Lunchbox Liz

Two states, five counties, and seven cities later I finally had to abandon my Craig’s List dream of a yard. The idea of using all the stuff I can scrounge on Craig’s List to landscape has been dashed by the realities of time. I have been saving toward landscaping this summer so I have a bit of money, but between travel and work I have no time. I got practical and ordered eight yards of top soil to build a burm in which to plant the xeriscape plants I bought via the City at wholesale prices. I did pay for my decision; the landscaping company dumped the dirt literally in the middle of the road creating a traffic hazard that I had to take care of one shovel full at a time. They said help was on the way, but it never showed.

Anyway back to the trip. I roared through the states of Maryland and Virginia for both work and pleasure. Work took me to Maryland Sheep and Wool the largest sheep show in the county where I enjoyed lamb sausage and large glasses of ice tea. My colleagues and I had our annual meal at May’s in Fredric Maryland where we feasted on lovely lump meat crab cakes with a side of giddiness that always accompanies a day at the show and gathering of friends. We met with one of the grand dames of weaving and her adorable husband for cocktails in Baltimore and then were led to a dive to eat when my traveling companion asked a homeless person for advise. In Charlottesville, Virginia, my hometown, I collapsed at a childhood friend’s apartment situated conveniently over a wine shop where we could scurry down the back stairs and grab a bottle of locally produced wine, fresh baked bread, and sheep’s milk cheese for snacking. While in the area I visited my god donkeys and their caretaker Ginger and gathered eggs from her neighbor’s farm, enjoyed a spinach pate with a high school friend, and ate a nostalgic dinner of grilled chicken, corn one the cob, and green beans with family while reminiscing about the 1,500 chocolate chip cookies we used to bake for the Messiah Sing-In. In Richmond, I visited my sister where we roamed the thrift stores and ate Thai food before pressing onto the Shenandoah Valley to spend a few hours with my mother eating fried chicken and spinach fresh from the garden. It is not with total regret that I gaze at my lump of commercial dirt and realize that one has to be flexible.

Today’s Lunch
Springtime Fettuccine

4 oz fettuccine
1 tbsp coconut or olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1/2 cup of peas (frozen or fresh)
1 tsp basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan

Cook fettuccine according to instruction on the package. In a large skillet, melt oil on medium heat and add onion. Cook until the onions are translucent, about three minutes, and add, bazil, salt and pepper, squash, and peas. Cover and cook for about ten minutes until the squash is tender. Toss with fettuccine and top with parmesan.