Just around bedtime last night, we had one of the most intense electrical storms ever. The rain came down so fast I had two inches of water in minutes on my stone patio, hail started bombarding the house, and the lightning flashed unending like strobe lights for over 15 minutes. The dogs jumped on the bed clearly terrified, and the phone alarms for severe thunderstorms and tornado watch kept going off every minute. Such drama on a Wednesday night in Vermont! There was a second wave of thunder in the middle of the night but I didn’t bother to check the time. This morning, I looked outside and everything was bone dry already since we are in the middle of a heat wave. It looked like nothing had happened overnight, and it was already 80 degrees when we walked the dogs early. I guess summer is finally here.

Let’s celebrate

We enjoy every minute of the long days and summer weather while we have it, so fleeting is the season and here we are already in July. Our nation’s semiquincentennial is Saturday and that will mean a lot of fireworks and picnics, although I’m not sensing a lot of energy around the event. Let’s hope we all pay some attention to the documents that are the foundation for our 250-year experiment, ponder the words of our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, and embrace the stunning yet imperfect message of our country’s freedom, all under great strain right now. Knowledge is power, and as it says on our 250^th commerative half dollar, it is also the guardian of true liberty.

“Knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.” 

Celebrating in our small community began last weekend with a beach party on Lake Champlain. A lovely gathering of our town, a potluck beyond imagination, and all the grilled items and ice cream donated by local farms. It’s a wonderful gathering and great way to mingle with folks. We started out with just six of us, and our group grew to ten by the time food was served. We say hello to people we haven’t seen for a while, and to the season itself, pick up our town beach parking pass, and gaze out at the Adirondacks across the lake. 

Flavors of the season

The side dish table at the party was abundant with all the flavors of summer – garden and pasta salads with new peas and broccoli, luscious greens, new potato salads, baked beans of course, casseroles of all types, and even simple plates of buttered summer squash or radishes and their greens, tender and colorful. You know that so much of it was crafted after finding what was fresh and flavorful.

I love it when the garden or the market or farm stand tells me what to make for supper. I go out to pick a bit of parsley and discover a ton of broccoli sprouts or little summer squash that need to be kept in line. Stir-fry for dinner! My peas right now are coming fast and furious, and I love these prepared as simply as possible too. I’ve planted both snow peas and sugar snaps. Usually, I save the snow peas for stir-fry and the snaps as a side. But when I have a surplus, I’ll often just toss them together remembering the snow peas take just seconds to cook.

The vertigo I’ve been battling is much better, so I’ve been able to cook again without falling on my face. This is good! One of the first suppers I made this week was inspired by what was overgrowing in the garden, a sorrel soup. The sorrel was starting to bolt which means its sourness would get more bitter, so I cut it back and harvested a big basket.

 For those not familiar with sorrel, it is a perennial herb that grows beautifully and winters over even in our very cold climate. It is most definitely on the sour side and, and is packed with nutrition. According to Healthline, rich in anti-oxidants, one little cup has 29 calories, 2.5 g. protein, over 70% of our vitamin C, a third of our daily requirement for both magnesium and Vitamin A, almost 20% of our iron, and is a good source of potassium, riboflavin, Vitamin B6, manganese copper, and phosphorus, all with just 4 g. carbs and four g. fiber. It is thought to have anti-cancer properties, and contributes to heart health. That’s a hard-working herb, and it can be used fresh or dried.

My sorrel patch started with a plant from the garden center. However, when I was growing up, we children loved to chew on the wild sheep sorrel we called “sour grass.” It was quite tart and sour, but we loved it. Mom sometimes added it to soups, a vibrant and almost lemony flavor. My variety is a bit milder, but still packed with nutrition and flavor.

New potatoes, a large handful of chervil (also trying to go to seed) and a beautiful Vidalia onion borrowed from the south, and in no time at all, we had a tasty soup. I made it in the afternoon and served it up chilled for supper. This was a good move because it was still steamy outside.

If you don’t have sorrel, you can make this soup using spinach or another favorite summer green. Swiss chard would be good, as would arugula, one of my favorites. It’s all about the sour, so add more lemon juice if not using the sorrel. It packs up beautifully for a picnic as well (I tuck mine in a canning jar), so if you are headed out to the beach or even just your backyard to celebrate the Fourth, you can enjoy this anywhere.

Happy Fourth of July my fellow Americans! Enjoy and guard the true richness our country offers, that which is measured by knowledge, compassion for others, personal freedom and security, and not corporate gains or the stock market.

Sorrel and new potato soup

• 1 onion, about 10 oz. (300 g.) diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. (460 g.) new potatoes, chopped
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup chopped Swiss chard or spinach leaves, stems removed
• 10 oz. (300 g.) sorrel, more or less
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• Zest and juice of a lemon

Prep all your veggies. Add the onions to a soup pot in a drizzle of olive oil. If you like you can add the chopped chard or spinach stems here too if using.

Sauté until soft and translucent and add the garlic. Stir around for a minute or so, until fragrant, then add the potatoes and water, and a good pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Once the potatoes are tender, add the chard leaves and cook another minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the rest of the greens. Sadly, no matter what you do, the sorrel will immediately turn olive drab to the grey side. No way around it. That’s why we’ll have to pretty it up.

Using a blender or food processor, puree the whole lot, and add the zest and juice of the lemon. Taste to correct seasoning.

Serve hot or cold with lots of garnishes!

If you like, you can add cream or plant milk at the end.

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A good read for a Saturday in July.

“Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always.” ~Mahatma Gandhi