Friend Makin' Monday... caught red-handed!

It's a beautiful day in Los Angeles, and it also happens to be Tom's first day at his new job.  (Yay, hurray!)  It's a ten-hour workday for him, but he's very happy and it seems like it will be a good fit.

My freelancing jobs are more flexible, and allow me to work from home.   This means I get to do all of our errands and much of our cooking while he works on-site, so while my schedule is a little jumbled today, I'm feeling happy and productive.

Being alone at home also means that I don't have anybody there with me while I eat most of my meals.  It's not like anybody stands over me anyway, but there's something nice about knowing there's someone nearby who could catch you red-handed if you were eating inappropriately... or who could help you talk through food challenges.  I used to have a tendency to eat more when I was alone, So I'm going to be working extra hard to stay accountable to myself, logging meals as they happen instead of a day later, and so on.

Fortunately, we have a great food schedule for the week, including a few special items we picked up at the Farmer's Market.  My favorite?  Persian mulberries!

He's kind of tendril-covered. That's normal.

  

We first discovered Persian mulberries in 2008, through an article in the Los Angeles Times, which described the berries as having "a toxicating effect," and "intensely sweet, but with a nice, balancing acidity. The flavor is almost wine-like in its complexity."  They're delicate, plus the trees only produce a limited quantity... and at the time, the berries were so popular that farmers often hid their baskets underneath the market tables, only to be purchased by those in the know.

We headed straight to the mulberry farmer that Sunday after reading the article, and requested one of those sneakily hidden cartons.  After tasting one berry, we couldn't resist.  We ate the rest of that carton for breakfast while sitting on the curb.  And it's a good thing - they're so fragile that you practically need to eat them right away.  Either they melt in your mouth... or they melt right there in the carton.

They're still mostly a word-of-mouth delicacy these days, but instead of hiding underneath, they sit inauspiciously in a corner of the few mulberry farmers' tables.  They're always kind of leaky from the tender berries' deep juices... and if I didn't already know them to be the most complex, flavorful berry around, I would never consider purchasing them on looks alone.

   

They're good with fat-free Greek yogurt... but honestly, they're even better on their own.

  
I tend toward the simple with mulberries, because they have such a unique flavor.  I wouldn't cook them, or even mar their flavor in combination with anything else.  I'd maybe consider using them in a salad. Really, the only time I've appreciated them as much as straight from the carton was last year, when Tom had the brilliant idea of making sorbet with them.  But that's a recipe for next mulberry season, alas, because this one is just about over.  I'll be sure to let everyone know when the season starts next year... because you'll surely catch me red-handed that day.

From the mulberry juice, that is.  These puppies STAIN.

  
And now for a little Friend Makin' Monday!  Today's topic is "A Letter to My Future Self."

Dear future self:


Hello! What is the future like? Do we have rocket packs and flying cars yet?


I am doing well.  My year, so far, has been transformative in so many different ways.  I feel like I'm finally on the right path, of following my heart (not my jerking knee or my anxious brain or my addicted stomach) toward doing what is best for me.  Are you keeping up with all of the changes I made?  I don't know when in the future you are, future self, but no matter when it is, all of the changes I've made have been with the goal of maintaining them for life.  (That's why they aren't drastic, or uncompromising.) 


What I haven't been able to master (yet) is the writing career.  I've definitely made great strides toward it, but I'm really hoping that you've carried out all that I've set up - and more.


How's the family, future self?  Were you able to have a child? Adopt one? Are the kittens still being adorable and mischievous? Do we have a dog yet?  If the answer to those questions is "yes," then it also means we probably have a house.  Are you gardening, and cooking fresh produce for everyone?  I can't wait to see it, taste it, smell it... live it.


Thanks for being such a great influence. I'd like to think I did all of these good things with you in mind... because I'm hoping you and I will have a long, beautiful friendship.


I love you. No matter what you're up to these days.  But whatever that is... I hope you're taking good care of you.


xoxox
present self


OK. That's it for today, but I'm looking forward to sharing my upcoming posts with you.  Come back soon for some harvest-time recipes, a bit of insight on my weight loss progress, and a very Californian adventure, plus lots more.  And in the meanwhile - please, take care of you!