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Thanks so much, I really enjoyed your writing and photos. I love your eclectic, creative cooking. It's inspiring me, in fact, I'm making the stuffed tomatoes and the cornmeal cakes next week for a dinner.

Oh god, it's hard to read this blog before I've eaten lunch. Why do you use demerara sugar? Also, and maybe others will be asking this, but what is CSA? Sounds like not just organic veggie drop but fish too? Can't wait to see dinner!

Washington is Berryland. I spent many years in Utah and that was devoid of berries as well. However, I did raise killer peaches in my backyard. You can't do that on the wet side of the Cascades. When I came here, I was overwhelmed by the native foods like berries and then oysters, shrimp and clams. It was heaven for a food lover.

Looking back at your photos of the herb planters, I noticed that the plants are rather small (especially the sage), considering how large herb plants can get. Did you just plant them this year? I started my herbs in containers but then they just started outgrowing things and when I set them free in the garden, they had a big growth spurt! Now, what do you do with angelica and marjoram? I've never heard of angelica, but I have some marjoram plants. I don't know what to do with it although I heard of it as a kind of oregano. In fact, I can't tell it apart from my oregano - I'm always wondering which is which... You've inspired me Abra! Next week I'm going to do your cornmeal cakes for my dinner with my friend. We get together every couple weeks for our "gourmet" cooking dinners. We will switch on who makes the main dish and who does the starter and dessert. So, I have to hustle myself out into the blackberry patches tonight... I'm also considering your grilled stuffed tomatoes for a starter course. Damn, what do I need cookbooks for, I've got eGullet!

A big Yum. What is Fiori di Sicilia? I love cakes soaked in syrup and I have tons of rosemary, so I'd love to try something like this. What did you guys have to drink? I couldn't read the label on the wine...

That still wouldn't convince me to tell the truth if I HAVE to get the damn card. Lie, Lie Lie all the way. Well I'll use my real name, what the heck, give them a bone.

Thanks Abra. I think I'm going to have to go to Farmer George's butcher shop in Port Orchard and get some pork fat. They have a big barrel they put all their fat in and I've gotten some for my mom's suet feeders before. Since the lard gets cooked, would you say it's safe to get fat from a barrel like that? Heck, I remember my mother kept a can of bacon fat out on the stove and cooked from that when we were growing up. I can't believe I let scapes escape me this year. I had shallots and garlic growing in my garden and they put out their weird scapes and by the time I learned that they were edible, they'd already been out too long to be tender!

Abra, that was a lovely picture of your leftovers with the flowers. Questions: How many blueberry plants do you have? I got two this year, one large and producing, one just a twig. I'd like to have a good supply of berries each year so am wondering how many plants I need. You mentioned rendering lard a couple times so I think you do it often. How is this done? And the mother vinegar, how is that done? You know, I should have gotten a starter from you at the party but I didn't see your post about it until after the party. How about a photo of the view outside your deck? That will give everybody a good idea of what it's like to live on the island...

Wow Abra, it's so wonderful you're doing a blog - one from our own neck o' the woods. And Happy Belated Birthday! It's so exciting to read a blog of someone I know in person. All your food looks wonderful, including the tupperware-ized. You do such variety. Oh and those brownies....what a photo. As another Washingtonian, I definitely do not consider the blackberry a noxious weed. I think we're lucky to have berries in such profusion. The other day I went to my local video store in West Seattle and picked myself a container of them, enough to make a fresh cobbler just from the vines in the alleyway. Last night I was mountain biking by Sea Tac Airport and the air was redolent with the smell of ripe blackberries. Yes, they attack me every chance they get, but then I take revenge and eat them! I'll be going back to pick - the season is going by very quickly. Do you manage to do all the work yourself? or do you need/use helpers?

I have to get off this damn blog as my eyes are getting red, sitting here in my cubicle at work. I don't know there was something about her, just unforgettable. I wanted her to go to 100... or to be forever young.

