Waiting....waiting....waiting....

I know I had this great dream of blogging about our experiences while we venture boldly forth and build a house and farm in the middle of nowhere.  You know, write all about our progress.   I still plan on doing that.  I just haven't lately, because....there's been no progress.

None.

Apparently financial institutions in our neck of the woods have a very difficult time actually doing their jobs, and our loan was screwed up/delayed/neglected in every way possible.  Accordingly, we didn't feel comfortable dropping another penny out of savings until we were sure it was going to happen.  So, we've been doing a whole lot of nothing.  I mean, we're still living in a camper.  In a dirt hole.  With a neurotic dog.

Luckily, it appears as though we will be closing on our loan on Tuesday, so we have started getting serious about finishing the septic pit, foundation footings, etc.  It's actually starting to resemble a construction site up here instead of resembling sad, pathetic, abandoned dreams.  And, Jereme built a totally kick-ass driveway.  Like, I brag about this driveway, because it's that awesome, and I'm so proud of him.  So now I can drive my fancy schmancy car up the driveway with little fear, and we don't have to worry about getting stranded and eating the dog if it rains a lot (which it still does, by the way.  What the heck, New Hampshire).

Mother nature has been decidedly bitchy this summer and keeps hurling herself wildly back and forth between baking, unnatural heat, and drenching, unnatural rain.  My garden is accordingly unhappy, my kale stopped growing, and most of my tomatoes have split before they've ripened, which is a total bummer.   But, we've gotten SOME good tomatoes, and I grow a damn good squash. My tiny little bean plants that I started from seed are now producing, and I anticipate getting maybe a meal's worth of beans from them.  I also have a few pickling cukes that resemble lacrosse balls but don't seem to be growing anymore, so I'm going to pickle them this weekend.

Luckily, there are lots of people in town who have much greener thumbs than I do.  The Wolfeboro farmer's market is seriously kick-ass, and I thoroughly enjoy going every Thursday and spending a lot of cash on farm-fresh produce and chicken.  I've been pretty sick lately and have been having a hard time keeping stuff down, but yesterday I seem to have been given a "free" day by my body and had an appetite.  I went nuts at the farmers market and came back with an assortment of cheese, meat, veggies, and PEACHES. Lots of peaches.  I also got funky heirloom tomatoes, corn, zucchini, arugula, blueberries, etc.  So, last night, I made corn and basil cakes with goat cheese and arugula.  It was AMAZING.  I can't wait to have a real kitchen again, and I basically plan on spending my retirement money on a pro-quality kitchen in the new house, because cooking in an RV kinda sucks.

So anyways, here's the recipe for those cakes.  I am by no means a precise cook- so most of my recipes are something along the lines of "a handful of this, a smidgeon of that."  I'm a big believer in eyeballing, and tasting as you go.  This made four cakes, two for two people.

Fresh Corn and Basil Cakes with Goat Cheese and Arugula
-Kernels of two ears of corn, uncooked
-Half a zucchini, shredded (cheese graters work wonders)
-Handful of basil leaves, chopped
-two gloves of garlic, minced
-Two green onions, white and green parts, finely chopped
-One egg
-roughly 1/4 cup cornmeal
-Splash of lemon juice
-1/4 cup panko bread crumbs, plus more if patties don't hold
-1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes, more to taste
-1 tsp thyme
-salt and pepper to taste
-arugula (as much as you want)
-goat cheese (as much as you want)
-cherry tomatoes (as much as you want), halved

In small saute pan, briefly cook corn, zucchini, and garlic over medium heat until soft and a little sweet (about three or four minutes).  Transfer to bowl, let cool, and stir in remaining ingredients.  The mixture should be a little goopy, but if it won't hold together at all, add bread crumbs until it just starts to stick.  The cakes will hold together better than you'd think.

Heat oil of choice (I use light olive oil, just because it's what I have on hand. It's a pain in the neck to fry with, though) over medium-high heat until oil shimmers.  Wet hands, and form palm-sized balls of mixture.  Add to oil, and flatten with a spatula.  Fry until crispy and browned, four or five minutes, and flip.  Cook for another four or five minutes until evenly browned on both sides.  Remove from heat onto paper towel to remove excess oil.  Add crumbled goat cheese, and serve over bed of arugula and tomatoes.    This recipe is great because you can add whatever you'd like (some sundried tomatoes, perhaps) and serve with whatever you'd like (a tomato relish?  A poached egg?), and the corn will still really sing as the main attraction.