This weekend I’m making jam. Strawberry jam (yum). And being around those glorious mason jars made me think of Glennray Tutor’s photorealism painting Still Life: A Season of Moment at the Mississippi Museum of Art:
…and when the cucumbers are *just* the right size for making pickles…
…then the okra led me to think about another part of the garden, and one of my favorite Faulkner quotes, from a supper-time conversation he had with Katherine Anne Porter in Paris. Eugene Walter wrote about it this way in American Cooking: Southern Style
Everything had been laid out to perfection; a splendid meal had been consumed, a bottle of fine brandy emptied, and thimble-sized glasses of an expensive liqueur drained. The maitre d’ and an entourage of waiters hovered close by, ready to satisfy any whim.
“Back home, the butter beans are in,” said Faulkner, peering into the distance, “the speckled ones.” Miss Porter fiddled with her glass and stared into space. “Blackberries,” she said, wistfully.