I made beautiful spring rolls tonight.... and just finished eating all of them! This time I was very careful and exact. While I worked, I sipped on a nice, cold French rose... I took the moist paper towel approach detailed by Rachel above. First I assembled all my ingrediants. I had daikon radish which I shredded finely with carrot and marinated these in rice wine and a touch of sugar. Bean threads. Basil and cilantro. Steamed shrimp (ugh, butterflying them and then steaming them made them go really crooked!). Julienned scallions. So mise en place at hand, I then dipped a wrapper into the warm water and took it out while still somewhat firm and put this on a moist paper towel. Then went on to the next and layered three into paper towels. Taking the first which had by then become soft, I lay it on paper towel at first, but this tended to be sticky, so I ended up wrapping on the tile counter which worked well. I made sure to keep the ends free when piling everything on so I could tuck them in well. I don't know if it's because I let the wrappers rest and they were somewhat dry, not as wet before, but I had much better luck wrapping and the wrapper stuck to itself rather than to my fingers. Ah, success! I made a whole plate of them and they were beautiful, nothing broken or falling out. I even worked on making them pretty by using whole basil leaves and letting them stick out a bit. Keeping these on a plate under the paper toweling, I used the leftovers of bean threads and vegetables by stir frying them and then adding oyster sauce and a touch of soy with a couple slices of diced bacon. I love this dish. My chinese friend's family calls a simpler variation of this typhon (sp)...don't know if that's what I really make or not though but it's tasty and I could eat it a couple times a week. Now I don't yet have a digital camera although I may by the end of this week; otherwise, you would be seeing the digital proof of my pretty ones. Thanks to all, I think I'm on my way to success with spring/summer rolls!

Ah yes, the spot I always get sucked into, that no-man's land when I'm trying to find a shortcut back to West Seattle! Thanks Tighe. And I'm always looking out for good mexican places, like taco trucks and such. I'm sure you've been to the Salvadoran Bakery in White Center? Not Mexican but interesting twist on latino food.

Okay, as a West Seattleite I have to admit to not knowing where South Park is except in TV-land. But I'd sure be interested in some directions to Muy Macho, Tighe! I always get lost going into south end land, but I sure do prefer it over the U district nightmare...

Thanks Rachel for the detailed instructions! Last night I didn't use cabbage as I didn't have any, I had just scallions, pickled cukes and carrots. I will also try to get some daikon radish as I'd like to try that and bean sprouts. I did notice that I didn't need to leave the wrapper in warm water very long, just a few seconds before it was ready to work. And you're right, these wrappers are so cheap that one can afford a few mistakes. Well I actually just eat my mistakes and go on to the next try.... So far, I've gotten the Chee Hou sauce and used that in my first try, then last night I used the Mae Ploy - I really like a hot, sweet sauce. Thanks for your suggestions of dipping sauces. There's so many ways to do this!

Exactly! I kept my laptop on with this page up so I could run into the living room and check up on what I should be doing next. I did try to keep the greenery and shrimp at the bottom of the roll so they would show through...at least I can pretend to be aesthetically inclined instead of just a greedy spring roll pig. It sounds like spring rolls should be prepared and eaten within the same time frame. No holding over a day.

Well I would use some for a salsa fresca. I made some this week and had it with my breaded fillet of cod and it was just tasty as can be. Also put it on my spinach naan as I couldn't get enough. I'm looking forward to more fresh salsa with good tomatoes.

