Two links

First, there is a new fruit fly in So Cal. “This is the first time the white-striped fruit fly, which is native to tropical Southeast Asia, has been detected in the Western Hemisphere.” Needless to say, there is a now a huge quarantine zone in part of LA and San Bernadino counties. How long do you think it will take it to get here?

Second, on a more cheerful note, Time has a lovely photo essay on urban farming all over the world. I definitely want to connect with City Slicker Farms in Oakland.

On the cooking front, I made ice cream with the very soft plums we picked on Tuesday. I poured it into a greased glass baking dish and froze it hard, intending to make ice cream bars with it. I’m trying to decide whether to go whole hog and bake thin sheets of cookie to make ice cream sandwiches, or just cut the ice cream into rectangles and wrap with wax paper. The trick is to find a way to keep them frozen while bringing them to Village Harvest next Tuesday, since I promised John.

When I got to the 15th Street house for the cookout last night, I noticed ripe peaches on the ground under the peach tree. I was sad to see so many of the plums go to waste earlier this summer, so I was determined to make something with the peaches. Fortunately, Amie and Lisa live in the kind of house where one can walk into the kitchen and demand flour, butter, baking powder and yogurt and a) not get yelled at, and b) find all the requested ingredients. I made a peach cobbler, and Lisa and Erica also make zucchini chocolate chip cookies. And then Nico made wonderful guacamole…. It was a nice evening.

The quince tree in their backyard is beyond loaded with ripening quinces. Making use of this bounty is going to require some serious advance planning.