I wanted on the internet: Apple-Raspberry Crumble with Oat-Walnut Topping, https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/apple-raspberry-crumble-with-oat-walnut-topping-recipe-1973393. I had more raspberries than apples so I amended the recipe accordingly. I can’t imagine having too many raspberries will hurt it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh how we miss the berries! Blueberries and raspberries are hard to come by here and expensive. Your photos and descriptions make my mouth water!
LikeLike
I remember reading Of Mice and Men in high school. I would think of it differently if I read it for the first time today.
LikeLike
I read Of Mice and Men in high school and like most everything from high school, I have completely forgotten it. Except for the residual certainty that I liked it at the time.
Coming back from our June trip to California, including a stop off at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Jean suggested I read Cannery Row. Started it. Liked it immediately, then other interests intruded. Your sweet and gorgeous blog entry reminds me that I need to march on down to the waterfront and finish that delightful book about sardines and the salts who brined themselves and the fish too.
LikeLike