Closer but definitely no cigar... Okay, just got done with another batch using the Banh Trang wrappers - well what a difference the right wrapper makes! This time I used no processor for the veggies, just a knife. Nor did I marinate anything, just using the pickled cukes I had. So using what I could find in the fridge, I attempted to julienne some carrot (um, that attempt basically made them matchstick and too thick and yes, they can easily poke through the wrapper as someone pointed out), also julienned scallion and pickled cucumber. Had basil leaves which I left whole and cilantro. Softened vermicelli and used that water from a boil to soften the rice wrappers. Finally steamed shrimp. You can never have too much shrimp I found out... But I should have butterflied them before I steamed them. Then the rolling. Well this must be the slowest, messiest thing to do. My kitchen is a mess and there are no spring rolls left, however, so they must have been edible! First I rolled and put too little in but it rolled easily and the ends tucked in. At least it looked presentable. When I started putting more into them, however, I had trouble getting everything tucked in. I never did get a tight roll with all the innards compact. In some cases I discovered I had softened the wrapper too much and it preferred to stick to my fingers and the plate rather than to itself. I had to eat this type holding it over my bowl of Mae Ploy dipping sauce and most of it falling into the dish. My second attempt at least tasted alot better than the first so I'm encouraged. But I wonder if I'll ever be able to keep myself from eating them all as I make them, in order to have leftovers! I truly appreciate the work that goes into this and I don't think I'm ready for the assembly line yet though. Next I'll do as johnnyd suggests and use the other wrappers for doing a deep fried spring roll. That ought to be a blast... By the way Rachel, I haven't heard of the term summer roll. Our Viet places call these non fried rolls "spring rolls." This is in Seattle.

Hi Ichigo! I definitely believe the heavier the cooking sheet, the better. I learned the hard way when my sheet warped half-way through the cooking time and sent things flying. I also found a very good insulated sheet at my local thrift store. Great find. Maybe your cookies are too thin and so the edges burn. I have found chilling the dough beforehand to help so they don't spread so much.

Three of us went for lunch on Friday and really enjoyed ourselves. I love the decor and those soft black leather seats. We got there at 11:30 and stayed for about an hour and a half, not noticing any problem with noise. Our waitress was prompt and friendly, but somewhat clueless about the wine. Luckily she allowed us to do some tasting before. I tasted the greek white and it had a hint of mold, yikes. The other fellow tasted the greek red and felt it had been open too long. So he opted for the Felicitades (sp) red which he liked and I think I had a DiStefano Sauv Blanc that was just fine. To start we had two of the pitas, the roasted eggplant and the carrot. The carrot was okay, nothing outstanding but the eggplant was really delicious, especially with the touch of sea salt on the pita. I had the greek salad so I would have room for dessert and it was tasty. I loved the olives, although later I was burping the cukes....too bad they weren't burpless! My fellow companions had the squid kebob and chicken kebob with smashed potatoes skin-on and enjoyed them. The squid looked especially good and had enough spice/heat to satisfy Mr. Spicy. Then, on to dessert. Two of us ordered the goat cheese pie and it was a four star rave. I don't like cheeselike but this was not as heavy and with a vanilla flavor. You had to have a bite of pie, some strawberry and the caramel in every bite! When we left the place was pretty full, but again, didn't notice anything high decibel. I think Tom has a winner and I need to go back soon and try some of the kebobs.

Luckily in Washington state, it's about 50-50 with stores requiring cards and those that don't. And those that do have one aren't the quality stores I like. I do have a couple cards, though, if I'm stuck and have to go to one of those, but I either lie (in the case of filling out info for one card) about my private information or don't fill it all out besides my name (according to another store I didn't have to). I refuse to give out any private information to any type of store - I'll make something up or say I don't give it out, depending on my mood. However, I do get on email lists of specialty shops to get news about special events (wine tastings, etc.)

Thanks everybody for all the helpful hints! Last night I went to my local regular market and found the Banh Trang (sp) wrappers in the non-refrigerator asian foods area. Cool, I can't wait to try out the things people have suggested...

Okay, so they don't stick together if they're on top of one another?

Something that you can slurp or eat with your fingers. Something that won't leave seeds/bits in your teeth or give dragon breath. Something to drink like champagne or tequilla. If you have champagne, you should have oysters, if you have tequilla, you should have something hot with it. Did you mean food only?

Yes Laurel, I found a bunch of different brands in the fridge section and grabbed that package as it was the right size. You're right, the Chinese spring roll might mean the deep fried kind. I forgot to check if they were made of rice.

I will try that Singapore! I never thought of it as a marinade for meat.