RHUBARB JELLY (GUEST POST FROM SEATTLE SISTER B. GRAY)

Spring has sprung in Seattle.  For those more familiar with Garden State climes, that translates to 72 and sunny on Monday through Thursday dipping down to 58 and cloudy on Friday. A steady drizzle will settle in just in time for the weekend with the opportunity to rinse and repeat. Milder years boasted three or more days of 80-degree weather in a row.  We had one of those a week ago and it was divine.  And although I work in a climate controlled building, I would not need to leave the confines of the elevator bank to know when the warmer weather had rolled in.  The elevator conversation during three days of consistent 75-degrees or higher starts off casually enough:

Day 1—Joyful and Spirited

“How about that weather!”
“Sure is lovely.”
“I hear we are in for a few days of this!”

Day 2—Tolerance, Masquerading as Joy

“I’m loving this weather!”
“Thought that rain would never end this year.”
“True that—it was pretty hot out there today.”
“Yep, I hear we are in for a few more days…”

Day 3—Exaggerated Patience Searching for Camaraderie in all this Madness

“It is a scorcher today!”
“I can’t bear the heat—I hear it was nearly 80 in some parts of the city.”

“Seriously.  Home Depot was completely sold out of fans and air conditioners last night, I thought I would die.”
“I hear it is going to cool down this weekend—maybe down to 60 or so.”
“Oh thank goodness.  I mean, I don’t mind a day or two of this weather, but really.  Enough of the heat already!”
 
As a former Jersey girl, who for years suffered through 98-degrees and 98% humidity, I am annually amused by this most reliable banter. Day 3 and most Seattleites have had more than enough of temperatures in excess of 80-degrees.  You can hear the city as a whole breathe a collective sigh of relief once the temperatures return to a more suitable 70 or less.  Good, solid, Scandanavian stock out here.  Very few of the southern Mediterranean types that crave the heat.  They only last so long in the Pacific Northwest.

But enough about the weather.  As NMMNP would say, “Enough about you, why don’t you talk about me for a spell?”  So I will.  I am far from being a jealous person by nature, but I am filled with jelly at the well-deserved trip that NMMNP and family are currently enjoying:  London, Paris, Venice and the Tuscan countryside.  So.  Much.  Eating.  I bet that when you tune in to future weeks at this very site, you will be treated to pictures, snippets of Italian lore and recipes galore.  I look forward to those as I’m sure you do.  No one tells a food story better! 
 
Speaking of food, today I went to the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market—it’s a great one with a strong following. My little eye spied (in addition to possibly the cutest 14-week old corgi puppy named Mocha) a pile of rosy red rhubarb bragging that it had sprung free from the ground that very morning.  I got a few pounds and, in keeping with the theme of NMMNP am threatening to make them into a pie or pie-like item before the sun goes down.  I also got a lovely mother’s day gift for my most lovely mother.  I’d tell you what it is, but as she is a big fan of NMMNP, I don’t want to spoil the surprise. 
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Happy early Mother’s Day to all the fantastic mothers out there in the world, but especially to Rommy—may your day be filled with flowers and another well scented surprise that is coming in the mail shortly….