John Wise – Page 323 – Dreams, Moments, Travels

Limoncello

September 10, 2007 JWise Food, Photo of the Day

Lemon peel in vodka and everclear on their way to becoming limoncello

Starting with 750ml of Vodka and 750ml of Everclear, Caroline peeled approximately 35 lemons she picked in Santa Barbara, California, threw them into a jar with the alcohol, and will now wait a patient 2 months for the mixture to brew. In November she will boil water and sugar to make a syrup, add it to the lemon alcohol mixture minus the zest, and again, let it sit for a while. Just before Christmas and in time for giving away as gifts, Caroline will have made her first batch of the popular Italian liqueur called Limoncello.

Handspun Yarn

September 9, 2007 JWise Photo of the Day

Lisa Takata making handspun yarn at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market

Yesterday at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market we met Lisa Takata who was selling handspun yarn. She had made a pastel blue and orange yarn that caught Caroline’s eye and so in addition to our bags of fresh veggies we were leaving with a skein of yarn that would become a narrow scarf later in the week. In less than two weeks, Caroline and I leave for Harveyville, Kansas where Caroline will be taking a three and a half-day class to learn to spin and dye herself while I wander around the Great Plains taking photographs.

Phoenix Public Market

September 8, 2007 JWise Photo of the Day

Squash available from the Downtown Phoenix Public Market

Our biggest farmers market is known as the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and is held every Saturday morning from 8:00 until noon. The outdoor market is improving with age as more fresh food vendors are replacing the all too many craft vendors. These squash are from Tonopah Rob’s farm, we bought a couple of them along with a bag of small red onions and some basil. Maya’s Farm sold us a large bag of mizuna greens and another of arugula along with some purplish-green okra for our friend Sonal. An elderly guy was offering samples of yulu, the seed of the bonete plant – I have no idea what this really is as I cannot find a reference on the internet but they were yummy enough that we bought a bag.

Sky Aglow

September 7, 2007 JWise Photo of the Day

Sunset in Phoenix, Arizona

Another typical drive down another typical Phoenix street, under another typical sunset. It is at these beautiful moments one wishes those power poles had been buried underground so as to not disturb the serenity of the scene before us.

Yummy Desert Peaches

September 6, 2007 JWise Photo of the Day

A peach ripe for the picking at Apple Annie's in Willcox, Arizona

After years of eating horrible peaches from the big grocers and the occasional sweet but expensive organic peaches from Whole Foods, I would have never guessed that great-tasting peaches were growing here in the desert. Thanks to Apple Annie’s for the wonderful treats.

Apple Annie’s

September 5, 2007 JWise Food, Photo of the Day

Apples ready to be picked at Apple Annies in Willcox, Arizona

Headed down south with my mom Karen and sister Amanda for some apple picking at Apple Annie’s in Willcox. Willcox is about 85 miles east of Tucson in the southeast of our state of Arizona. We picked about 45 pounds of apples that will be made into dehydrated apple rings over the next week or so. Asian pears, red bartlett, and peaches were also ripe for the picking, so a few pounds of those came with. From the orchard, we made our way to the vegetable farm for some tomato picking, along with some peppers. The 28 pounds of tomatoes will be made into tomato sauce and ketchup, the peppers will be pickled and canned.