Fireworks and Galettes
It's a beautiful, gorgeous, sunny summer solstice -- not here, though. Albuquerque, maybe -- my mom says they're having a drought.
This is of concern to us in Pittsburgh, because our annual trip to Albuquerque is scheduled to coincide with July 4th, since Albuquerque is, so far, still a place where you can sit in the backyard and light off those fountain fireworks that make life worth living. You can't do that in Pittsburgh. Granted, we have Zambelli Fireworks (careful, you're going to get sound and fireworks), and they are worth going a far piece to see, but we like to sit in the backyard whilst the child's Dad and uncles set things on fire. It's very exciting. Occasionally things go a bit awry, and the spectators have to hustle out of the way, and that adds to the excitement. I'm told that this year, on account of the drought, the City Council got nervous, but they've decided to allow fireworks in Albuquerque backyards, as long as they don't go over 10 feet in the air, or are louder than capguns.
Now, what the sound has to do with the danger of fire is unclear to me. I think they tacked that on as a rider.
But sun or no, it IS the summer solstice, and by God, we're having nice sunny foods tonight, even if the sun's not appreciating it. Tomato soup. Parmesan baguette toasts. Nectarine galette.
Galettes are especially nice, cause they're dead simple, but they have a fancy French name and look rustic, so you get to pretend you're a rustic French housewife. In the sunny South of France.
How to make? Create pie dough. Roll pie dough out. Do not worry about making the edges even. Put the thing on a greased baking sheet (I use one of my pizza pans, which are nicely round). Pile some fruit in the middle. Fold the edges of the dough up over the edge of the fruit -- do NOT cover the fruit up. Let the center fruit be attractively visible. Sprinkle all with some sugar. Bake, as you would a regular pie.
Eat in remembrance of Brother Sun, who is up there somewhere, even over Pittsburgh.
This is of concern to us in Pittsburgh, because our annual trip to Albuquerque is scheduled to coincide with July 4th, since Albuquerque is, so far, still a place where you can sit in the backyard and light off those fountain fireworks that make life worth living. You can't do that in Pittsburgh. Granted, we have Zambelli Fireworks (careful, you're going to get sound and fireworks), and they are worth going a far piece to see, but we like to sit in the backyard whilst the child's Dad and uncles set things on fire. It's very exciting. Occasionally things go a bit awry, and the spectators have to hustle out of the way, and that adds to the excitement. I'm told that this year, on account of the drought, the City Council got nervous, but they've decided to allow fireworks in Albuquerque backyards, as long as they don't go over 10 feet in the air, or are louder than capguns.
Now, what the sound has to do with the danger of fire is unclear to me. I think they tacked that on as a rider.
But sun or no, it IS the summer solstice, and by God, we're having nice sunny foods tonight, even if the sun's not appreciating it. Tomato soup. Parmesan baguette toasts. Nectarine galette.
Galettes are especially nice, cause they're dead simple, but they have a fancy French name and look rustic, so you get to pretend you're a rustic French housewife. In the sunny South of France.
How to make? Create pie dough. Roll pie dough out. Do not worry about making the edges even. Put the thing on a greased baking sheet (I use one of my pizza pans, which are nicely round). Pile some fruit in the middle. Fold the edges of the dough up over the edge of the fruit -- do NOT cover the fruit up. Let the center fruit be attractively visible. Sprinkle all with some sugar. Bake, as you would a regular pie.
Eat in remembrance of Brother Sun, who is up there somewhere, even over Pittsburgh.
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