Good Trouble, Good Food

 

In 1951 an 11 year old youth from Alabama was sent North for the summer to stay with family. He walked the streets of the city, stunned that people of  both races interacted, without any segregation. He ate at the lunch counter of a popular department store, stunned that he was not required to move to a different counter for black people. The attendant asked "What would you like to have, sir?" He wasn't called "boy," and he received service from a white woman. It was a both a shock and revelation that there was a place that he could be treated as an equal.  That young man was John Lewis, and the city was Buffalo, NY.

Our "Good Trouble" protest wasn't really big. Just a couple of hundred people. But even though I wasn't sure if it would fizzle or get big, we went anyway. Because the numbers count. Our city had a hand in influencing one of the most important civil rights activists of our time, it was only fitting to join with our community to speak out in his memory. So glad we went!

Yesterday I wore the lace-front tank to go out to breakfast with Tommy. Today, I wore it to go swimming and run errands. I did switch both outfits out with different accessories for activities in the evening. Tonight it was the protest. Last night it was the symphony.

 

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra puts on a series of free concerts in the summer. We went to the event in Front Park. This park is located adjacent to The Peace Bridge, which crosses the river into Canada. Canada is a huge part of our life here -- and the orchestra played national anthems from both countries. We had a great time! And this picture probably goes a long way to explain why I am so pissed at the way our president is treating Canada.  The crowd is smaller than in previous years. Many Canadians are refusing to come into or country. Businesses and the arts are suffering. It makes me sick!

Of course, you can't attend an outdoor event in Buffalo without packing food. We met with friends and the four of us had appetizers. I brought along two cheeses, a baguette, tomatoes (brushed with olive oil), and fresh basil (with fresh lemon). Both cheese were Flashfood, naturally. I had gone to Tops to shop their coupon loss-leader items and thought I would get the bread and tomatoes there. No way! The bread at Tops was three dollars more expensive than at Aldi. Tomatoes were $2.49 per pound, but 95 cents at Aldi! It was worth it to drive across the street and make a second purchase. Not to mention that they had floral bouquets for $4.99. But I will say, I did save a lot of money on what I bought on sale at Tops.

We had a Flashfood dinner tonight too. I air fried portabella mushroom caps, which I stuffed with Boursin cheese we didn't finish last night. I then toasted thin buns, and served the mushrooms in the bun over fresh basil, topped with leftover tomatoes, with a drizzle of balsamic glaze (Ff a few months back). My items from the Dashmart were not for dinner. The beef is for Frankie (I just made her two meat loaves using the beef, spinach and kale -- all Ff). The coconut milk will either be used in ice cream of for a curry sauce.

Unfortunately it was way too windy to enjoy dinner al fresco. For dessert, we had each had a slice of iced lemon pound cake (Ff), topped with homemade ice cream.

Do you ever turn leftover bread into croutons? This is from the last few slices of last week's sourdough loaf. We have a convection oven, so it was easy to get them crispy and brown on all sides without having to flip or toss them. They were delicious over our salad tonight!

Tomorrow will be a busy day for me. Not sure when I will post next! We are a city of garden events, and I am visiting "Open Gardens" of people who are welcoming the public to view their outdoor spaces. In the evening, we have a graduation party. Summer is busy! I hope everyone has a great weekend.