My tomatoes got a slow start this spring, so I’m only just now getting some ripe fruits to harvest.
These are a mystery variety of Roma that I got from a fellow student of Krav Maga last fall. Mike had a bumper crop of tomatoes and peppers, so he brought in several bags to share. When I asked him what variety of tomatoes these were, he told me they were “romaine” tomatoes. So, when I saved the seeds from the tomatoes he shared, I labeled them as “Mike’s Romaine” Roma tomatoes.
Alas, the bell peppers he shared with the dojo must have been a hybrid variety, because the seeds I saved from those failed to germinate. I historically haven’t had good luck with peppers overall, though, so I can’t be sure…
While my son was attending The Inventive Artist camp this week at The Toledo Museum of Art, I spent my mornings working from Black Kite Coffee, just a five-minute drive away. I’d never done the working-from-a-coffee-shop thing, but plenty of people love it, so I figured I’d give it a go… instead of driving to the Art Museum and back twice daily.
A+ would do again! Black Kite has fantastic coffee, food, ambiance, and staff!
On Monday, I ordered up my usual Americano with Splenda and attempted to camp out at a hi-top table with backless stools. That worked out for about half an hour before my 45-year-old body started to protest. Once I finished my 16oz Americano, I moved to a normal table with chairs and ordered a cinnamon roll (lower left in photo).
I decided to order a different drink every day after that, focusing on Black Kite exclusives like the Ohio Honey Lavender (HIGHLY recommend), the Aztec Latte, the OWE (Old West End) Latte, and the Peachy cold brew. I also tried some foods from local purveyors of deliciousness, including the Earthen Dragon Bakery and Vegan Taste Toledo (whose Samoa Bar I had already tried at another local coffee shop and OMG YES vegan desserts can be awesome).
Super grateful for being able to support Black Kite Coffee this week.
P.S. The spider plant on their front counter had 6 or 7 babies hanging from it on Monday. By the time I left on Friday, there was only one remaining.
P.P.S. My Memaw always said that plant starts grow better if you pinch them off and take them without asking. Just sayin’.
I’ve had the meatball recipe tucked away in my recipe box for some 20 years, but tonight was the first time I actually made them.
Technically, it’s not Memaw’s recipe; she got it from the Italian girl who worked in the kitchen with her at Bix’s, back in the mid-1970’s. I also didn’t make the recipe exactly as written, since it’s a restaurant recipe calling for 7 lbs of hamburger and three dozen eggs.
I didn’t think of these meatballs as comfort food as I was making them. It was only when I sat down to dinner and tucked into a savory memory that I realized what they were.
I’ve been missing my Memaw more than usual lately, even though she’s been gone for almost 18 years now. Even though it wasn’t my intention, making Memaw’s meatballs helped.
