Small-town parade

Last weekend I went to the Vassar Riverfest parade with a good friend who just happens to live in Vassar.  She loves living in a small town.  Vassar has a lot of character, friendly folks, and they know how to put on a decent parade.  I've not been to a parade that had more candy for the kiddies than this one...

We sat next to a cute little gal who thoroughly enjoyed herself.

They had lots of older farm tractors (we are in a major agricultural area)...

Kids with team spirit...

And entertainment by the shriners.

I'm jealous of this girl's horse -- just gorgeous!

And of course we have to thank our service men and women.

Sunbather

My crazy, fat cat catching some rays on our retro carpet in the spare bedroom.

Closer view of a young wild turkey

The new flock -- Eastern wild turkeys

We are starting to catch site of some young turkeys.  Aren't they great?

A view of the past

Last weekend (yes, I am running a week behind) Charlie and I visited an "encampment" in Frankenmuth.  I have loved these kinds of things since I was a kid -- when I went to one and learned how to make dipped candles.  I understand these people.  They enjoy the simpler times -- when you could learn a craft and support yourself with it.  I know they all have day-jobs that they have to go back to on Monday -- but for the weekend they get to imagine a different life.

The woodworker

Hot dog

Weaving a pouch

Authentic details

The blacksmith

Pewter maker and his wife

Sassafras --mighty hunter

The other day, Sassy battled with a turkey feather.  She spotted the feather in the yard -- stalked it -- pounced -- and then the glorious battle ensued.  The feather gave a good fight, but in the end, Sassy was victorious!  She brought the kill to the door to show off to her humans.  What a brave kitty!

Garlic scape pesto

I bought some garlic scapes at the farmers market this weekend.  I did some searching on-line to figure out what to do with them (I've never used them before).  Most of the sites recommended making a pesto with them.  Now I know why.  This stuff is amazing!

Cut off the flower part (don't use this part for the pesto) and cut the long green part into little pieces.  Throw them in the food processor (or blender if you are like me and haven't read the manual to your food processor yet) and chop it up into even smaller pieces.  I didn't have pine nuts on hand, but you would also chop them with the scapes at this point.  I only ended up with about 1/2 cup of scapes so I added some basil from the garden as well.  Slowly add in olive oil (about 3/4 cup oil for 1 cup of scapes) and blend some more.  Grate in some parmesan cheese.

Serve with pasta and fresh cherry tomatoes from the garden.  I think it would be really good on a pesto-based pizza too.  

I'm really happy I tried garlic scapes.  I've found a new seasonal favorite while supporting a local farmer and putting my garden to good use.  It doesn't get any better than that.